After John Boehner announced he would be resigning as speaker of the House, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said he would run to fill his position. Now there’s a second congressional leadership race to fill the spot held by McCarthy.
Tom Price of Georgia is hoping to fill that void. Rep. Price has already been endorsed by several of his colleagues, including Rep. Paul Ryan and Rep. Jeb Hensarling. Ryan noted Price’s “proven record of advancing conservative solutions and principles.”
These endorsements from both establishment and conservative members highlight one of Price’s assets—his potential to appeal to numerous wings of the party. Fights between leadership and some conservative members of the party have escalated over the past few years. However, Price has held a variety of chairmanships without being the target of attacks on the “establishment,” but has also advanced conservative policies on a range of issues without eliciting the ire of leadership. And while leadership and conservatives have frequently complained of each other bringing internal fights public, Price has not been at the forefront of such battles.
In a similar way, Price has maintained conservative positions on issues without falling into destructive rhetoric, and makes more legislation than headlines. He has led on a number of conservative issues, including budget reform. Earlier this year—and for the first time in about a decade—the House passed a joint House and Senate budget, created by Price—House Budget Chairman—and Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi. Price, a doctor, has focused heavily on health care reform, sponsoring 35 health-related bills in Congress, including the Obamacare repeal and replace Empowering Patients First Act in 2009 and every Congress since then. If nothing else, Price is certainly persistent.
He also has the ability to focus on leadership rather than reelection, as he won his past several reelections by about 30%.
Price is well-positioned to argue his ability to lead both his colleagues and a Republican policy agenda. However, he still faces stiff competition with formidable resumes, including Majority Whip Steve Scalise.
