An election for speaker of the United States House of Representatives is held when the House first convenes after a general election for its two-year term, or when a sitting speaker dies, resigns, or is removed from the position. The speaker is the political and parliamentary leader of the House, and is simultaneously the body's presiding officer, the de facto leader of the body's majority party, and the institution's administrative head.

A speaker election is generally held at least every two years; the House has elected a Speaker 129 times since the office was created in 1789. Traditionally, each political party's caucus/conference selects a candidate for speaker from among its senior leaders prior to the vote, and the majority party's nominee is elected. Prior to 1839, the House elected its speaker by paper ballot, but since, on all but three occasions, has done so by roll call vote. A majority of votes cast (as opposed to a majority of the full membership of the House) is necessary to elect a speaker. By House precedents, votes of present are not to be included in the official vote total, only votes cast for a person by name are; even so, they have been counted on several occasions.

If no candidate receives a majority vote, then the roll call is repeated until a speaker is elected. Multiple rounds of voting have been necessary 16 times since 1789, almost all before the American Civil War. In the 20th century only one election went to multiple ballots (in 1923). In the 21st century, it has happened twice in the same year, in January and in October 2023.

Representatives are not restricted to voting for the candidate nominated by their party, but generally do. Additionally, as the U.S. Constitution does not explicitly state that the speaker must be an incumbent member of the House, it is permissible for representatives to vote for someone who is not a member of the House at the time, and non-members have received a few votes in various speaker elections over the past several years. Nevertheless, every person elected speaker has been a member.

Altogether, 56 people have served as speaker over the past years; 32 of them served multiple terms and seven of those served nonconsecutive terms. Sam Rayburn holds the record for electoral victories, with 10. He led the House from September 1940 to January 1947, January 1949 to January 1953, and January 1955 to November 1961 (a tenure totaling 17 years).

1 Elections from 1789 to 1799 1789 1791 1793 1795 1797 1799 2 Elections from 1801 to 1899 1801 1803 1805 1807 1809 1811 1813 1814 1815 1817 1819 1820 1821 1823 1825 1827 1829 1831 1833 1834 1835 1837 1839 1841 1843 1845 1847 1849 1851 1853 1855–56 1857 1859–60 1861 1863 1865 1867 1869 (40th Congress) 1869 (41st Congress) 1871 1873 1875 1876 1877 1879 1881 1883 1885 1887 1889 1891 1893 1895 1897 1899 3 Elections from 1901 to 1999 1901 1903 1905 1907 1909 1911 1913 1915 1917 1919 1921 1923 1925 1927 1929 1931 1933 1935 1936 1937 1939 1940 1941 1943 1945 1947 1949 1951 1953 1955 1957 1959 1961 1962 1963 1965 1967 1969 1971 1973 1975 1977 1979 1981 1983 1985 1987 January 1989 June 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 4 Elections since 2001 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 January 2015 October 2015 2017 2019 2021 January 2023 October 2023 2025 5 Notes 6 References Citations Sources

Elections from 1789 to 1799

April 1789 The first-ever election for speaker of the House took place on April 1, 1789, at the start of the 1st Congress, following the 1788–89 elections in which candidates who supported the new Constitution won a majority of the seats. Frederick Muhlenberg, who had promoted the ratification of the Constitution, received a majority of the votes cast and was elected speaker. Though political parties did not yet exist, political factions, from which they evolved, formed almost immediately after Congress began its work. Those who supported the Washington administration were referred to as "Pro-Administration", while those in opposition were known as "Anti-Administration".

October 1791 An election for speaker took place on October 24, 1791, at the start of the 2nd Congress, following the 1790–91 elections in which Pro-Administration candidates won a majority of the seats. Jonathan Trumbull Jr. received a majority of the votes cast and was elected speaker.

December 1793 An election for speaker took place on December 2, 1793, at the start of the 3rd Congress, following the 1792–93 elections, in which anti-administration candidates won a majority of the seats. The faction was unable, however, to turn this numerical advantage into victory in the election for speaker, as several of them were not in attendance for the vote. Consequently, several Anti-Administration members voted strategically for former speaker Frederick Muhlenberg, a Pro-Administration moderate, who received a majority of the votes cast in the 3rd ballot and was elected speaker. This was the first speaker of the House election to be contested primarily on a partisan basis.

+ 1793 election for speaker December 2, 17931st ballotPartyCandidateVotes% Pro-Administration Theodore Sedgwick () 24 36.36 Pro-Administration Frederick Muhlenberg () 21 31.82 Anti-Administration Abraham Baldwin () 14 21.22 — Others 7 10.60 Total votes: 66 100 Votes necessary: 34 >50 December 2, 17933rd BallotPartyCandidateVotes% Pro-Administration Frederick Muhlenberg () 37 Pro-Administration Theodore Sedgwick () 27 — Others (?) Total votes: 64+ 100 Votes necessary: ~34 >50

December 1795 An election for speaker took place on December 7, 1795, at the start of the 4th Congress, following the 1794–95 elections. During the preceding Congress, the Pro-Administration faction coalesced into the Federalist Party, and the Anti-Administration faction into the Democratic-Republican Party. Though Democratic-Republicans won a majority of the seats in these elections, several joined with the Federalists to elect Jonathan Dayton speaker on the first ballot.

May 1797 An election for speaker took place on May 15, 1797, at the start of the 5th Congress, following the 1796–97 elections in which Federalists won a majority of the seats. In a near-unanimous vote, Jonathan Dayton was re-elected speaker.

December 1799 An election for speaker took place on December 2, 1799, at the start of the 6th Congress, following the 1798–99 elections in which Federalists won a majority of the seats. Theodore Sedgwick received a majority of the votes cast in the 2nd ballot and was elected speaker.

+ 1799 election for speaker. December 2, 17991st BallotPartyCandidateVotes% Federalist Theodore Sedgwick () 42 49.41 Democratic-Republican Nathaniel Macon () 27 31.76 Federalist George Dent () 13 15.30 Federalist John Rutledge Jr. () 2 2.36 Democratic-Republican Thomas Sumter () 1 1.17 Total votes: 85 100 Votes necessary: 43 >50 December 2, 17992nd ballotPartyCandidateVotes% Federalist Theodore Sedgwick () 44 51.16 Democratic-Republican Nathaniel Macon () 38 46.51 Federalist George Dent () 3 1.75 Federalist John Rutledge Jr. () 1 0.58 Total votes: 86 100 Votes necessary: 44 >50

Elections from 1801 to 1899

December 1801 An election for speaker took place on December 7, 1801, at the start of the 7th Congress, following the 1800–01 elections in which Democratic-Republicans won a majority of the seats. Nathaniel Macon received a majority of the votes cast and was elected speaker.

October 1803 An election for speaker took place on October 17, 1803, at the start of the 8th Congress, following the 1802–03 elections in which Democratic-Republicans won a majority of the seats. Nathaniel Macon received a majority of the votes cast and was re-elected speaker.

December 1805 An election for speaker took place on December 2, 1805, at the start of the 9th Congress, following the 1804–05 elections in which the Democratic-Republicans won a majority of the seats. Nathaniel Macon received a majority of the votes cast in the 3rd ballot and was re-elected speaker. A number of Democratic-Republicans did not support Macon's bid for a third term as he had broken ranks with President Jefferson and aligned himself with the splinter Quids faction.

+ 1805 election for speaker December 2, 18051st ballotPartyCandidateVotes% Democratic-Republican Nathaniel Macon () (incumbent) 51 48.58 Democratic-Republican Joseph Varnum () 26 24.76 Federalist John C. Smith () 16 15.24 Democratic-Republican John Dawson () 10 9.52 Democratic-Republican Andrew Gregg () 2 1.90 Total votes: 105 100 Votes necessary: 53 >50 December 2, 18053rd ballotPartyCandidateVotes% Democratic-Republican Nathaniel Macon () (incumbent) 58 54.71 Democratic-Republican Joseph Varnum () 23 21.70 Federalist John C. Smith () 18 16.98 Democratic-Republican John Dawson () 3 2.83 Democratic-Republican Andrew Gregg () 2 1.89 — Others 2 1.89 Total votes: 106 100 Votes necessary: 54 >50

October 1807 An election for speaker took place on October 26, 1807, at the start of the 10th Congress, following the 1806–07 elections in which Democratic-Republicans won a majority of the seats. Joseph B. Varnum received a majority of the votes cast and was elected speaker.

May 1809 An election for speaker took place on May 22, 1809, at the start of the 11th Congress, following the 1808–09 elections in which the Democratic-Republicans won a majority of the seats. On the first ballot, Joseph Varnum received 60 of the 118 votes cast for individuals. In addition to these, two ballots were returned blank. The question arose over whether or not the blank ballots counted. If they were, then the total number of votes cast would be 120, making the threshold for election 61. If they were not, then the threshold would be 60 (of 118), thus making Varnum the winner. After a brief debate a motion to proceed with a second ballot was approved. Varnum received a majority of the votes cast in the 2nd ballot and was re-elected speaker.

+ 1809 election for speaker. May 22, 18091st BallotPartyCandidateVotes% Democratic-Republican Joseph Varnum () (incumbent) 60 50.00 Democratic-Republican Nathaniel Macon () 36 30.00 Federalist Timothy Pitkin () 20 16.67 Democratic-Republican Roger Nelson () 1 0.83 Federalist Charles Goldsborough () 1 0.83 — Blank 2 1.67 Total votes: 120 100 Votes necessary: 61 >50 May 22, 18092nd ballotPartyCandidateVotes% Democratic-Republican Joseph Varnum () (incumbent) 65 54.62 Democratic-Republican Nathaniel Macon () 45 37.82 Federalist Timothy Pitkin () 6 5.04 Democratic-Republican Benjamin Howard () 1 0.84 Democratic-Republican Roger Nelson () 1 0.84 Federalist Charles Goldsborough () 1 0.84 Total votes: 119 100 Votes necessary: 60 >50

November 1811 An election for speaker took place on November 4, 1811, at the start of the 12th Congress, following the 1810–11 elections in which Democratic-Republicans won a majority of the seats. Henry Clay, a freshman congressman, received a majority of the votes cast and was elected speaker. This marks the only time in American History a Speaker of the House was elected on their first ever day on its floor.

May 1813 An election for speaker took place on May 24, 1813, at the start of the 13th Congress, following the 1812–13 elections in which Democratic-Republicans won a majority of the seats. Henry Clay received a majority of the votes cast and was re-elected speaker.

January 1814 On January 19, 1814, during the second session of the 13th Congress, Henry Clay resigned as speaker to accept a commission from President James Madison to serve as a negotiator for a peace agreement to end the War of 1812. Later that day, an intra-term election for a new speaker was held. Langdon Cheves received a majority of the votes cast and was elected speaker.

December 1815