United States House Republican Kevin McCarthy (AFP Photo)
Number two United States House Republican Kevin McCarthy -- seeking to unite the party's lawmakers following years of divisive internal turmoil -- was seen just days ago as a virtual lock for the most powerful job in Congress.
But hardline conservatives have other plans.
Today, Republicans pick their nominee to succeed House Speaker John Boehner, who often ruled the raucous chamber by keeping his boot on the necks of dozens of far-right members but was ultimately driven out by the very flank he worked to quell within his ranks.
The House speaker is immediately behind the vice president in the line of presidential succession.
In making his pitch to members, Kevin McCarthy, the congenial current House majority leader who clearly has the most support, stressed he will do things differently if he gets the job.
But core conservatives are loath to reward the establishment by simply promoting leadership members up the chain.
Instead, they are calling for new blood at the top and threatening to do everything in their power to stop Kevin McCarthy from seizing the gavel.
"We have every intention to vote together as a group tomorrow and on the House floor" when the entire chamber votes on October 29, said Jim Jordan, chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, a strategic group of about 40 staunch conservatives.
On Wednesday, the caucus threw a wrench in Kevin McCarthy's spokes as the group endorsed outsider and three-term congressman Daniel Webster of Florida in his long-shot bid for speaker.
Congressman and Freedom Caucus member Raul Labrador confirmed the group's endorsement of Webster, tweeting that "he's got the skills to lead."
If the group votes as a bloc as promised, they would essentially hold veto power over who is elected three weeks from now.
The winner will need a simple majority in the 435-member House, but lawmakers in the party's conservative flank insist Kevin McCarthy does not have the 218 votes necessary to win.
Republicans hold 247 seats but if all Freedom Caucus members back Webster and another candidate, Jason Chaffetz, earns some votes, Kevin McCarthy would be well short.
That could give hardline conservatives tremendous leverage over the process, including imposing stiff demands on Kevin McCarthy, should he win, for procedural reform, giving rank-and-file members greater power and adopting more conservative positions.
'Leading a revolution'Many expressed disbelief at Kevin McCarthy's bad stumble last week, when he acknowledged that the controversial House committee investigating the 2012 Benghazi attacks had served to discredit Hillary Clinton as she seeks the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination.
"At some point there'll be a realization that if we don't inject new blood into the leadership team, our constituents are going to be irate with us," Chaffetz told reporters.
Chaffetz describes himself as a caucus unifier who would be a more viable alternative.
"There's a massive drumbeat out there that the status quo is not what we sent you there to perpetuate," he said.
However, Kevin McCarthy does enjoy the backing of several influential establishment figures, including House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan.
"He is a very good consensus builder, he is a very good listener, and I think he has the skills to unite our conference," Ryan told broadcaster MSNBC.
Kevin McCarthy supporters insist the drama will be over by the October 29 floor vote.
"We're going to sort this thing out amongst ourselves long before that time," even if it takes more than one ballot on Thursday, said Republican Rob Woodall, who is backing Kevin McCarthy.
"No one... is going to be served by folks running their own play on game day."
But core conservatives are standing firm in their bid to keep Kevin McCarthy out of the speakership.
"When you are leading a revolution, you upset a lot of people," Labrador said.