Meet the homeschool dad running for speaker?

WASHINGTON—The first web search results for the name Daniel Webster show a famed 19th century orator who served in the U.S. Senate and twice as U.S. Secretary of State. Webster died in 1852, but now a distant relative by the same name is trying to reach a political level he never attained: Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Florida Rep. Daniel Webster was the only non-leadership member of the Republican Party ready to launch a bid to replace John Boehner when he announced his retirement 10 days ago. Webster remains a long shot to upend the speaker aspirations of Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, the GOP’s current No. 2, but he’s carrying a message resonating in some parts of the party.

“We need to push down the pyramid of power,” said the soft-spoken Webster, 66, a self-described plodder. “I’m here to transform the system.”

Webster touts what he calls a “member-driven, principle-based Congress” that he says will empower all lawmakers. He wants to take up the most important issues first—such as the budget—and use regular order to work out differences long before deadlines create the looming catastrophes that have become commonplace in Washington. He says Congress has a good rulebook, but it perpetually ignores the rules.

Many in the GOP are thirsty for such changes, especially among the tea party conservatives who helped force out Boehner. Both McCarthy and Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz, who announced his candidacy on Sunday, have adopted some similar talking points, but so did Boehner in 2010. Webster says his track record as Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives sets him apart.

“Adopting the platform doesn’t implement it,” Webster told me. “I’ve done that.”

Webster has only been in Congress since 2011, but his long political career began in 1980. He ran for office after county commissioners rejected a zoning change for his church—First Baptist Church of Central Florida, where he still teaches Sunday school—saying it would be bad public policy to approve a building for church use. Webster asked who set public policy and someone told him the Legislature.

“I said, ‘OK, I’m running for the Legislature,’” Webster recalled during an interview at his Washington office.

In 1985 Webster adopted the cause of home education, authoring legislation that would legalize it in Florida and become a blueprint for other states. The homeschoolers Webster met impressed him so much he and his wife decided to homeschool their own children for the next 27 years.

In 1997 Webster became the first Republican Speaker of the Florida House in 122 years and set in motion the transformation he vows to bring to Washington. The chamber followed the rules, considered bills in alphabetical order of each committee, and finished work at 6 p.m. every day. Members of both parties cheered.

“The whole idea is when we push down the pyramid of power, the speaker and leaders are not picking bills out of thin air and putting them on the floor,” Webster said. “We’ll never repair our brand until the public notices that we’re actually being principled leaders.”

Although Webster has maintained a low profile on Capitol Hill, many of his colleagues are aware of his Florida reforms. Last December, 14 Republican members separately urged him to challenge Boehner for the speaker’s gavel in January. Webster launched an 11th hour bid, but when the votes came in, none of the 14 voted for him. Webster did receive support from a dozen of the 25 members who refused to back Boehner, the largest defection in 100 years.

Rep. Tim Huelskamp, R-Kan., cast one of those January votes for Webster and told me he would consider doing so again: “He’s done this before. Dan’s got a tremendous background and record.”

Huelskamp, chairman of the House Tea Party Caucus, is remaining officially undecided, for now. He hopes to join with fellow House Freedom Caucus members to vote as a bloc when the GOP picks its nominee on Thursday: “Our power lies in us sticking together. That’s what brought down John Boehner’s speakership.”

McCarthy remains the overwhelming favorite, but his campaign took a hit last week when he made controversial comments about the House Select Committee on Benghazi resulting in Hillary Clinton’s lower approval ratings. Webster, whose commitment to positive campaigning is well-known, declined to say what he thought of McCarthy’s comments but noted he had already entered the race for other reasons.

Chaffetz is running from a powerful position as chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, but many have interpreted his lack of campaigning to mean he’s more interested in raising his profile than winning.

All three candidates met with House conservatives last night and are scheduled to meet with additional groups today. Key issues include how to handle Planned Parenthood funding, maintaining budget caps, the debt ceiling, and the expired Export-Import Bank.

Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, who voted against Boehner in both 2013 and 2015, told me he will vote for Webster on Thursday. Gohmert cited Webster’s work in Florida and said he has both the “wisdom and courage” to do the job well.

“We simply cannot go on with business as usual,” Gohmert said. “Dan Webster is that exceptionally rare person who is selfless enough to spread congressional power among its members the way the Constitution intended.”

Webster’s biggest challenge appears to be convincing his colleagues that he has the necessary charisma and monstrous fundraising abilities the job demands. The new speaker will become the most powerful Republican in the nation—second in line to the presidency—and some critics say he doesn’t have the appeal the party needs heading into an election year.

Webster told me he’s not worried about what he can’t control. He said his strategy is to continue explaining his vision of the way Congress should work.

“In Luke 22, the disciples got into an argument over who would be the greatest,” Webster said. “Jesus said don’t try to be the greatest by being powerful—become the greatest by serving people.”