Anti-online gambling politician running for Republican speaker position

Mention the name of Utah conservative Republican politician Jason Chaffetz (48) in online gambling circles and the immediate association is with Sheldon Adelson’s Restoration of America’s Wire Act, an online gambling banning bill that Chaffetz is trying to drive through the House of Representatives (see previous reports).

The Washington Post reports that Chaffetz has declared himself a candidate for the influential position of Speaker of the House when present incumbent John Boehner vacates the post at the end of October following his shock resignation last week.

Perhaps luckily for online gambling progress in the United States, Chaffetz has some competition for the position.

The United States House of Representatives has scheduled the election for Speaker of the House for October 29, 2015. This key position follows the Vice President in line of succession to the presidency of the United States in accordance with the Presidential Succession Act.

House Majority Leader and second-in-command to the Speaker, Kevin McCarthy, was initially viewed as the favourite for the post, but following opposition from the Freedom Caucus, McCarthy dropped out of the race on October 8.

That leaves Chaffetz and Daniel Webster of the Republican Party and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi of the Democratic Party as declared candidates, although there has been media speculation that the Republican representative from Oklahoma, JC Watts, may be interested, and some Republicans have suggested bringing in outsiders, such as former Speaker Newt Gingrich and Gen. Colin Powell, the secretary of state during the George W. Bush administration.

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