Kevin McCarthy loses vote to become Speaker three times in historic defeat

Kevin McCarthy has lost the vote to become Speaker in the US House of Representatives three times in an historic defeat.

According to the BBC, the Republican was the leading candidate to take over the role from Nancy Pelosi.

Despite being a frontrunner, he failed to win over a small group of politicians from within his own party.

CBS reports Republican Representative Bob Good says the group won't back down from their opposition to McCarthy.

“The sooner McCarthy pulls out, the better it is for the country," Good said.

He said they don't believe McCarthy is the 'reluctant warrior' they're looking for to be Speaker.

This is the first time in 100 years that a Speaker has not been picked following the first round of voting.

After the second round of voting, McCarthy insisted the Republican party was unified.

He said: "This isn't about me. This is about the conference now because the members who are holding out … they want something for their personal selves."

However, it was back to a stalemate after no clear winner was declared.

Democrat Hakeem Jeffries received 212 votes in the third round of voting, while McCarthy received 202 and Jim Jordan earned 20.

Jordan copped an extra vote in the third round, compared to the second, meaning the opposition to McCarthy isn't over yet.

The vote to elect a Speaker in the US House of Representatives has a long way to go before it's a history breaking one.

While it's been a century since it took this long, the longest vote in US history was after the 1855-56 election.

The BBC reports the voting took two months and lasted a whopping 133 rounds of ballots.

Nathaniel Banks eventually became House Speaker in the 34th Congress, in what was the most contentious round of voting for the role.