Republicans float Langworthy as a viable ‘unity candidate’ for Speaker

Rep. Nicholas Langworthy is being widely floated as a viable ‘unity candidate’ for the Speakership of the House of Representatives. At age 42 years old, Langworthy would become the youngest Speaker of the House since James G. Blaine was elected in 1836 at the age of 38.

Langworthy has strong conservative credentials, coupled with a track record of supporting members of the moderate wing the party, and a history of working within the establishment power structure of the Republican Party. He worked as staffer for former Rep. Tom Reynolds, who was the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman at the time.

The freshman congressman from New York was elected to a solidly conservative district in Western New York, and formerly served as Chairman of the New York State Republican Party since 2019. Former President Donald Trump was instrumental in orchestrating his election as Chairman. As Chairman of the Erie County Republican Party since 2010, Langworthy was actively trying to recruit Trump to run for Governor of New York in 2013.

Despite Langworthy being associated with conservative figures like the former New York gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino, Langworthy has a history of supporting moderate members of the party. When he served as State Chairman, Langworthy was instrumental in ensuring that moderates like then-Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro (who now serves in the Congress), investor Harry Wilson, and attorney Chele Farly secured the party’s nomination for governor, comptroller, and attorney general.

“Nick Langworthy has strong relationships in the conservative and moderate wings of the party, and is seen by all as a strong communicator with keen political instincts,” a Western New York political operative tells The Inquirer. “Being a ‘New York Republican’ also makes it more difficult for Democrats to brand him as a more extreme or ideologically motivated candidate. He is a pragmatist, and it will be hard for the media to ignore that.”

Rep. Nick Langworthy is seen as being the ‘Dean’ of New York’s Republican congressional delegation, despite being recently elected to his first term. Republican members of Congress from New York have short tenures, and Langworthy has served as the Party’s State Chairman from 2019 to 2023. Rep. Elise Stefanik, who was elected in 2014, is the longest tenured member of the delegation.

Langworthy was born in Jamestown, New York. He attended the Pine Valley Central School in his hometown of South Dayton and graduated in 1999. After graduation, he attended Niagara University, where he established the university’s branch of the College Republicans. He graduated from Niagara with a bachelor’s degree in political science and chaired the New York College Republicans.

After interning at Governor George Pataki’s office and running a congressional campaign for Brett Sommer in 2000, Langworthy became a staffer for Congressman Thomas M. Reynolds. He managed Reynolds’s successful reelection campaigns in 2004 and 2006. While working for Reynolds, Langworthy met his future wife, Erin Baker, who also worked on Reynolds’s staff. Langworthy later managed the successful 2008 campaign of Representative Chris Lee and served as Lee’s district office director until May 2010.

Langworthy is the founder and president of a polling firm, Liberty Opinion Research.