The Majority Leader was passed over last time around for someone who wasn’t even in leadership. McCarthy self-sabotaged his previous run for Speaker with a gaffe implying the Benghazi hearings were a political stunt; many argue he is an ineffectual communicator. McCarthy is whipping votes behind the scenes to lock up the race, but that doesn’t make him a foregone conclusion. The conservative Freedom Caucus doesn’t view him favorably, and his dismal Liberty Score of 36 percent puts him on Conservative Review’s list of the Top 25 RINOs.