By R. Brownell
3. Barry Loudermilk
Loudermilk isn’t a libertarian by any means, but please bear with me and hear me out. He knows the language of the establishment but owes his allegiance to his conservative constituency. A leader in the Georgia Assembly, he reduced the size of government, stopped privacy invasion by halting provisions that would have required fingerprinting in order to receive a driver’s license, and fought traffic camera abuse. Loudermilk has been a principled conservative since entering the US House of Representatives in 2004, and has stuck to his small government ideals since. Loudermilk is an underdog in terms of the Speaker competition, but is by far a very underestimated man.
2. Jason Chaffetz
Jason Chaffetz is a Republican rock star, and was willing to risk his career when he endorsed Mitt Romney instead of former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman. A staunch fighter against Planned Parenthood and a leader on the House Oversight and Reform Committee, Chaffetz has a wide range of support from different caucuses. A smart man and charismatic figure, Chaffetz has a potential to bind a fractured GOP and turn it in a more conservative direction.
1. Trey Gowdy
Trey Gowdy is the Republican pitbull, with a understanding of the dark world of political insiders. Gowdy proved his salt taking on Hillary Clinton and the Benghazi investigation, something few people wanted to touch. This fiery South Carolina conservative has shown he isn’t interested in running for a fourth term, but maybe this potential opportunity could change his mind.