Rep. Spartz explains reasoning behind ‘present’ vote for Speaker

Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.) said she voted “present” in Wednesday’s Speaker votes to push Republicans to return to deliberations, as the party remains divided on Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) bid for the Speakership.

“My concern is that … we didn’t come together yet,” Spartz told reporters. “So, we have to go back to the conference room, to HC-5, and deliberate as a body, as a group of people, and figure it out.”

Spartz, who voted for McCarthy for Speaker in the three votes held on Tuesday, said she told McCarthy ahead of time that she would change her vote to “present” on Wednesday to “help with deliberation,” as a group of 20 Republicans continued to block his bid for Speaker. 

The vote breakdown has remained largely consistent across all six ballots so far, with all 212 Democrats backing incoming House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and just over 200 Republicans supporting McCarthy.

The original 19 Republican defectors coalesced around Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) in the second vote on Tuesday and were joined by Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) in the final vote of the day.

While the anti-McCarthy group shifted its nomination to Donalds in Wednesday’s votes, the only real movement so far on the second day of Speaker votes has come from Spartz, as she changed her vote to “present.”