Kevin McCarthy hit TWO records, yesterday, correct?
First time in 100 years a Speaker candidate was rejected, in first round.
First time, EVER, a Speaker candidate lost THREE rounds.
No
There have been 14 instances of Speaker elections requiring multiple ballots (the records for the 2nd Congress, 1791–1793, are inconclusive, and the House has filled vacancies in the Speakership three times using a resolution). Thirteen of 14 multiple-ballot elections occurred before the Civil War, when party divisions were more nebulous. The last time a Speaker election required two or more votes on the floor happened in 1923.
Congress (Years) Name State Final Ballot
3rd Congress (1793–1795) MUHLENBERG, Frederick Augustus Conrad PA 3rd
6th Congress (1799–1801) SEDGWICK, Theodore MA 2nd
9th Congress (1805–1807) MACON, Nathaniel NC 3rd
11th Congress (1809–1811) VARNUM, Joseph Bradley MA 2nd
16th Congress (1819–1821) TAYLOR, John W.1 NY 22nd
17th Congress (1821–1823) BARBOUR, Philip Pendleton VA 12th
19th Congress (1825–1827) TAYLOR, John W. NY 2nd
23rd Congress (1833–1835) BELL, John TN 10th
26th Congress (1839–1841) HUNTER, Robert Mercer Taliaferro VA 11th
30th Congress (1847–1849) WINTHROP, Robert Charles MA 3rd
31st Congress (1849–1851) COBB, Howell GA 63rd
34th Congress (1855–1857) BANKS, Nathaniel Prentice MA 133rd
36th Congress (1859–1861) PENNINGTON, William NJ 44th
68th Congress (1923–1925) GILLETT, Frederick Huntington MA 9th
https://history.house.gov/People/Office/Speakers-Multiple-Ballots/