Paul Ryan officially enters House speaker race

On Thursday, Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin announced he is officially running for speaker of the House.

In a letter to colleagues, Ryan said: "I never thought I'd be speaker. But I pledged to you that if I could be a unifying figure, then I would serve — I would go all in. After talking with so many of you, and hearing your words of encouragement, I believe we are ready to move forward as one, united team. And I am ready and eager to be our speaker."

Ryan's decision to run comes two weeks after House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy dropped out of the race to replace outgoing Speaker John Boehner. On Tuesday, Ryan said he would run if certain conditions were met, including having a unified Republican caucus behind him. On Wednesday, 70 percent of the conservative House Freedom Caucus voted in favor of his candidacy, and on Thursday he received official backing from two other groups, the conservative Republican Study Committee and the "Tuesday group" of GOP House moderates, CNN reports.

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