‘NEXT MAN UP’: Freedom Caucus Adjusts to Members Leaving

The House Freedom Caucus—the conservative faction of the House which is always the loudest in demanding spending cuts and uncompromising Republican legislation—is set to lose almost half a dozen members seeking statewide office in their home states. Here’s how they’re adapting.

So far, three Freedom Caucus members are running for governor back home in 2026: Reps. Andy Biggs in Arizona, Byron Donalds in Florida, and Ralph Norman in South Carolina. Also, Rep. Chip Roy of Texas is running for state attorney general, and Rep. Barry Moore, R-Ala., recently launched a run for elevation to the Senate.

But multiple Freedom Caucus members argued to The Daily Signal that this changing of the guard will not slow down the caucus’ mission in Congress after ten years of policy fights in their push for more fiscally and socially conservative legislation.

“Look, obviously, the faces will change, but I believe that we’re going to recruit even more members now that they see that—and I say it tongue-in-cheek—that obviously, to be the governor of Florida you have to have been in the House Freedom Caucus,” the caucus’ chairman Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., told The Daily Signal Thursday. 

Donalds is running to succeed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a founding member of the caucus.

Harris added that Freedom Caucus members leaving for their home states will “enhance recruitment into the caucus and it will show that if you stand up for principals here in Washington, you actually get rewarded with higher political office.”

But caucus members also have acknowledged that the loss of a half dozen members will be felt and that others will have to step up to the plate.

“You know the phrase, the next man up, the next woman up? We’re going to have to step up. I don’t know who that is,” said Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, Thursday. “We’ve got some freshmen, you heard it already, who are really great conservatives. They’re going to have to find their voice.”

Self brought up the example of Chip Roy, one of the caucus’ most prominent fighters, who has spent years the Texas political scene, and has brought a wealth of experience to the caucus as a former employee of Texas attorney general Ken Paxton, as well as Lonestar State Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz.

Roy was among the most vocal members in demanding that the “big, beautiful” budget reconciliation bill include substantial spending cuts, Medicaid reform, and phase-outs of green energy subsidies.

“How do you replace Chip Roy, his experience in the Senate as a chief of staff, now as a member of the House? How do you replace that? A lawyer, a constitutional lawyer. How do you replace that?” Self asked in a rhetorical tone.

He added, “We’re going to have to find a way to replace the policy guy that also has the depth of knowledge of Chip Roy. You’re just going to have to do it. I don’t know the answer to it, but it’s the next man up, the next woman up.”

Rep. Mark Harris, R-N.C., a freshman in the freedom caucus, acknowledging that “we’re going to miss those guys,” told The Daily Signal that new members will have to step up.

“I am thankful that there are folks that have come in that have joined, new members,” said Mark Harris, adding:

“Nick Begich is from Alaska, he is a solid individual. Sheri Biggs has come in from South Carolina and is part of the Freedom Caucus. Brandon Gill, from Texas, had a tough primary as well that he got through in ‘24 and got elected. He joined the Freedom Caucus along with myself and others.”

In particular, the North Carolina representative mentioned his bittersweet feelings over the departure of Norman for the South Carolina governor race.

He mentioned how “conservative leaders” in North Carolina had told him when he was elected that “when you get there [to Congress], you need to connect with Ralph Norman and that Ralph would probably make a great mentor for you.”

“Ralph and his wife Elaine have become great friends as well, and we’re going to miss the leadership that they brought,” Mark Harris said.

But Norman is not sweating his departure.

“I will increase the number of Freedom Caucus members in South Carolina and around the country,” Norman said bluntly when asked if the departures of lawmakers would change the caucus’ work. “I’ll go anywhere to recruit people.”

For Norman, running for governor is part of the same mission he’s been on for nearly a decade in Congress.

“People will come [to South Carolina] because it’s a great state,” said Norman, adding:

“We need to keep [South Carolina] great. And we’re at the pivotal point, and my services are needed in South Carolina more so than in Congress. I’ve served in Congress for eight years. We’ve done a great job with conservatism, with bending the curve toward less government, less taxes, less regulations. In South Carolina, if we don’t have that, we’ll become like California … which is just a cesspool of drugs, crimes, and you name it.”

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