Third District Congressman Marlin Stutzman, R-Indiana, says he‘s confident the new House majority whip will address issues that pulled Stutzman into the whip race himself.
Stutzman was running for the position after House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., was elected House Majority Leader. McCarthy replaced Rep. Eric Cantor, who recently lost in a primary.
Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., won the vote on the first ballot in a three-way race, which Stutzman says surprised him. His own dark-horse bid hinged in part on making it to a second ballot. But after the vote the Indiana Congressman pledged to support Scalise in any way he can.
"He's always been a hard-worker," Stutzman says. "He's been a person who listens well and wants to find a solution to problems, so I think that he will do a great job."
Stutzman says his run for the job gave him a chance to meet more of his fellow congressmen and to talk about improvements in how the whip‘s office operates. He says members need more notice of bills where leadership wants members to fall in line.
"There's always different ideas in any caucus, Republican or Democrat, so I'm not concerned about that," Stutzman says. "We're going to get through the election with a strong position to win in November."
The congressman also indicates he would be interested in another try at a leadership post.