JACKSON -- While some votes remain to be counted, it is almost certain that the Democrats have lost their majority in the state House for the first time since the 1800s.

With that being the case, there is no way a Democrat can be elected speaker. No Republican House member would cross the partisan aisle to cast a vote and deny a member of his or her party this historic victory for the post of speaker.

Because of that, the likely scenario is that no Democrat will run. On the opening day of the session in early January, it is a real possibility no Democrat will be nominated for speaker. The real question is how many Republicans will be nominated.

A lot of Republican House members are vying for the speakership right now. Will the Republicans meet as a conference in the coming days and get  behind one candidate for speaker and all of the rest of the candidates drop out?

Or will multiple Republican  candidates be nominated on the opening day of the term?

Remember, in 2004, Billy McCoy was the only candidate nominated for the post. It was obvious he had more than enough votes to win so no one tried to challenge him. His election was unanimous. In 2008, Jeff Smith almost defeated McCoy by garnering all the Republican votes and picking off a handful of Democrats.