Speaker Johnson won't seek reelection as House Republican leader after party's midterm losses

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Mike Johnson will be stepping aside from Republican Party leadership after the GOP’s wipeout in the midterm election, declining to seek support to stay on as House minority leader in the new Congress, according to two people familiar with his decision Wednesday.

Johnson is expected to retain his seat as a rank-and-file member of the House from Louisiana when Congress convenes in January. He won reelection from his Shreveport-area district for a sixth term in office.

It’s a swift rise and fall for Johnson, often seen as an accidental speaker, who nevertheless drew close to President Donald Trump and led the House GOP during a tumultuous era, with one of the slimmest majorities in modern times.

And it sets up a fierce internal party battle for the new GOP leader after Democrats swept to power.

Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the House majority leader, said in a letter to colleagues that “the election was far worse than any of us expected” and he is running for the minority leadership post because “the stakes couldn't be higher.” Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio sent a letter to colleagues describing himself as “battle-tested” as he announced his bid for the job.

House Republicans are expected to elect their new leader when members-elect gather in Washington next week, in what will likely be a familiar showdown between Scalise and Jordan, who reached for the top spot before, only to lose out, paving the way for Johnson.

The people who told The Associated Press about Johnson’s decision insisted on anonymity to disclose it.

Johnson’s sunny assertions that Republicans would defy history in the midterms, as voters traditionally have punished the president’s party in power, failed to hold. Instead, Republicans were trounced as Democrats swept to the House majority, leaving Johnson without a path to power.

The powerful speaker’s gavel now is expected to pass to Democrats, who are preparing to nominate House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York for the job, second in line to the president. The House speaker’s election is among the first votes of the new Congress, on Jan. 3, 2027.

Johnson first won the speaker's gavel in 2023 after his colleagues ousted the previous GOP speaker, Kevin McCarthy of California, in a first-of-its-kind coup in House history.

A lower-level member of House leadership, Johnson in many ways fell into the job after Republican colleagues could not agree on a successor to McCarthy. He had distinguished himself before the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol by organizing support for Trump’s false claims of widespread fraud in the 2020 election he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.

Once in office, Johnson quickly pulled closer to Trump — so close that Johnson candidly recounts their almost daily phone calls and chats, often offering his impressions in the president's voice.

Johnson led passage of the GOP's signature package of tax breaks and social services cuts that Trump signed into law. He protected the president and his administration from embarrassing votes, including a recent effort to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, by simply sending lawmakers home.

Johnson's decision sets up a potential repeat of the leadership battles that have played out in recent years between the House GOP's conservative and far-right flanks.

Scalise has long courted backing from the House GOP's conservative wing, particularly business and energy sector lawmakers. Jordan, the brawling former wrestler who helmed the Judiciary Committee, has long been preferred by the hard right, including some from the Freedom Caucus.

Both Scalise and Jordan tried for the speaker's gavel once McCarthy was forced aside in 2023, but they failed to win majority support from their colleagues, splitting the votes. At the time, Johnson emerged as the consensus candidate who became the House speaker.

This story has been corrected to show Johnson won reelection to a sixth, not eighth, term.

U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, speaks to attendees at the 3rd Annual Freedom Fry, hosted by U.S. Rep. Russell Fry, R-S.C., Monday, Oct. 26, 2026, in Myrtle Beach, S.C. (AP Photo/Meg Kinnard)

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., left, and House Majority Leader Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., listen as President Donald Trump speaks with reporters, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026, at Dubuque Regional Airport in Dubuque, Iowa, en route to a campaign rally. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, speaks during a campaign event, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2016, in Sterling Heights, Mich. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks with reporters alongside President Donald Trump after they arrived on Air Force One, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026, at Dubuque Regional Airport in Dubuque, Iowa, en route to a campaign rally. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks as President Donald Trump listens during a campaign rally at the Five Flags Event Center, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026, in Dubuque, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., departs after speaking during a campaign rally at the Five Flags Event Center, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026, in Dubuque, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The two major candidates in Alaska's U.S. Senate race urged supporters to be patient as results began coming in late Tuesday, delivering rousing speeches and expressing confidence against the backdrop of the fallout from allegations of partisan tricks to recruit a candidate with the same name as the Republican incumbent.

The race headlined by two-term Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan and Democratic former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola had been among those expected to play a role in determining which party gained control of the Senate. Democrats had won control before polls closed Tuesday night in Alaska.

“Lower 48 blue wave. But we're different,” Sullivan told supporters after initial results were reported. Peltola during her election night party said: "We are getting our government back.”

The race brought top Republican officials to Alaska to rally for Sullivan, including President Donald Trump, who placed particular focus on a third candidate in the race, retired teacher Dan J. Sullivan. Trump called him “fake” and ordered that the Justice Department sue to block certification if the incumbent loses, pending an investigation into potential voter confusion.

The lawsuit, filed less than two weeks before the ranked vote election, was dismissed by a federal judge, prompting a Justice Department appeal.

The race remained too early to call.

The candidacy of Dan J. Sullivan, who won 2.5% of the vote in the August open primary and qualified for the general election with a top-four finish, dominated attention in the final days of the race after The New York Times reported that Peltola’s campaign appeared to be involved in efforts to recruit him. The report revived long-held suspicions raised by the incumbent and his allies that Dan J. Sullivan was a “sham” candidate intent on confusing voters.

Peltola denied involvement in any such efforts, and Dan J. Sullivan, who lives in the small fishing community of Petersburg, has denied any contact with Peltola’s campaign. He has not returned messages in recent days.

Peltola appeared to reference the controversy in her speech late Tuesday, saying she was looking out on a room of people who are “smart people and know exactly who they’re voting for.”

The Justice Department last week confirmed the existence of a criminal investigation, but Alaska U.S. Attorney Michael Heyman would not say what potential crimes authorities were looking into or the targets of their probe. Donors to Dan J. Sullivan’s campaign have said that FBI agents have asked if they felt deceived by the lesser-known Sullivan.

The ballot distinguished the two as Dan S. Sullivan, Republican and incumbent, and Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., with no party affiliation.

The senator, speaking to reporters after voting in Anchorage earlier Tuesday, called the controversy “the biggest election cheating scandal in the history of the state of Alaska" and called into question Peltola's denials.

“The whole scheme treats all of us Alaskans with disrespect,” he said.

Alaska accepts ballots that are postmarked by Election Day for up to 15 days after the election from overseas voters. That makes Nov. 18 the deadline for final receipt of ballots and when tabulations under the state’s ranked choice voting system will be done. Under Alaska’s system, rankings come into play if no candidate earns more than 50% of the first-choice votes.

Peltola held a significant lead over the incumbent early in the count, but the race tightened considerably, with Sullivan eventually overtaking the Democrat. Both candidates were below the 50%-plus one threshold of first-choice votes required to win outright. More returns are required to determine whether either candidate will exceed 50% or whether ranked choice tabulations will be triggered.

Peltola was at times giddy during her election night speech, even taking a selfie with the crowd. But she said that while they were all ready to celebrate, “the results are not going to be fast.”

“It’s going to take a long time to make sure we’re counting every vote from every far-flung hinterland community, from every tiny outpost, from all of our service members serving overseas, our young people going to colleges,” she said.

Sullivan also told his supporters it would take time to get final results. But he said he was confident that when all votes were counted, he'd win reelection.

Marilyn Moses, who says that she has known Alaska Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola for all of Peltola's life, becomes emotional during an election night event for Peltola Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, in Anchorage, Alaska. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Alaska Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola speaks at an election night event Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, in Anchorage, Alaska. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Lainey Diaz., 3, waits for mom Justise Diaz to finish voting at Midtown Mall on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, in Anchorage, Alaska. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

From left, Wren Peterson, Travis Peterson, and Tristen Peterson vote at the Hope Retreat Center on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, in Hope, Alaska. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, gets a sticker after voting at the Alaska Zoo on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, in Anchorage, Alaska. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Mary Peltola, center, a Democrat running for Alaska's U.S. Senate seat, speaks with voters during a Get Out the Vote Rally in Fairbanks, Alaska, on Monday, Nov. 2, 2026. (Jack Barnwell/Fairbanks Daily News-Miner via AP)

Competing yard signs for Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola and Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, are seen Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026, in Anchorage, Alaska. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Whit sits on the shoulders of father Hayden Anderson-Michaud as he casts his ballot at a polling location open for early voting at the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026, in Wasilla, Alaska. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola speaks to supporters during a campaign rally at the Alaska Aviation Museum, Friday, Oct. 30, 2026, in Anchorage, Alaska. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, speaks during a rally at Ginger's Restaurant, Monday, Nov. 2, 2026, in Soldotna, Alaska. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)