WASHINGTON – House Republicans will try again Tuesday morning to set aside their divisions, pick a new speaker and end three weeks of paralysis in Congress.

That will require near-unanimity, something their first two picks couldn’t achieve.

The eight contenders now vying for the nomination, including Waco Rep. Pete Sessions, all pitch themselves as unifiers, though so did Kevin McCarthy and he lasted only nine months in the job.

What these eight have going for them that the others did not is an increasingly urgent backlog of crises the House cannot address without a speaker and the growing weight of embarrassment as the turmoil persists.

“If we have to go back to the drawing board after tomorrow, it’s just going to be really defeating,” said Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Sherman. “We have to get through this.”

What he’s hearing from constituents, and “these are Republicans mind you: Get your act together, and some more vernacular and flowery language. I tell them, I agree,” Fallon said.

Nine candidates spent the weekend pitching themselves to colleagues as the one who can unite at least 217 of the 221 Republicans and fill the job that’s been vacant since Oct. 3. One dropped out Monday night ahead of a candidate forum.

Sessions hasn’t managed to unify the formidable Texas delegation. Most of the 25 Republicans – the most from any state – didn’t endorse anyone.

The three Texans who have endorsed picked someone else. Four, counting Rep. Troy Nehls of Richmond, who says he’ll vote on the House floor for Donald Trump, the former president.

Austin Rep. Chip Roy and Amarillo Rep. Ronny Jackson endorsed Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida, a fellow member of the hard-right Freedom Caucus.

Donalds, who would be the first Black speaker, is only in his second term. Sessions, in his 13th term, is the longest-serving contender.

They’re up against several members of leadership and rising stars of the hard right, though none are household names outside their own districts.

The front-runner appeared to be Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer. He’s the whip, the No. 3 leader behind the speaker and majority leader.

Emmer is also one of only two contenders who voted to certify President Joe Biden’s election. That won’t help with the hard right.

“Everybody’s ready to get a new speaker,” said Rep. Jake Ellzey, R-Midlothan. “The American people are demanding it.”

Time is running low to hammer out a new spending deal by Nov. 17 and avert a government shutdown. That’s the expiration date on a 45-day stopgap deal McCarthy struck with the White House and Senate, just before he got pushed out by eight rebellious conservatives.

“If we’re going to make progress everyone along that political spectrum is going to have to give and sacrifice,” said House Budget Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Lubbock, who’d considered running for speaker but opted not to.

Republicans concede their dysfunction doesn’t look good.

“Americans want strong and steady leadership, not this never-ending MAGA circus,” said Democratic National Committee spokesperson Sarafina Chitika. “Enough with the GOP clown show.”

What now?

On Tuesday morning, the GOP conference meets behind closed doors and starts voting.

After the first ballot, the candidate with the fewest votes gets dropped. Then another after the second ballot, and so on.

It could take hours before they settle on a nominee for speaker – the third since McCarthy’s ouster.

The first two, both broadly but not universally popular among fellow Republicans, couldn’t come close to hitting 217: Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana and Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio.

Scalise got the nomination first but dropped out when Jordan backers refused to fall in line. Jordan then got the nod. On the third and final try on the House floor, 25 defectors blocked his ascent.

Bitterness lingers. But frustration at the prolonged stalemate has also taken hold.

“If everybody will come together and get over all that, then I think we’ll be okay,” said Rep. Randy Weber, R-Friendswood. “We’re running out of time. Americans are losing their trust in the Republican Party. They don’t like the fact that it’s taking so long.”

Democrats have remained unified behind Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York.

He’ll get 212 votes barring any absences – enough to block the election of any Republican who can’t get just about everyone from his side of the aisle on board.

The contenders

• Sessions, who led the party to a landslide win in the 2010 midterm elections as chair of the National Republicans Congressional Committee.
• Emmer, another former NRCC chairman with chits to collect from colleagues he helped get elected.
• Rep. Gary Palmer of Alabama, two slots below Emmer as chair of the House Republican Policy Committee.
• Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana, a more junior member of leadership as vice chair of the House Republican Conference, and Fallon’s top choice.
• Oklahoma Rep. Kevin Hern, chair of the conservative Republican Study Committee bloc.
• Donalds, a member of the even more conservative Freedom Caucus.
• Rep. Austin Scott of Georgia, the other contender who voted to certify Biden’s victory.
• Rep. Jack Bergman of Michigan, a retired Marine general.