Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images WASHINGTON — Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy won the support of a majority of his own caucus Tuesday in a caucus to pick his nominee for Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. The results of the secret ballot were 188 votes for McCarthy and 31 for his challenger, Rep. Andy Biggs, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus who challenged McCarthy from the right. To officially become Speaker of the House in the new Congress that takes office in January, McCarthy will need to win at least 218 votes in the full House of Representatives. Usually, the chosen candidate of the party holding the majority would win this full vote for Speaker of the House, but it is not guaranteed. If McCarthy’s Republican opponents get together and don’t vote at all, he could fall short of 218. Republicans have yet to officially win enough congressional races to win a majority, but on Tuesday morning it was hard to see how Democrats could prevail in districts where vote counting continues. McCarthy has been preparing to take over the presidential baton since shortly after Election Day, when he announced “transition teams” made up of his allies to smooth over the Republican takeover of the House. McCarthy is well-liked in his caucus and has aligned himself with former President Donald Trump, winning praise from some on the far right of the Republican Party.

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Rep. Majorie Taylor-Greene, R-Ga., endorsed McCarthy’s bid for president on Monday, telling former Trump adviser Steve Bannon that not supporting him could split the party. “It is very, very dangerous right now to create a leadership challenge, especially for the Speaker of the House, when [Democrats] they’re going to open the door and allow Liz Cheney, possibly to be the speaker,” he said on Bannon’s War Room TV show. According to the rules of the House, anyone can be elected Speaker, even if he is not a member of the House. Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming lost her GOP primary earlier this year, a loss caused in part by her very public rift with former President Donald Trump, who won Wyoming by 43 points in his presidential run. 2020. McCarthy’s challenger, Biggs, said Monday that the leader “does not have the votes needed to become the next Speaker of the House and that his presidency should not be a given.” Biggs cited the GOP’s disappointing midterm results last week, when they were widely expected to win at least a 20-seat majority. On Tuesday, NBC News projected that Republicans would win the House by just two, with a margin of error of three seats. “The promised red tide has turned into a loss of the United States Senate, a slim majority in the House of Representatives and upset losses of political candidates for the premiership,” Biggs said in a statement on Monday. “My bid to run for Speaker is about changing the paradigm and the status quo.”