Steve Scalise Wants to Replace Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House

It's official: House Majority Leader Steve Scalise is running for House speaker, looking to jump from the second GOP leadership spot to No. 1.

The Louisiana Republican announced his speaker bid in a "dear colleague" letter Wednesday.

"You know my leadership style I’ve displayed as your Majority Leader and Whip," Scalise wrote. "I have a proven track record of bringing together the diverse array of viewpoints within our Conference to build consensus where others thought it impossible."

Scalise was first elected to Congress in 2008 and has served in GOP leadership since 2014, first as the party's whip and now as majority leader.

Given his leadership experience, Scalise starts with a strong base of support but will face a challenge from Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who announced his bid for speaker earlier Wednesday. Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., is also considering jumping in the race, but has yet to make it official. All three spoke with the Texas GOP delegation Wednesday to make their case.

Hern is the current chair of the Republican Study Committee, the largest conservative bloc, while Jordan and Scalise previously chaired the group. Jordan was also founding chairman of the hard-right offshoot, the House Freedom Caucus.

In a nearly 1,000-word letter, Scalise talked about the Republican Conference as a "family" and said that while their "next chapter won't be easy" he believes the can come together. Eight rebels from the fractured conference joined all Democrats Tuesday in ousting Kevin McCarthy as speaker in a historic first.

"I know the coming weeks ahead will be some of the most arduous times we will face together, but this Conference is worth fighting for – we cannot lose sight of our shared mission," Scalise said. "Now, more than ever, we must mend the deep wounds that exist within our Conference and focus on our objectives so we can get back to work for the millions of people who are counting on us."

Scalise also mentioned his 2017 shooting at a baseball field during practice for the annual congressional baseball game in which he almost lost his life, noting, "God already gave me another chance at life. I believe we were all put here for a purpose."

But Scalise did not mention his ongoing treatment for blood cancer, which was discovered earlier this year, except for vague referance to "new challenges" he faces. He has previously said his treatments are going well and several Republicans have said they don't expect cancer to prevent him from serving as speaker.

The Louisiana Republican's letter mentioned several policy priorities Republicans need to stay focused on, including securing the border, making America energy independent and reducing crime. Scalise cited the importance of continuing GOP oversight and completing action on spending bills, noting of the latter, "We cannot afford to lose any more time achieving that goal."

Scalise alluded to issues that bedeviled McCarthy, suggesting the conference can fight for conservative priorities while setting achievable targets on what they can achieve in divided government.

"Now we need to take those unified positions and work to extract conservative wins from the Democrat Senate and White House by leveraging upcoming deadlines," he said. "While we need to be realistic about what can be achieved, if we stay united, we can preserve leverage for the House to secure tangible wins in our impending policy fights."