As a City Council reported yesterday Republican National Congressional Committee Chairman Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota was elected by his GOP colleagues as Majority Whip in the next Congress that begins in January after defeating the chairman of the Republican Study Committee Jim Banks of Indiana and Representative Drew Ferguson of Georgia. .
The election had two rounds, with Ferguson eliminated as a result of the first ballot which saw Banks get 82 votes, Emmer with 72 and Ferguson with 71.
On the second ballot, Emmer ultimately defeated Banks 115 to 106.
But it might not have ended that way if not for an apparent mix-up by a Republican member of Congress reported by Politico on Wednesday:
Separately, adding to the mess, at least one GOP lawmaker mixed up the votes slated for the first and second ballots in the highly competitive whip race, according to a senior Republican who was in the room. The lawmaker in question intended to pick Rep. Drew Ferguson (R-Ga.) for the first ballot, but instead put Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.).
That vote, had it been cast as intended, could have resulted in a different outcome in the battle for the whip, as Ferguson finished the first ballot one vote behind Emmer, eliminating him from the contest before the current chairman of the Republican National Congressional Committee prevailed on the second vote against representative Jim Banks (R-Ind.).
So, because “at least one” House GOP member mixed up the ranking of his choices, Ferguson was eliminated, after getting one less vote than Emmer, leaving Emmer in contention against Banks.
That is, Emmer apparently won the whip race as a result of a mistaken vote favoring him on the first ballot, and if that vote had been cast correctly, Emmer may not have made it past the first round.
If the situation described by Politico’s “senior Republican” source is indeed true, then Emmer would have received 71 votes, while Ferguson would have received 72 in the first round, leaving Emmer out of contention and making Ferguson or Banks win the Whip gig.
Not exactly the leadership mandate that Emmer might have wanted to start the new Congress with.
News Nugget: A GOP lawmaker mixed up his 1st and 2nd ballot order in competitive whip race, for senior R on the floor. The member intended to put Ferguson on the 1st ballot, but put Emmer instead.
It could have potentially changed the trajectory of the career. https://t.co/yxqLHzjMV3
— Olivia Beavers (@Olivia_Beavers) November 16, 2022
This is a developing story and may be updated.
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