Kevin McCarthy did not get enough support in his first vote to become speaker of the House of Representatives on Jan. 3. But McCarthy did get the votes of local Republican representatives Elise Stefanik and Marc Molinaro. Stefanik even nominated McCarthy, a California Republican who was Minority Leader, but did not get enough votes to become Speaker of the House. Here is an excerpt of Stefanik's nomination speech: CLICK HERE TO PLAY SHORT EXCERPT OF NOMINATION SPEECH. The final vote had a Democrat in the lead, as Hakeem Jeffries got all 212 Democrat votes. Republicans split their votes between McCarthy, with 203 votes, followed by ultra-conservative Andy Biggs with ten votes, Jim Jordan from Ohio with six votes, Jim Banks from Indiana with one vote, New York's Lee Zeldin with one vote, and Byron Donalds of Florida with one vote. To become House Speaker, 218 votes are needed. Stefanik represents the 21st Congressional District which now includes Rensselaer County, and Molinaro just took office from the 19th Congressional District. Local Democrats Pat Ryan, from the 18th Congressional District, and Paul Tonko, of the 20th Congressional District, both voted for Jeffries. Now, the House of Representatives will continue to hold votes for the speaker position until someone gets the 218 vote majority. No other business will be done in the House of Representatives until a speaker is chosen. Since Republicans only have a four-vote majority, and lots of internal divisions, it could take many votes for a speaker to emerge. A second vote for Speaker of the House happened right after the first failed vote, but that also ended with McCarthy failing to get the 218 needed votes.