Not since 1856, when it took two months and 133 ballots to elect Rep. Nathaniel Banks of Massachusetts as speaker of the House, has it has taken members so long to pick who wields the gavel.
Since Friday's announcement that Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, abandoned his bid for speaker, no fewer than 10 Republican House members have put forward their names.
Despite the free-for-all, the early favorites for winning the speakership are Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., and House Republican Study Committee Chair Kevin Hern of Oklahoma.
Two-termer Hern was a successful small businessman before coming to Congress. He is also popular with Freedom Caucus members, but does not alienate moderates.
Emmer, however is a moderate. Rated 77% by the American Conservative Union (in contrast to Hern's 95%), Emmer is considered more of an "establishment" Republican.
Emmer has also been critical of former President Donald Trump, now the GOP's front-runner for its presidential nomination next year.
But there are plenty of other strong candidates in the mix.
Late Friday afternoon, Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, jumped into the race.
Sessions, who has been in Congress for 22 years, is quite popular with the influential Texas delegation and previously chaired the National Republican Congressional Committee.
Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., has put his name forward. One of four Black Republicans in the House, he's a favorite of MAGA supporters.
Rep. Jack Bergman, R-Mich., a retired U.S. Marine Corps lieutenant general, has also declared for the speakership.
The can-do Bergman sees himself as an interim speaker, promising to only serve out the remaining 14 months of the term.
Also in the race are Reps. Austin Scott of Georgia (the runner-up to Jordan in the last vote of the Conference for speaker), Jodey Arrington and Roger Williams of Texas, Mark Green of Tennessee, and Mike Johnson of Louisiana.
All are considered strong conservatives and well liked by colleagues.
The Conference is scheduled to meet Monday evening behind closed doors.
The first ballot for a speaker candidate will reduce the field to two.
Then, on a second ballot, one of the two will presumably gain a majority of the GOP House members and becomes the designated speaker candidate.
Under Conference rules, all Republican members are required to vote for the nominee. But that rule has been flouted so far, leading to the present situation.
If members continually block the nominee, it could lead to a disastrous situation in the House.
One member even suggested to Newsmax a scenario where former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., again emerges as the compromise candidate.
Rep. David Kustoff, R.-Tenn., spoke for many of his colleagues when he told Newsmax he had not decided on a candidate so far.
Kustoff added, "Before someone can be the nominee, we have to know their priorities. There are no women running, so I can say we have 10 good men."
Expect a full House floor vote on Tuesday.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.