House Majority Whip Steve Scalise says he has enough votes behind him to be elected House majority leader next week, The Washington Post reports. The Louisiana congressman revealed this information, a source close to Scalise told The Post, during a conference call to supporters Sunday night.
Scalise reportedly said he reached his 124th supporter, which would hand him the necessary margin for victory in the House Republican Conference.
“The winning number is 124,” a source told CQ Roll Call, “and Scalise is well past it. He has an opportunity to absolutely run away with this.”
Scalise’s only opponent for the position currently is Georgia Rep. Tom Price, Chairman of the House Budget Committee and Rep. Price’s office, however, disputes this number, calling it “absurd.”
“I would encourage whoever gave you that number to go back and check their math,” a spokesman for Price told CQ Roll Call.
The race for speaker seemed like a sure thing for a moment for current House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, but now is more in question since the California Republican made controversial remarks about the Benghazi Committee.
Utah Republican Representative and House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz also threw his hat in the ring for the speaker’s race. Florida Republican Rep. Daniel Webster is the only other member who is also running for the position presently. (RELATED: Jason Chaffetz Officially Announces His Candidacy For Speaker Of The House)
Reports surfaced that outgoing House Speaker John Boehner may delay the leadership elections next week. Initially, those critical of McCarthy wondered why Boehner wanted the elections to happen so quickly after his resignation.
The news came right after McCarthy found himself in a political tailspin, as he attempted to clarify his Benghazi comments, when members of his conference distanced themselves from him for the remarks he made. (RELATED: Hillary Slams McCarthy Over Comments About Benghazi Committee)