The latest news on the House's efforts to elect a speaker:
- House Republicans tonight held a closed-door candidate forum where candidates made their pitches to be the next speaker. The conference is scheduled to vote tomorrow morning on whom to nominate next.
- A nominee must secure 217 votes on the House floor to be elected. The threshold has proved to be difficult, with only 221 Republicans in the House and conservative and moderate factions divided over who should be the leader.
- Two Republican nominees have already quit. Steve Scalise of Louisiana was nominated first, but he withdrew after it became clear he couldn't get enough votes on the House floor. Then Jim Jordan of Ohio was nominated, but he couldn't get enough support in three floor votes. He dropped out after fellow Republicans voted to revoke his nomination Friday.
- The eight candidates currently running are: Tom Emmer of Minnesota, Mike Johnson of Louisiana, Jack Bergman of Michigan, Byron Donalds of Florida, Kevin Hern of Oklahoma, Gary Palmer of Alabama, Austin Scott of Georgia and Pete Sessions of Texas.
- Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania was also in the race but announced at the candidate forum that he was withdrawing.
- Democrats are backing Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.
- The fight was triggered Oct. 3 when a group of rebel Republicans led an effort to remove then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. In the intervening 20 days, Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., has served as interim speaker, but he has limited power.
Coverage on this live blog has ended. Follow the latest updates from NBC News here.
How tomorrow's vote for speaker will work
House Republicans will — yet again — huddle behind closed doors tomorrow morning to select their new speaker designate. Only this time, instead of two candidates facing off for a majority of their colleagues’ votes, there will be eight names to choose from, which means we’re most likely in for hours of waiting to see who the next candidate to try for 217 on the House floor will be.
The meeting will kick off at 9 a.m. ET, with Republicans voting by secret ballot. Whoever earns the fewest votes in Round 1 will automatically drop out as an official candidate for speaker. That means that when we hit Round 2, it’ll be seven candidates. By Round 3, at least six, and so on.
But here’s a very important thing to remember: Once someone earns a majority in the room, that’s it. He’s the speaker designate, even if other candidates are left in the running.
Once there's a nominee, that person will need to get 217 votes on the House floor to become speaker. That vote could happen later Tuesday, but that's unclear.
All candidates signed a unity pledge to back the nominee, Rep. Flood says
Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb., said all of the candidates signed his unity pledge, which is a promise to support whoever the conference nominates once there's a floor vote for speaker.
Members have been far more divided over whether they will sign the pledge, however.
Sessions: 'We're going to find out what people think'
Sessions didn't project as much confidence after the forum as some of his competitors. Asked whether he thought he had a path forward tomorrow, he said: "We’re going to find out what people think."
Asked how much support he thought he had, Sessions told reporters: "We didn’t take votes. But I think that there are opportunities for people to weigh and measure and do things, and I think that was done."
Donalds: 'I feel good'
Donalds said he thought the forum "went great," adding: "We have a lot of talent in our party. But I think it was a really good night tonight. And, you know, tomorrow we go count votes."
Asked how he's feeling about his chances, Donalds said: "I feel good, but you know, you know me — I'm always confident. I feel good. But it's up to the members. It's in their hands now."
None of the candidates has a majority of the party's support right now, Donalds acknowledged, and he said working toward one would be his focus for the "next 24 hours or so."
Hern is confident of winning the speaker nomination
Hern said he is certain his support is growing and believes he will win the speakership bid. "I didn't get in this to come in second or to lose," Hern said.
Bergman told reporters when he was asked a similar question about his path to victory: "Well, I have a path at least to get up in the morning and get here."
Johnson: 'It's going to be a tough decision for the conference'
Johnson predicted a long day of votes behind closed doors tomorrow, but he praised his fellow candidates for speaker, saying, "I think it's a healthy process, and I think everybody has a great attitude about it."
"I really am optimistic speaker by tomorrow night," he continued. "I think we've committed to it I think everybody did."
"I think everybody is singing off the same sheet of music. So it's going to be a tough decision for the conference, because we have great candidates, and it's an embarrassment of riches," he said.
Some GOP constituents are 'darned frustrated' with speaker delay
Some New York Republicans have suggested their constituents are losing patience with the delay over selecting a new speaker following the vacancy this month.
Rep. Nick LaLota, R-N.Y., said his constituents are "darn frustrated with this process," which has dragged on for weeks.
"They want us to get on with business already," he said.
LaLota said he intended to apply “the Jordan test” to candidates whose votes don't align with the sentiments of his district “to ensure that, to the extent that their voting records have been in conflict with our constituents, we’ll try to get reasonable and reliable promises and commitments to the contrary.”
Rep. Anthony D'Esposito, R-N.Y., said a visit to his home district also made it "clear that people want us to get back to work."
"This isn’t about just our conference. It’s not about the institution. It’s about the American people," D'Esposito said. "They want us to get back to work."
The candidates forum is over
Candidates for speaker are leaving the private forum. House Republicans are expected to hold a closed-door vote tomorrow morning to select one of them as the party's nominee.
Gaetz says all candidates promised to release Jan. 6 tapes to public
Emerging from tonight's forum, Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., said all of the candidates pledged they would release Jan. 6 tapes to the public if they are elected speaker.
"I asked which of the candidates would support the prompt, full release of the Jan. 6 papers to the public, and every single one of the candidates said they would do that," he told reporters.
The site of tonight's meeting has some relevant history
House Republicans are hosting their speaker candidates forum tonight in a building named for Nicholas Longworth, a man who knew a thing or two about speaker elections and party discipline.
In 1923, progressive Republicans refused to support their party’s nominee, Frederick Gillett. It took him nine ballots on the floor to win, and only after Majority Leader Longworth struck a deal with the holdouts.
Longworth was elected speaker during the next session in 1925. With a larger GOP majority, Longworth didn’t need the progressives, so GOP leaders punished members who didn’t support him as the speaker nominee, stripping them of committee assignments.
Plus: Any Republican who supported progressive Robert La Follette over Calvin Coolidge in the presidential race was kicked out of the GOP caucus.
Longworth made it clear that disloyalty to party leadership would be punished. And that standard held for decades.
