October 2015 Speaker of the United States House of Representatives election

The United States House of Representatives was a scheduled election for Speaker of the House for October 29, 2015, during the 114th U.S. Congress. The election was caused by the announcement of Speaker John Boehner's resignation, set for October 30. The Speaker of the House follows the Vice President in line of succession to the presidency of the United States in accordance with the Presidential Succession Act. Paul Ryan was elected speaker and took office on October 29, 2015.

Background
Kevin McCarthy, the House Majority Leader and second-in-command to the Speaker, was initially viewed as the front runner to win the Speakership. However, due to the opposition of the Freedom Caucus, McCarthy dropped out of the race on October 8, and the caucus vote was postponed. Paul Ryan and Daniel Webster of the Republican Party and Nancy Pelosi of the Democratic Party remain declared candidates.

Candidates

Declared
These are the official declared candidates:
 Nancy Pelosi, (Democratic Party), Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives (since 2011; 2003–2007), United States representative for  (since 2013), and Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (2007–2011).
 Paul Ryan, (Republican Party), United States representative for  (since 1999), Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee (since 2015), Republican Party nominee for Vice President of the United States in the 2012 election.
 Daniel Webster, (Republican Party), United States representative for  (since 2013).

Publicly expressed interest 
The following potential candidates has expressed interest in running for speaker within the past month:
 Darrell Issa, (Republican Party), United States representative for  (since 2003), Chairman of the House Oversight Committee (2011–2015).
 Michael McCaul, (Republican Party), United States representative for  (since 2005), Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee (since 2013).
 Lynn Westmoreland, (Republican Party), United States representative for  (since 2007).
 Ryan Zinke, (Republican Party), United States representative for Montana's at-large congressional district (since 2015).

Potential candidates
The following received speculation about a possible candidacy in at least two reliable sources:
 Diane Black, (Republican Party), United States representative for  (since 2011).
 Marsha Blackburn, (Republican Party), United States representative for  (since 2003).
 Mike Conaway, (Republican Party), United States representative for  (since 2005).
 Newt Gingrich, (Republican Party), Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (1995–1999), House Minority Whip (1989–1995), United States representative for  (1979–1999).
 Mike Kelly, (Republican Party), United States representative for  (since 2011).
 John Kline, (Republican Party), United States representative for  (since 2003), Chairman of the House Education Committee (since 2011).
 Mike Pompeo, (Republican Party), United States representative for  (since 2011).
 Peter Roskam, (Republican Party), United States representative for  (since 2007).

Withdrawn
The following individual did initially run for the position, but withdrew some time later:
 Jason Chaffetz, (Republican Party), United States representative for  (since 2008), Chairman of the United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform (since 2015) (Withdrew on October 20, 2015; endorsed Paul Ryan).
 Bill Flores, (Republican Party), United States representative for  since 2011. (Withdrew on October 22, 2015; endorsed Paul Ryan).
 Kevin McCarthy (Republican Party), United States representative for  (since 2013), Majority Leader of the United States House of Representatives (since 2014). (Withdrew on October 8, 2015).

Declined to run
The following noteworthy individuals received some speculation to a possible run, but ultimately ruled themselves out:
Trey Gowdy (Republican Party), United States representative for  (since 2011), Chairman of the House Benghazi Committee (since 2014) (Endorsed Paul Ryan).
Jeb Hensarling (Republican Party), United States representative for  (since 2003), Chairman of the House Committee on Financial Services (since 2013).
Cathy McMorris Rodgers (Republican Party), United States representative for  (since 2005), Chairman of the House Republican Conference (since 2013).
Steve Scalise (Republican Party), United States representative for  (since 2008), Majority Whip of the United States House of Representatives (since 2014) (Endorsed Paul Ryan).

References

2015 elections in North America
2015 in the United States
2010s elections in the United States
October 2015 events