Rep. Kevin McCarthy has announced his bid for House speaker

By Dustin Jones

Published November 9, 2022 at 8:02 PM EST

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy announced his intent to run for House Speaker should Republicans retake the House.

House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy, in a letter to his caucus on Wednesday, officially announced his intention to run for speaker of the House.

"I am running to serve as Speaker of the People's House and humbly ask for your support," McCarthy said in a letter obtained by NPR.

Republicans are expected to pick up enough seats to gain control of the House of Representatives, but as results continue to pour in, it's clear they will not have the major gains they previously hoped to receive.

Even so, McCarthy, who is currently the House minority leader, was expected to run for the top House leadership position and no one is currently challenging the California congressman for the post.

The internal vote inside the GOP conference is expected next week but the full House doesn't vote until early January at the start of the new Congress.

Also Wednesday, House Republican Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., sent a letter to his colleagues announcing his bid for House majority leader. Scalise said he would work with House committee chairs to hold Democrats and the Biden administration accountable for what he called "damage" they caused "to the House of Representatives and the rest of the country."