UPDATE: Casada wins GOP nomination for House speaker

Rep. Glen Casada (R-Franklin) speaks to fellow Republicans about his bid for House speaker on Nov. 20, 2018.. He was later nominated for the position by 47 of 73 members. (Erik Schelzig, Tennessee Journal)

UPDATE: Rep. Glen Casada (R-Franklin) has won the nomination for House speaker. He received 47 votes from the 73-member caucus.

Rep. William Lambert’s (R-Cottontown) was elected majority leader, Rep. Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) was won the caucus speakership, and Rep. Bill Dunn (R-Knoxville) was nominated speaker pro tem.

Congratulations @GlenCasada. I’m looking forward to working with you in the coming session.

— Bill Lee (@BillLeeTN) November 20, 2018

Congratulations to @GlenCasada on securing the @tnhousegop nomination for Speaker of the House. We will work together with Governor-elect @BillLeeTN to keep Tennessee the best state in the nation to live, work and raise a family. https://t.co/ry2C71bRJh

— Randy McNally (@ltgovmcnally) November 20, 2018

Earlier Tuesday:

After months of heavy campaigning, House Republicans are meeting Tuesday afternoon to elect their nominee to become the chamber’s next speaker.

The election will come as a relief to the 73 Republicans, who have been getting the hard sell from the candidates and their surrogates for months. The three candidates are House Majority Leader Glen Casada of Franklin, Speaker Pro Tem Curtis Johnson of Clarksville, and David Hawk of Greeneville.

The election will also bring an end to the whisper campaign and rumor-mongering about the purported (and heavily denied) promises the candidates have made in their efforts to be elected speaker. They include, in no particular order, a tag-team of brothers Timothy Hill and Mathew Hill as chairmen of the Finance and Budget Subcommittee; Jeremy Faison as deputy speaker, former Rep. Tilman Goins as clerk; the creation of a third education committee to generate another chairmanship, Dan Howell as chairman of government ops; and Jason Zachary as chairman of Insurance & Banking if he loses his bid for caucus chairman. And on and on.

Most — but certainly not all — of the rumors are about Casada’s efforts as he tries to secure the speakership that eluded him when he ran against Rep. Beth Harwell in 2010. His camp calls it a sign of desperation among his opponents and an effort to sow discord. Johnson’s camp equally denounces rumors about his alleged promises as, you guessed it, a sign of desperation from his rivals. Hawk told The Tennessean he sees himself in a “peacemaker” role.

Also up for a vote Tuesday:

House Republican Caucus Chairman Ryan Williams of Cookeville and Rep. William Lamberth of Cottontown have spent the fall trying to nail down votes for their efforts to move up to the majority leader position being vacated by Casada’s speaker bid. A late entrant into the race is Rep. Jerry Sexton of Bean Station, who is best known for sponsoring the vetoed bill to make the Bible the official book of Tennessee.

Rep. Bill Dunn of Knoxville, a former House minority leader and the longest-serving GOP member in the chamber, is up against Rep. Dennis Powers of Jacksboro for speaker pro tem. Reps. Cameron Sexton of Crossville and Jason Zachary of Knoxville are competing for the House Republican Caucus chairmanship.

And Reps. Rick Tillis of Lewisburg and Tim Rudd of Murfreesboro want to be Republican whip.