Rep. Roskam won’t run for leadership

Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.) made it clear Wednesday that he won’t run for any leadership slot in the wake of Speaker John Boehner’s (R-Ohio) resignation.

Roskam had been flirting with a leadership run in recent days. Over the weekend, he called for a special House GOP conference meeting to discuss their options for new leadership.

But in a Wednesday letter to colleagues, Roskam said he would stay out of the races.

{mosads}”On the heels of one of the most remarkable political developments in American history, we should honor the opportunity before us to reset our operations to a more effective plan. I’m not running in any of the leadership elections because I hope to continue to work at driving these themes to empower our leadership and our Members,” he wrote.

Roskam acknowledged that a two-hour conference meeting held Tuesday evening wasn’t enough to resolve the deep divisions among House Republicans. 

“To be sure, a two-hour meeting isn’t enough to solve all of the concerns and issues we face. But I do believe it was a constructive time for our Conference. I was encouraged by the measured and sober interaction.” 

Time was running short for Roskam to make a final decision on running for a leadership post, possibly majority leader. Multiple lawmakers angling for majority leader and majority whip have been making phone calls to colleagues and gathering commitments since Friday, when Boehner announced he would resign.

House Republicans will vote behind closed doors next Thursday, Oct. 8, to choose their new leadership. The floor vote by the full House to elect a new Speaker is expected at the end of October.