Voters Want a New Face for the GOP: Another Case for Speaker Jordan

The 2018 midterm cycle is already shaping up to be a tough year for Republicans in the House, with many predicting a “blue wave” this fall and speculating that the GOP will lose its majority because of it. However, there is a simple fix for this: a change of party leadership. A choice is looming large in front of the GOP: Who will succeed Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) as the top House Republican?

A national survey released in June commissioned by ForAmerica and conducted by McLaughlin and Associates shows a clear yearning for a new face in the GOP leadership — a yearning which has no geographic or ideological bounds. According to the poll, voters residing in the East, West, Midwest, and South are all more likely to vote Republican if they know the next Speaker will not come from current GOP leadership (by 10, 6, 4, and 2 percent, respectively).

Even more significantly, the study reveals that the GOP would pick up +9 and +7 percentage points of “more likely” votes from self-identified Independents and self-identified Moderates, if voters knew that the next Speaker of the House would be from outside of current leadership. Individuals everywhere want to see that the promises being made to drain the swamp are followed through.

If Republicans want to protect their most vulnerable incumbents and even pick up seats in the House this year, they will look closely at these numbers and rally behind an outside-of-leadership candidate for the party’s top slot in the House. In choosing that candidate, Republicans should look no further than Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio).

Someone outside of the current leadership, Rep. Jordan, is a true conservative who, if chosen to succeed Ryan, would restore regular order and promote conservative policies. Additionally, though, knowledge of his impending speakership would entirely change the momentum for the 2018 midterm election cycle. Jordan stated, “Here’s the thing Washington always misses. Washington always wants a deal. America wants a solution. Americans sent us here to solve problems.”

This attitude is reflective of the results of the study — America is looking for someone who will fight through gridlock to get things done and promote conservative policies. Former Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and current Speaker Ryan have failed to do both of these in their leadership roles. Rep. Jordan is the member who will work with conservative members of the House and with President Trump to keep these promises and would be a sensational candidate for the new Speaker of the House.

Supporting Rep. Jordan for Speaker of the House would not only bolster Republicans’ chances in the midterms, but would also bring a lot of great change to D.C. In recent years, we have seen the government grow stagnant. However a House with Speaker Jordan at the gavel would actually pass good laws, stand on principle, cut spending, and shrink the size of government. These are things that Republicans run their campaigns on year after year, but more often than not fail to follow through on.

As David Bozell of ForAmerica notes, “The list of broken promises from Congress is a mile long and growing. The manufactured “government shutdown” crisis has become so routine, it is now a yawner for many. They can’t seem to cut one red penny from anywhere or anything. They can’t pass a budget. Most of them still don’t read any bills.”

With Rep. Jordan at the helm, the Republican party would change this reality. It would make good on its promises. It would restore the integrity of the party as advocates for principles of limited government, fiscal responsibility, and individual liberty. Jordan has received many awards for staying true to his beliefs and has shown that he is able to make hard decisions when needed based on principle and the best interest of Americans. These are critical traits for the next leader of the GOP to have and to hold above the allure of political expediency.

Because of this, Rep. Jordan’s potential bid for Speaker has united conservatives across the country. A staggering 114 conservative leaders signed a letter calling on Jordan to run for the position, citing his “unwavering commitment to our constitutional liberties and conservative principles of free market economics, budgetary discipline, traditional values and a strong national defense.” The letter also cites a similar study of voters that reinforces the overwhelming desire of Americans to drain the swamp and see a fresh face revamp the way things work in Washington.

Rep. Jordan stands for lowering taxes, defending liberty, and fighting for freedom. He is a strong leader who will redeem the Republican party from its current leadership and remind people what democracy is truly about. On top of all of this, voters are more likely to vote for Republican candidates if they knew a leadership change was coming.

Change will indeed come, if and when the GOP takes the common sense action to coalesce around Rep. Jordan and support him to run for Speaker of the House. Doing so will help its candidates’ election chances, help Congress work again, and most importantly help the American people by restoring transparency and principles to GOP leadership.

Samantha Debicki and Quiana Haynes contributed to this blog post.