House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, was pulled as the GOP nominee for speaker on Friday after three failed ballots.<\/p>\n
Jordan\u2019s downfall had several factors in play, but a few of them drove the Ohio Republican down the exit ramp after 25 Republicans voted for other speaker candidates over him.<\/p>\n
Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., who did not vote for Jordan to be speaker, told Fox News Digital on Friday he thinks the large number of people who voted to pull Jordan from the nomination was due to the conference\u2019s secret ballot.<\/p>\n
The House Republican Conference on Friday convened after the third speaker vote where Jordan was removed as the nominee via secret ballot.<\/p>\n
\u2018There was no reason for this suspense,\u2019 Kelly said. \u2018There was no reason for any of this going on.\u2019<\/p>\n
One major factor that reared its ugly head was likely the death threats made against several of Jordan\u2019s holdouts.<\/p>\n
GOP Reps. Marianette Miller-Meeks of Iowa and Nick LaLota of New York said this week that they received death threats after not voting for Jordan\u2019s speakership bid.<\/p>\n
Miller-Meeks released a statement on Wednesday night about the \u2018credible death threats\u2019 she has received after voting for House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Rep. Kay Granger, R-Texas, for speaker over Jordan in the second round of voting.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, LaLota posted a picture on X of an email he said he received, telling him to go \u2018f\u2014 yourself and die.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018If I see your face, I will whip all the hair out of your f\u2014ing head you f\u2014ing scumbag,\u2019 the person wrote.<\/p>\n
Jordan\u2019s office has denounced the death threats, with spokesperson Russell Dye calling the words \u2018abhorrent\u2019 that have \u2018no place in a civil discourse.\u2019<\/p>\n
Nebraska GOP Rep. Don Bacon\u2019s wife also received anonymous messages threatening to remove the congressman from his job unless he voted for Jordan.<\/p>\n
Kelly said there \u2018is no reason for people getting threatening phone calls\u2019 and that the total votes against Jordan in the secret ballot were \u2018overwhelming.\u2019<\/p>\n
Jordan\u2019s stances on issues like the 2020 election also played a part in him losing the nomination.<\/p>\n
The last presidential election became a key talking point among House Democrats as they backed Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., against Jordan for the gavel.<\/p>\n
However, the 2020 election became a contention point in the GOP conference as well, and was a major factor in Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., not voting for Jordan.<\/p>\n
Additionally, while Jordan managed to secure the majority of the House GOP behind him, the Ohio Republican is a polarizing figure among lawmakers on Capitol Hill.<\/p>\n
That polarization likely played a part in pushing moderates away from voting for him, as several represent districts won by President Biden in 2020.<\/p>\n
The House GOP conference on Friday voted to drop Jordan as its speaker nominee after a third defeat in floor-wide votes earlier in the day.<\/p>\n
Sources told Fox News Digital that the conference had voted to remove Jordan as the nominee in a closed-door meeting.<\/p>\n
In the final round, 25 Republicans voted against Jordan, giving him just 194 votes \u2014 far short of the approximately 217 he would need to win the speaker\u2019s race. It was his lowest total out of the three ballots.<\/p>\n
Fox News Digital\u2019s Adam Shaw and Chad Pergram contributed to this report.<\/p>\n