McCarthy wins nomination for House speaker

Republicans did not yet have control of the U.S. House on Tuesday, but they still nominated Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., for speaker. He’s currently the House minority leader. McCarthy now faces a weekslong campaign to build support before a final vote next year. He won a 188-31 vote for the nomination, but he will need votes from at least 218 lawmakers to clinch the position.

What challenges does he face? Republican leaders are under intense scrutiny on Capitol Hill after the party failed to deliver a decisive GOP sweep in last week’s midterm elections. That could erode McCarthy’s support. In the Senate, Rick Scott of Florida is challenging Mitch McConnell of Kentucky for the role of minority leader.

Dig deeper: Listen to Mary Reichard’s conversation with Matt Klink on The World and Everything in It about the red wave that didn’t happen last week.