GOP Speaker Race: Ralph Norman Votes ‘Nay’ – Then Flips

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In a stunning rebuke of president-elect Donald Trump, South Carolina congressman Ralph Norman voted against embattled incumbent U.S. speaker Mike Johnson on Friday (January 3, 2025) – briefly blocking the incumbent GOP leader from having enough votes to retain his gavel.

Norman’s initially decisive “nay” vote was the second cast against Johnson by a Republican, following a “nay” vote cast earlier by U.S. congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky.

“I’m a ‘hell no’ on re-electing Mike Johnson to serve as Speaker of the House,” Massie wrote on X. “President Trump’s agenda needs to become law. Speaker Johnson has already demonstrated he is not the man who can get that done.”

That’s a reference to the dysfunction which unfolded during last month’s lame duck session of congress – as GOP lawmakers were at each other’s throats over competing spending plans.

Massie’s vote against Johnson had been expected, but Norman’s vote – in defiance of Trump’s endorsement – meant the speaker would not have been able to reach the 218-vote threshold necessary to retain his leadership post. Democrats control 215 of the chamber’s 434 seats (there is currently one vacancy in the 435-seat House) and can be counted on to vote in lockstep with their leadership. “Republicans” control 219 seats, meaning two GOP defections would have resulted in a tie vote.

A third Republican, Keith Self of Texas, also voted against Johnson on the first ballot.

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As for Norman, his decisive rebuke of the speaker sent shockwaves throughout the U.S. Capitol building – and sparked furious backlash from the consulting class in his home state.

“I have a team of 90 political operatives I’m ready to put to work to take out Ralph Norman and I know every inch of the district like the back of my hand,” veteran Palmetto State strategist Wesley Donehue wrote on X. “He doesn’t support MAGA and he’s an embarrassment to South Carolina.”

GOP establishment operative Chris Slick offered his support to Donehue’s efforts – and pledged to work against him even after Norman ultimately went back on his original vote and supported Johnson.

“It’s time to primary Ralph Norman,” Slick wrote on X. “It starts now. I will be making calls to recruit candidates against him.”

While the strategists were preparing to unseat Norman, the 71-year-old lawmaker was huddled outside of the House chamber with MAGA congresswoman Nancy Mace and Hogan Gidley, a liaison between Johnson’s office and the Trump transition team.

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Norman reportedly took a call from Trump on Mace’s phone. After listening to the president-elect’s exhortations, he handed the phone back to Mace and returned inside the chamber. That, apparently, was the end of the insurgency.

Norman promptly switched his vote – followed shortly thereafter by Self – delivering a 218-216 victory for Johnson.

“My primary goal today and every day is to get our fiscal house in order, as is a priority for the people of SC-5,” Norman wrote on X. “The status quo is unacceptable. After receiving reassurances regarding spending and process reforms, I changed my vote to support Mike Johnson as speaker of the House.”

“A vote for Speaker Johnson is a vote for President Trump’s America First agenda,” Mace wrote on X. “After the last few days of chaos we’ve seen in these tumultuous times, we need steady leadership and continuity. We need to stick together and get to work. We don’t have any time to waste.”

Trump also hailed Johnson’s victory on his Truth Social platform.

“Congratulations to Speaker Mike Johnson for receiving an unprecedented vote of confidence in Congress,” Trump wrote. “Mike will be a great Speaker, and our country will be the beneficiary. The people of America have waited four years for common sense, strength and leadership. They’ll get it now, and America will be greater than ever before!”

Mace, ironically, was one of a handful of Republican members of congress who ousted former speaker Kevin McCarthy in 2023. That vote resulted in a well-funded challenge against her in the 2024 GOP primary, although she easily dispatched the opponent recruited to run against her.

Norman – a crony capitalist real estate developer from Rock Hill, S.C. – represents South Carolina’s fifth congressional district. This staunchly Republican district – which overwhelmingly backed Trump last fall – includes all of Cherokee, Chester, Fairfield, Kershaw, Lancaster, Lee, Union and York counties and parts of Newberry, Spartanburg and Sumter counties.

Norman narrowly won the seat in a May 2017 special election after Mick Mulvaney was nominated as Trump’s first-term budget director. He has not faced credible opposition since then, winning reelection last fall in a landslide. Norman broke with the vast majority of South Carolina Republicans in 2024 when he supported the failed presidential bid of former Palmetto State governor Nikki Haley.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …

Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.

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