Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio elected as U.S. House Minority Leader

FILE – Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio – (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) has won the race to serve as House Republican leader as the party prepares for its new role in the minority of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Jordan, who serves as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, defeated Rep. Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana) in a secret ballot election of Republicans who will serve in the next Congress. The vote was 106-73.

Jordan, 62, is a co-founder of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus and served as its first chairman. His candidacy appealed to those looking for new leadership in the wake of last week’s election debacle and to those who like his hard-hitting political style.

“The way that Jim fights says a lot about where this conference is,” said Rep. Brian Mast, (R-Florida), who nominated Jordan to serve as minority leader.

Jordan will inherit a historically small House Republican conference that is only beginning to grapple with its loss of power as President Trump serves his final two years in office.

In brief remarks to reporters after his win, Jordan said Republicans would focus on fighting for American families over the next two years.

“When Democrats offer more government, we’ll offer more freedom,” Jordan said. “We will bring that fight in committee, on the floor and on the stump every single day.”

Democrats argued that Jordan’s selection indicated that Republicans took the wrong lesson from the election loss.

“I would think that they would want somebody that was going to moderate towards what the voters want. They lost so many Republican voters,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Washington). “Obviously that’s not the case.”

Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota was elected as the Republican whip, the No. 2 position in the leadership hierarchy. He beat out Rep. August Pfluger of Texas for the job. Rep. Lisa McClain of Michigan won reelection to serve as conference chair, the No. 3 position.

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) is expected to become the next House speaker, the first African American to hold the job, and Rep. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts is expected to become the next majority leader. She would be the first woman to hold that position.

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