2021 Speaker of the United States House of Representatives election
Updated: 11/6/2025, 12:27:05 AM Wikipedia source
On January 3, 2021, the 1st day of the 117th Congress and 2 months after the 2020 U.S. House elections, the incoming members of the U.S. House of Representatives held an election for speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. It was the 127th U.S. speaker election since the office was created in 1789. The incumbent speaker, Democrat Nancy Pelosi, was elected to a 4th (2nd consecutive) term, defeating Republican Kevin McCarthy 216–209, with two votes going to other individuals. As only 427 representatives in the 435-member House cast a vote (due to vacancies, absentees, or members voting present), 214 votes were necessary to win.
Infobox
Candidate
Others
Party
Democratic
Leader's seat
California 12th
Members' vote
2
Percentage
0.47%
Tables
2021 election for speaker[14]* denotes incumbent · Election of the speaker
Total votes
Total votes
Party
Total votes
Party
427
Candidate
100
Votes necessary
Votes necessary
Party
Votes necessary
Party
214
Candidate
>50
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Nancy Pelosi* (CA 12) | 216 | 50.59 | |
| Republican | Kevin McCarthy (CA 23) | 209 | 48.95 | |
| Democratic | Hakeem Jeffries (NY 8) | 1 | 0.23 | |
| Democratic | Tammy Duckworth | 1 | 0.23 | |
| Total votes | 427 | 100 | ||
| Votes necessary | 214 | >50 | ||
References
- Vacant seats were Louisiana's 5th congressional district and New York's 22nd congressional district.
- Heritage Guide to The Constitutionhttps://web.archive.org/web/20120421180046/http://www.heritage.org/constitution#!/articles/1/essays/10/speaker-of-the-house
- CRS Report for Congresshttps://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL30857.pdf
- "John Boehner exit: Anyone can run for House speaker, even you"https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/Decoder/2015/0925/John-Boehner-exit-Anyone-can-run-for-House-speaker-even-you
- history.house.govhttp://history.house.gov/People/Office/Speakers-Multiple-Ballots/
- history.house.govhttps://history.house.gov/Institution/Seniority/Deans-of-the-House/
- constitution.laws.comhttps://constitution.laws.com/house-of-representatives/election-of-the-speaker
- USA Todayhttps://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/10/25/nancy-pelosi-run-speaker-again-if-democrats-keep-house-control/6032864002/
- LA Timeshttps://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2020-11-17/pelosi-embarking-on-what-is-slated-to-be-her-final-turn-as-house-speaker
- AP newshttps://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-kevin-mccarthy-coronavirus-pandemic-db7b9836ca419ab1fed6857663be4736
- "Pelosi faces trickiest speaker election yet as Democrats begin new Congress with slim majority"https://www.foxnews.com/politics/pelosi-speaker-election-new-congress-convenes-slim-democratic-majority
- "Pelosi re-elected speaker despite narrow majority"https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/03/pelosi-speaker-election-454076
- vox.comhttps://www.vox.com/2021/1/3/22211407/new-117-congress-sworn-in-pelosi-mcconnell
- The Hillhttps://thehill.com/homenews/house/532444-pelosi-wins-speakership-for-fourth-time-in-dramatic-vote
- "Nancy Pelosi reelected speaker Sunday despite narrower majority"https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/03/politics/nancy-pelosi-speaker-vote/index.html