Former House Speaker Larry Householder wants to be speaker again. And when members take the vote this afternoon, he thinks he’ll have a good shot of winning that post.
Householder has been working with labor unions and Democratic representatives to get them to back him in the fight to lead this new General Assembly, promising to give the minority party more of a role in the legislative process.
"So yes, I’ve been talking to Democrats and many, many of them agree with us that it’s time to open up this process again and bring back the people’s house," Householder said.
Householder is facing fellow Republican Ryan Smith, who wants to stay on as Speaker. Neither Smith nor Householder are expected to have a majority of Republican votes this afternoon. Smith was elected for the interim post with a plurality of vote last June after 11 rounds of voting.