Kevin McCarthy could face a floor fight for speaker. That hasn’t happened in a century. - NBC News

Republican person Kevin McCarthy is struggling to unafraid the 218 votes helium needs to beryllium elected talker of the House successful January.

Because voters this period handed the GOP a wafer-thin majority, conscionable a tiny bloc of blimpish rebels could contradict the California Republican the speaker’s gavel astatine the commencement of the caller Congress. Already, respective McCarthy foes person declared they volition not ballot for him nether immoderate circumstance.

“He doesn’t person the votes,” said Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., a person of the blimpish Freedom Caucus. “Some of the stages of grief see denial, truthful determination volition beryllium immoderate denial and past there’ll beryllium the signifier of bargaining wherever radical are trying to fig retired … volition determination beryllium immoderate benignant of statement campaigner that emerges.”

It’s enactment McCarthy successful a precarious position: He’s won his party’s information for speaker portion warring for his governmental life.

In this crippled of chicken, if the conservatives don’t blink and McCarthy refuses to backmost down, it could effect successful a chaotic level combat with House members taking aggregate votes for talker — thing that has not happened successful a century.

Here are different examples passim past wherever the speaker's gavel didn't travel easy.

1855-56: The longest talker predetermination ever

Dec. 3, 1855, started similar immoderate different opening time of a caller Congress. The House was called to bid astatine noon and the enclosure moved to the archetypal bid of business: electing the speaker.

But determination was nary favourite for the job. Twenty-one candidates received votes for talker connected the archetypal ballot, with nary getting the bulk needed. “There was nary choice,” the Congressional Globe printed that day. The House held 3 much unsuccessful votes for talker that time earlier adjourning conscionable aft 2 p.m.

In the weeks that followed, the House was successful gridlock arsenic nary campaigner could clinch the votes needed. It wasn’t until the 133rd ballot that Rep. Nathaniel Banks of Massachusetts was elected talker of the House, defeating Rep. William Aiken of South Carolina by a vote of 103 to 100.

The day was Feb. 2, 1856, 2 months aft the archetypal talker vote.

The House concluded concern that time by unanimously adopting a resolution thanking the clerk for presiding “during the arduous and protracted contention for Speaker.”

1923: The past clip the talker ballot went aggregate ballots 

When the House gathered connected Dec. 4, 1923, Frederick Gillett sought re-election arsenic speaker. The Republican from Massachusetts had served successful the relation since 1919 and his enactment had maintained power of the chamber.

But aft the archetypal ballot, Gillett did not person the votes needed. Three much votes were held and each clip capable Progressive Republicans supported different candidates, blocking Gillett from regaining the gavel.

“Mr. Clerk, it seems wholly evident that nary bully intent tin beryllium served by having different ballot tonight,” Republican person Nicholas Longworth said connected the floor earlier the enclosure adjourned that night.

At contented were regularisation changes that Progressive Republicans wanted. For 2 days, the radical refused to budge and connected a fewer ballots, the Democrats’ nominee adjacent led successful the tally.

Longworth yet struck a woody with the progressives and connected the ninth ballot, Gillett was re-elected arsenic speaker.

There person lone been 14 instances successful legislature past wherever it took much than 2 ballots for a nominee to get a majority. The archetypal 13 happened earlier the Civil War.

“The Civil War established this norm ... wherever the parties agreed to aerial their soiled laundry successful caucus but past to coalesce astir the enactment leader, whoever got a bulk successful caucus,” said Massachusetts Institute of Technology Prof. Charles Stewart, co-author of the publication “Fighting for the Speakership: The House and the Rise of Party Government."

2013: Conservatives crippled coup against Boehner

In 2013, the Tea Party question that had swept Ohio Republican John Boehner into the speaker’s bureau turned connected Boehner himself.

A set of 20 blimpish rebels — furious that Boehner had ousted immoderate of them from committees and chopped a fiscal woody that raised taxes connected the affluent — huddled successful a Capitol Hill flat the nighttime earlier the speaker’s ballot and plotted a coup against their ain leader, according to writer Tim Alberta's book, “American Carnage.”

Among those successful the country were Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., Raul Labrador, R-Idaho, and Tim Huelskamp, R-Kansas, Alberta writes. Republicans had won 234 seats successful the 2012 election; if 17 Republicans opposed Boehner, they argued, conservatives could forestall him from getting the 218 votes helium needed to stay speaker.

But immoderate suspected determination were Boehner spies successful the room, and the conservatives began pointing fingers astatine each other, according to Alberta. Labrador said they really needed to unafraid 30 dissenters due to the fact that Boehner would surely beryllium capable to flip immoderate of those nary votes, telling the group, "We request 30 to get to 17 due to the fact that fractional of the radical successful this country are going to cave tomorrow.”

Labrador was right. When their names were called connected the House level the adjacent day, immoderate progressive successful the crippled got acold feet and did not vote, voted contiguous oregon formed their ballot for Boehner. In the end, lone 12 Republicans refused to enactment Boehner. 

Two years later, Boehner suffered 25 GOP defections successful the talker ballot — the largest fig of defections successful 100 years — but helium would easy triumph the speaker’s gavel with 216 votes owed to a fig of members missing the vote; Democrats had attended the ceremonial of erstwhile New York Gov. Mario Cuomo and respective different lawmakers couldn’t get to Washington owed to atrocious weather.

In September 2015, Boehner announced his resignation, aft a blimpish rabble-rouser, Rep. Mark Meadows, filed a “motion to vacate the chair” that would person forced yet different level ballot connected the unpopular speaker.

2018: How Pelosi enactment down a rebellion

Typically, erstwhile a enactment retakes the majority, the number person volition person a wide way to the speakership. But successful 2018, aft 16 years successful power, Nancy Pelosi faced a rump rebellion from a caller procreation of Democrats who wanted her to measurement aside.

The week of Thanksgiving that year, 16 rebels successful Pelosi’s Democratic Caucus signed a letter announcing their absorption to her arsenic speaker. Other Democrats who did not motion contemplated challenging Pelosi for the job.

“As we caput toward the 116th Congress and reclaim our Democratic majority, we judge much powerfully than ever that the clip has travel for caller enactment successful our caucus,” wrote the 16 Democrats, including Reps. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, Kathleen Rice, D-N.Y., and Seth Moulton, D-Mass.

If her foes held the line, they would person capable votes to artifact her connected the House floor. But Pelosi, who calls herself a “master” legislator and ballot counter, was lone getting started.

The archetypal pistillate talker of the House began picking disconnected her opponents 1 by one. Pelosi huddled successful her bureau with 1 imaginable challenger, Rep. Marcia Fudge. The Ohio Democrat would aboriginal endorse Pelosi and beryllium named seat of a subcommittee overseeing elections. Pelosi besides won over Rep. Brian Higgins, D-N.Y., by vowing to prioritize his Medicare connection and enactment with him connected infrastructure.

And she secured enactment from a fistful of holdouts including Rep. Ryan, who challenged her successful 2016, by agreeing to a deal connected word limits for the party’s apical leaders.

In the end, 15 Democrats broke with Pelosi: a twelve voted for different radical and 3 voted present. But it wasn’t capable to artifact her from serving a 2nd clip arsenic talker of the House.

“Every 2 years, we stitchery successful this enclosure for a ineffable ritual,” she said upon accepting the gavel. “Under the dome of this temple of democracy, the Capitol of the United States, we renew the large American experiment.”