By Susan Cornwell
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives will hold leadership elections on Oct. 8, House Speaker John Boehner said on Wednesday, moving speedily to get a new team in place to deal with a series of fiscal challenges ahead.
With Boehner planning to leave Congress at the end of next month, many Republicans have indicated they would like a quick end to the uncertainty about who will lead them. But neither the right wing nor moderates in the divided caucus appeared satisfied with leadership candidates that have emerged so far.
Boehner himself met privately Tuesday with South Carolina Republican Trey Gowdy in an unsuccessful attempt to convince him to run for House majority leader, even though there are already two declared candidates for that job, Republican sources said.
Gowdy, a former prosecutor, declined. Propelled into the national spotlight recently by his aggressive direction of a House panel investigating the 2012 attacks that killed four Americans in Benghazi, Libya, he has been saying since last week that he is not interested in a leadership post.
"Please ... If I wanted to be a manager of a mental health hospital I would have gone into another line of work," Gowdy said last Friday, the day Boehner announced he would be stepping down effective Oct. 30.
Boehner decided to leave after struggling with repeated rebellions by conservatives during a tumultuous five-year reign as the chamber's top Republican.
"Trust me, so will the next person," Gowdy said of Boehner's struggle with conservatives. "It's a hard job."
House Republicans are expected to choose Representative Kevin McCarthy, 50, the current majority leader, as their speaker candidate Oct. 8. Later in October, the full House is expected to vote on the new speaker.
McCarthy's only competition so far is Republican Representative Daniel Webster, a conservative who got 12 votes for speaker earlier this year in a rebellion against Boehner.
McCarthy riled Democrats when he said flatly Tuesday that the Benghazi probe had helped drive down Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's polling numbers. Clinton was Secretary of State during the Benghazi attacks.
"This stunning concession from Rep. McCarthy reveals the truth" that the Benghazi panel was aimed at damaging Clinton's campaign, said Democratic Representative Elijah Cummings.
The declared candidates for majority leader are Representative Steve Scalise, currently Republican whip, and House Budget Committee Chairman Tom Price.
The new leadership team will direct Republican efforts in upcoming fiscal battles, from a possible budget deal to raising the debt ceiling.