Rep. Mike Garcia  (R-CA) nominated Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) for speaker of the House of Representatives ahead of a historic and momentous 12th ballot Friday.

“This isn’t about Kevin McCarthy; it’s not about the 434 members in this chamber,” Garcia said. “It’s about the 330 million Americans across this land and its future. The person that will lead us on that journey will be Kevin McCarthy. He has earned this position.”

The nomination preceded a vote in which McCarthy saw significant momentum among those who had previously voted against him, picking up 14 votes from that group of Republicans. Although his 213 votes are still shy of the 218 vote majority he needs, he has leapfrogged Democrat Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), who received 211 votes. McCarthy is the vote leader for the first time.

Breitbart News’s Ashley Oliver reported earlier Friday that those in opposition to McCarthy were closing in on an agreement with him, and Garcia told his Democrat colleagues before the vote “to make no mistake, we are, in fact, on the verge of a very important victory.”

McCarthy has been negotiating with some 20 Republican holdouts throughout the ballots since Tuesday. Ahead of the vote that revealed McCarthy’s momentum, Garcia complimented and paid respect to all of his GOP colleagues:

I’m extremely proud of my colleagues on this side of the aisle. The last four days, they haven’t been ideal, they’ve been difficult. But I do see fighters, I see patriots who love this country and want to make things better. I see folks who are willing to do whatever is necessary to make sure that we better serve the nation. I see men and women who are willing to serve her with that pure and selfless intent even if that service means undergoing the dentistry that we’ve experienced over the last four days and in the wake of the last twenty meetings over the last two months.

Let me be clear: These are not concessions to the rules. These are critical evolution of the rules for the good of the nation and I’m proud that we as a party have decided and been willing to extend the time aperture so that we can get to a solution; a product of compromise, but also a product that will fix the ills induced by the Democrat majority over the last four years. And this product will hopefully end the multifaceted legacy of reckless and toxic behavior in the swamp. 

A thirteenth vote looms as McCarthy shows momentum.