Not the guy on the left. Jonathan Ernst / Reuters Everyone thought it would be Kevin McCarthy. But the four-term congressman and second-ranking Republican in the House surprised everyone on Thursday by dropping out of the race to succeed John Boehner. The House Freedom Caucus, a group of the chamber’s conservative hard-liners, announced Wednesday it would support Representative Daniel Webster of Florida for speaker, casting doubt on whether McCarthy could get the 218 floor votes he would have needed to be elected later this month.