U.S. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Representative Jim Jordan on Wednesday entered the race for the next speaker of the House of Representatives after Kevin McCarthy's ouster.

The two lawmakers could be joined by several other candidates in what could be a lengthy and messy battle to fill the post in the House where Republicans hold a majority. Representative Patrick McHenry is temporarily serving as speaker following McCarthy's removal.

Republicans have set an October 11 vote to choose a successor and are due to meet the day before to hear from candidates.

The leadership fight is eating into the time lawmakers have to extend government spending before it expires on November 18 and update farm-subsidy and nutrition programs, among other tasks.

Who are they?

Scalise, 57, who has been getting treatment for cancer, has long been considered McCarthy's heir apparent and has been meeting privately with Republicans to build support for his bid. He is seen as more conservative than McCarthy.

"We all need to come together and pull in the same direction to get the country back on the right track," he wrote in a letter to Republicans.

Jordan, 59, a former college wrestler who has led investigations of the Biden administration, first gained prominence as a leader of the party's right wing before eventually forming an alliance with McCarthy. He is known for eschewing suit jackets and is a vocal supporter of former President Donald Trump.

As chair of the Judiciary Committee, he is involved in an impeachment investigation into Biden and has tangled with state prosecutors who have filed criminal cases against Trump.

"We can focus on the changes that improve the country and unite us in offering real solutions. But no matter what we do, we must do it together as a conference," he wrote to Republicans.

Nonetheless, both of them face potential challenges. Jordan is viewed by some moderates as being too far to the right, and by some hardliners as too close to McCarthy. Scalise is seen by McCarthy allies as having done nothing to help him during the leadership challenge and faces questions about his physical ability to do the job.

Besides, Representative Kevin Hern, who leads a policy group for conservative lawmakers, also said he was considering a bid. "I think we need to be pointing our guns outward, not at each other."

Worries about governance

McCarthy's ouster on Tuesday is the latest factor causing Wall Street to worry about U.S. political governance, following a near-miss with a partial federal government shutdown this weekend and a previous showdown earlier this year that took the U.S. government to the brink of default.

Those concerns, alongside worries about interest rates, have played a role in a sustained sell-off in government bonds.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Wednesday found that two-thirds of Americans believe Washington politicians cannot put aside their partisan differences to do their jobs.

U.S. President Joe Biden called on political leaders on Wednesday to change the "poisonous atmosphere" in Washington and work on a new spending plan before hastily-approved short-term measure expires in weeks.

Some Republicans said they needed to change the chamber's rules to make it more difficult to remove a speaker. McCarthy agreed to lower that threshold to allow any one member to challenge his leadership bid as a condition of winning support for the job in January.

"Whoever is going to get my vote for speaker is going to have to explain to me how what happened yesterday never happens again," said Republican Representative Kelly Armstrong.

(With input from Reuters)