The GOP leader was said to have lost support among Republican voters amid struggles to secure the necessary votes in the House.
Kevin McCarthy’s popularity remains in the headlines each day that Congress pushes back on his bid to become speaker of the House.
Although McCarthy’s rise to the top job in the House has been so far thwarted, there has been a consistent band of supporters behind him despite the drama.
However, claims on social media suggest that—in contrast to the relatively few fellow Republican members disapproving of him—the GOP’s actual voter base is far less enamored with the party leader.
The Claim
Tweets posted on January 5, 2023, claim that while Kevin McCarthy has majority support from the Republican conference in the House, more than half of GOP voters don’t want him as speaker.
Twitter user Catturd2, whose tweet on the topic received more than 45,000 engagements, stated « 90% of the Republican Congress want McCarthy as Speaker. Well over 50% of Republican voters don’t want McCarthy as Speaker. And yet, they arrogantly pretend to represent us. »
Another post, by former Newsmax correspondent Emerald Robinson, said, « What’s happening in Congress is easy to understand: twenty conservative congressmen are trying to force the GOP to represent its actual voters. Meanwhile, the uniparty swamp wants Kevin McCarthy. »
The Facts
Kevin McCarthy’s rocky start to 2023 suggests that he might have trouble handling his caucus should he become speaker, with historically low polling and a groundswell of dissatisfaction already showing before any legislative work has even begun.
