On July 17, 2022, Oklahoma House Rep. Kevin Hern (R) addresses the House Small Business Committee in Washington.

Key Facts of Kevin Hern

• Hern received seven votes on the tenth ballot Thursday afternoon after receiving three in the ninth round, when Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) cast the first vote for him.
• Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) endorsed former President Donald Trump for two rounds before moving to Hern, but all of Hern’s votes were taken from Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), whom the 20 Republicans voting against McCarthy had previously supported.
• Hern, 61, has always voted for McCarthy and opposes his speakership.
• In her nomination speech, Boebert termed Hern a “Republican who can unify our conference” because he is not in the House Freedom Caucus, which anti-McCarthy voters are.
• After winning 61% of the vote in November, Hern will serve his third term in his deep-red Tulsa district.
• Hern is a little-known congressman with a conservative voting record, but Trump has backed his House attempts.
• Hern, a former aerospace engineer, owned dozens of McDonald’s franchises.
• 4.5%. According to FiveThirtyEight, Hern has voted with President Joe Biden on bills the 10th fewest times of any member of Congress, below Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) (R-Ohio).

Background of Kevin Hern

After nine ballots without a winner, Thursday’s House speaker vote was the longest since before the Civil War. Despite agreeing to some of his opponents’ demands, including enabling a “motion to vacate” that would allow the House to replace its speaker mid-term, McCarthy failed to win back a single vote. How long the voting will last and how close lawmakers are to a speaker compromise are unknown.

Kevin Hern Biography

Kevin learned early about the sacrifices military families make. He worked and paid for his engineering degree with an Architectural Drafting Certificate from a Career Technology school in high school. His MBA came later.

Kevin became a Rockwell International Aerospace Engineer after graduating. Kevin lost his job after the Challenger catastrophe. Writing computer systems to automate commercial, real estate, and hog farming operations let him save for his first McDonald’s Restaurant.

Kevin bought his first McDonald’s in North Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1997. He moved his family to Muskogee, Oklahoma, in 1999 after buying two McDonald’s restaurants. Over the next decade, he owned 24 McDonald’s stores in Northeastern Oklahoma, employing thousands.

Kevin has led McDonald’s, the world’s biggest grassroots enterprise, across every aisle. He chaired the Franchise Relations Team for 8 years and the Systems Economic Team for 5.

Kevin is a successful entrepreneur in banking, manufacturing, real estate development, various technological companies, sports publishing, and McDonald’s.

His considerable experience helps prospective entrepreneurs start firms to seek the American Dream.

Kevin Hern entered Congress on November 13, 2018. Kevin and Tammy have three children and two grandchildren in Tulsa. Battle Creek Church members.