...what BS, only if McCarthy votes for the Dem. Make him do that and tell the world who he is. A Rino who will vote against another Repub if it ain’t him.... ymmv
What are you talking about? McCarthy has one vote, in my scenario, it makes no difference who he votes for or if he doesn’t even vote.
The facts are: Pelosi (or Jeffries) have 214 solid votes. They need four more for one of them to be elected Speaker.
So, if even five Republicans vote for someone other than McCarthy on the first ballot, no Speaker will be elected.
An anti-McCarthy Republican (Biggs, let’s say) will need to get to 218. That means he has to change over 200 votes that McCarthy will have on the first ballot, while Pelosi only has to change four.