Tom Emmer Announces Run for Whip

Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN) on Wednesday announced he would run for House Republican Whip after he ran an underwhelming performance as National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) chairman.

Emmer spoke to reporters after Tuesday’s midterm elections; although many races have yet to be called, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) chairman said Republicans will take back the House.

It appears that Republicans may not win as many races as initially projected by pollsters, Emmer took the slated House Republican majority as a victory. He said that Republicans took most of the “low hanging fruit last cycle,” when Republicans nearly took back the House majority despite losing the 2020 presidential election. Emmer said that many Republicans won seats President Joe Biden won by double digits.

Emmer said that, as the Republican whip, he would empower members and utilize relationships to carry out a Republican agenda.

“The whip’s job is really knowing the country and being able to work with members to say, look, we want you to be successful. How can we help you to be successful while at the same time allowing us to do the things that we need to do for the American people so that we can put this thing on a better track? It’s not rocket science. It’s about relationships and about making sure that people are empowered to do what they know is right and I think we’re going to have a great experience with it.”

Emmer said that Republicans would only increase their House majority after making their case to the American people.

“I think we’re going to do a good job of governing that and making our case to the American people and I think we’ll expand it in two years,” he said.

Emmer will have to contend with Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN), the outgoing Republican Study Committee (RSC) chairman, and Rep. Drew Ferguson (R-GA), the House Republican chief deputy whip, as he hopes to join House Republican leadership.

When pressed by a reporter as to whether the underwhelming election results would impact his bid for House Republican leadership, Emmer said that Republicans delivered by retaking the House majority.

“I don’t know how we delivered by this is exactly what we thought we were going to do. We are going to deliver a majority, a new Republican majority. It’s the third time that we have flipped the house in 50 some, no 68 years. That’s a big deal. Majorities are not given, majorities are earned. And, I made it very clear to our members for the last couple of years that you don’t be measuring the drapes because you haven’t won anything yet. And this is not like any midterm you’ve ever seen. Because the numbers are not the same. We are playing in blue country … We flipped the house for just the third time since 1954. I’m extremely proud of that accomplishment. And you know what? I’m happy to make my case to my colleagues for whip.”

 editors note: This story and headline has been updated to more closely reflect Emmer’s comments.