(ReclaimingAmerica.net) – In a somewhat unexpected though logical-sounding poll result, most GOP voters prefer Newt Gingrich, the emblematic Republican from the 1990s, to return as Speaker of the US House of Representatives.
A public opinion survey by InsiderAdvantage conducted on Tuesday, immediately after Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was deposed, discovered that Gingrich enjoys “overwhelming” conservative voter support.
The poll results published on Wednesday show that 53% of Republican voters would like Gingrich, who presided over the House from 1995-1999, to come back, Newsmax reports.
Gingrich has a 42-point support lead on the second-closest potential competitor for the House speaker job, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who scored 11%
80-year Gingrich, a Georgia Republican, is eligible to serve as speaker since the position doesn’t require being an elected House member, the report notes.
The survey also found that House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) is favored for the job by 3% of Republican voters.
Four other US representatives were also included in the poll. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) and House Republican Conference chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY) received 2% support for the speakership.
US Reps. Garrett Graves (R-LA) and Tom Cole (R-OK) share the fifth spot with 1% support each.
27% of the 850 respondents in the poll said they were undecided about who should succeed Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).
McCarthy was ousted in a 216-210 vote on Tuesday after all non-abstaining Democrats and eight Republicans supported a motion to vacate filed by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL).
In an opinion article for The Washington Post, Gingrich had slammed Gaetz ahead of the vote and called for his expulsion from the Republican Party.
“Gaetz has gone beyond regular drama. He is destroying the House GOP’s ability to govern and draw a sharp contrast with the policy disasters of the Biden administration,” Gingrich wrote.
In his column, the former speaker also stated that he “fought against the GOP establishment” in the 1990s.
“Unlike Gaetz, though, when I rebelled, I represented the majority view of the caucus at the time,” he elaborated.
After Tuesday’s vote, Gingrich blasted the eight Republicans who voted to depose McCarthy.
“They’re traitors. All eight of them should, in fact, be primaried. They should all be driven out of public life,” he said.
