Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) trail Hillary Clinton by only 6 percentage points in 2016 hypothetical matchups in Iowa, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Monday.

Lankford leads Shannon 43 percent to 35 percent in the automated survey conducted by SoonerPoll for News9. State Sen. Randy Brogdon was taking 4 percent, which could deny a candidate an outright win; if neither candidate reaches 50 percent there will be a two-month runoff.

Mr. Scalise, 48, was not a shoo-in to succeed Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, who was elected majority leader. (Mr. McCarthy will replace Representative Eric Cantor, who is stepping down after losing his primary bid for re-election in his Virginia district.)

The most tart exchange came as Berwick, a former federal Medicare and Medicaid chief, pressed for a single-payer health care system in the state, in which the government would provide health insurance, rather than private firms. The push for what he often calls “Medicare for all” has been one of his banner issues.

The jury’s still out on whether Majority Leader Eric Cantor lost his primary Tuesday night because he was perceived by voters to be in support of rewriting the country’s immigration laws.

“All the focus, all the hope, in the conservative world now rests with convincing Jim Jordan to make a majority leader run,” according to a senior GOP aide.