McClain beats Steube and Houchin for GOP conference chair

Rep. Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) won reelection to be the GOP conference chair as Republicans transition to the minority next year, where messaging will play a key role amid their efforts to counter the Democrats’ agenda.

McClain beat Reps. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) and Erin Houchin (R-Ind.) for the position. Ninety-three Republicans backed McClain, while 57 members supported Houchin and 27 members supported Steube, per a source familiar.

McClain had held the GOP conference chair position since 2025, where she’s been at the forefront of communicating President Trump’s agenda and key GOP legislation.

After Republicans suffered brutal losses in the midterms last week, some in the conference said they wanted a fresh new face to lead the party’s messaging effort.

But McClain managed to pull through. She had to touted endorsements from a dozen Republicans, including House Appropriations Committee Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) and House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.).

McClain said in her own “Dear Colleague” letter that the midterms elections were a “devastating setback” for the Republican conference.

“I will not minimize the magnitude of this defeat. While we’ve been knocked down, we are ready to get back in the fight,” she added. “We have an opportunity to chart a new course while building on the relationships, experience, and momentum we’ve experienced together.”

She argued that if she’s reelected, she would “take the fight to the Democrats, expose their radical agenda, and offer Americans an inspirational vision for the future under Republican leadership.”