BREAKING: Kevin McCarthy Abruptly Quits Speaker Race Click to Tweet

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 We are quickly learning details that have emerged out of Washington that favorite Kevin McCarthy has informed his Republican colleagues that he is dropping out of the election for Speaker of the House of Representatives.

In the hallway outside of the voting room, CNN’s Dana Bash caught a quick interview with New York Representative Peter King, who said, “People were absolutely stunned” at McCarthy’s revelation. Bash’s initial report from moments ago is here:

After John Boehner announced that he would be stepping down from the role, McCarthy was the heavy favorite to replace him. However, McCarthy has made headlines in regards to several gaffs 

Upstart challenger Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz is another candidate in the running, as is Florida Rep. Daniel Webster, though both men were seen as long-shots compared to McCarthy. Chaffetz recently argued that McCarthy shouldn’t get an “automatic promotion” to the position of Speaker.

Kansas Rep. Tim Huelskamp told Bash that McCarthy said to his Republican constituents “I am not the one”; Virginia Rep. David Brat said of the situation, “It was a shock to everybody in the room”. Brat attempted to draw the conversation onto policy before Bash brought it back to the issue of the vacated Speaker position…

Source: BREAKING: Kevin McCarthy Drops Out of Speaker Race | Mediaite