House GOP boots Kevin Hern on the fourth speakership ballot, Emmer still winning

Rep. Kevin Hern lost the fourth ballot of the GOP speakership race, as Majority Whip Tom Emmer inches closer to the majority threshold to become the conference's speaker nominee.

With Hern now eliminated, the conference will enter its fifth round of voting, with three candidates left: Emmer and Reps. Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Byron Donalds (R-Fla.).

Republican lawmakers told POLITICO that once a candidate has a majority, the conference will take a final internal vote that asks if members will support the nominee on the floor. They're hoping to avoid the messy floor fight that seemed to doom Rep. Jim Jordan's (R-Ohio) bid for the gavel.