EXCLUSIVE — Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) nearly voted for Kevin McCarthy as speaker during his lengthy floor election in 2023, a new book reveals.

Kaptur, a centrist who represents one of the reddest seats held by a Democrat, “seemed to be seriously contemplating” changing her vote to put McCarthy over the top, according to McCarthy’s longtime aide John Leganski, who detailed the account in Glory, Grief, and the Gavel: An Inside Guide to Running for Speaker of the House.