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Tea Party groups are making a late push to oust Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio).

With about two hours to go before the 12:45 p.m. vote on Tuesday, FreedomWorks said that its members had made over 11,000 phone calls to congressional offices urging members to vote against Boehner and sent more than 18,700 messages online in the last 72 hours.

Another group, Tea Party Patriots, said on Twitter that it had facilitated close to 4,000 calls to members and urged its followers to make more.

FreedomWorks was also aggressively pushing the campaign against Boehner on social media as the vote got closer.

Other groups on the right were mostly quiet in advance of the vote. Heritage Action the organizing arm of the Heritage Foundation had only one tweet on the vote. They noted that it would occur at 12:45 p.m., for those following today.

Conservatives are hoping to marshal the votes needed to cost Boehner the speakership. They argue House Republicans need a leader who will push back harder than Boehner has against the Obama administration.

The right has been particularly rankled by Boehners recent decision not to take more aggressive action to block the implementation of Obamas executive order on immigration. Instead, House Republicans passed a symbolic bill that said that Obama did not have the authority to bypass Congress.

Three congressmen Reps. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), Ted Yoho (R-Fla.) and Daniel Webster (R-Fla.) are running against Boehner, who was chosen by the conference for another term late last year.

Fifteen members have committed to opposing Boehner. But the absence of several members for the funeral of former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo may make it harder for Boehner's opponents to whip all of the necessary votes against him.

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Tea Party groups make last-minute push to oust Boehner

U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer in a Washington, DC coffee shop during new member orientation on November 14, 2014. Brett Neely/MPR News

It wasnt too long ago that Tom Emmer was considered a darling of the tea party movement.

But on his first day representing Minnesotas 6th Congressional District, Emmer has angered the base that supported his campaign byvoting to re-electOhio Rep. John Boehner asU.S. House Speaker.

Boehner faced opposition from some of the most conservative members of his caucus who believe he has too often supported excessive government spending and regulation.

Minnesotans from Congressional District 6 put a man in office with the expectation that he would fight for smaller government and more liberty, said apress releasefrom the Minnesota Tea Party Alliance. However, in his first real test vote as a conservative, Tom Emmer voted wrong and against the wishes of his conservative base by voting for John Boehner as Speaker.

Last summer, the Tea Party Alliance hosted a meet-and-greet for Emmer. And the former GOP gubernatorial candidate was endorsed by theTea Party Expressduring his bid for Congress.

UPDATE: In a press release, Emmer said he was not approached by other candidates for Speaker.

Two months ago, the Republican Conference met and nominated potential candidates for the 114th Congress. No opposition to the current Speaker came forward, nor were any alternatives offered. While several members threw their hats in the ring over the past 72 hours, I was never approached or contacted by any new contender asking for my support or sharing their plan and why they believed they should receive my vote.There will be times I will vote with leadership and times I will vote against leadership, but at all times, I will be pushing for what is best for the people of the 6th District.

Catharine Richert covers politics for MPR News, and writes PoliGraph, a fact-checking feature that gets behind the spin in Minnesota politics. She has also contributed to MPRs coverage of the federal health care overhaul. Catharine joined the MPR newsroom in 2011 after finishing a masters degree at the U of Ms Humphrey School of Public Affairs. Previously, Catharine worked for PolitiFact.com and Congressional Quarterly. She lives in St. Paul with her husband and son.

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MN Tea Party Alliance targets Emmer for Boehner vote

WASHINGTON (CNN) -

This isn't how House Speaker John Boehner wanted to start 2015.

He's presiding over a historic majority in the House while the Senate is controlled by Republicans for the first time in nearly a decade. But the Ohio Republican is still wrestling with a familiar problem that could threaten his agenda over the next two years: conservative unrest.

That dynamic will be on display Tuesday when a small -- but vocal -- group of Republicans plan to vote against giving Boehner a third term as Speaker.

"I think a lot of Republicans are looking for a new direction," Oklahoma GOP Rep. Jim Bridenstine, one of those saying he'll back another candidate, told CNN.

This group, which includes about a dozen lawmakers, is almost certain to fail. But even if they don't block Boehner from another term wielding the Speaker's gavel, their opposition is a fresh reminder of Boehner's struggles to control his rank-and-file just as he and incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell try to prove that Republicans can govern heading into 2016.

And the drama is all playing out amid turmoil in the leadership ranks after revelations that House Majority Whip Steve Scalise once spoke to a white supremacist group, unfortunate news for a party that is trying to expand its reach to minorities ahead of the next presidential election.

Although he already got the nod to keep his post by the House Republican conference after the midterms in November, Boehner doesn't officially get the gavel again until a majority of members vote for him on the House floor on Tuesday. If 29 GOP members vote for someone else, they can force a potentially embarrassing second ballot -- with the scene playing out on live C-SPAN cameras.

The opposition movement isn't entirely unexpected. Two years ago, Boehner faced a similar, poorly organized effort when a dozen House Republicans backed other candidates or declined to vote for him.

Some Boehner opponents say their position isn't personal. They just don't like the way he ran the House.

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Tea party reps say they will run for Speaker of House

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) has the chance to be a top-tier candidate in 2016 but hell have to tame the Tea Party to do it.

Even before he announced over the weekend that he was resigning from Fox News to explore a presidential run, Huckabee was already leading in some early Iowa polls.

But even though Huckabee could still appeal to the religious right, the smaller government and anti-tax chorus has only grown louder in the years since he last ran for president.

That group was skeptical of the former governors fiscal record in Arkansas and past support of Common Core education standards before, and he can expect even more pointed questions as he traverses the early primary states.

I would never underestimate Governor Huckabee. Hes proven to be a very savvy campaigner and effective communicator, and the last six years or so on Fox News has only elevated his stature, said Bob Vander Plaats, an Iowa conservative leader who backed Huckabee in 2008.

But well definitely be asking questions on limited government, parental rights and local controls as they relate to education. And quite frankly, 2016 is different than 2008 and 2012, Vander Plaats added.

Huckabee was the surprise of the 2008 GOP race, winning Iowa before falling just short in the Palmetto State, and then running out of money and steam. Since then, his long tenure at Fox has only improved his stature with many conservatives.

But with that increased exposure, Huckabee will face both heightened expectations and new scrutiny as he looks to adapt to a party base that is much more focused on taxes and spending than it was in his 2008 run.

Hell also need to assure Tea Party activists that his turn against Common Core, toxic with parts of the GOP base, is genuine.

Generally people are more focused on fiscal issues than they were, said South Carolina GOP strategist Joel Sawyer. It would be a mistake to write off anyone who has national name recognition who has done well in this state before ... but the electorate in South Carolina has shifted away from looking for who is going to be the most socially conservative.

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Can Huckabee tame the Tea Party?

Prescot couple, Ray and Barbara Mercer, recently served up a variety of tasty treats at an afternoon tea party in aid of Willowbrook Hospice.

The tea party, at St Pauls Church, Prescot, raised more than 200, adding to the thousands of pounds the couple have already donated over the years to Willowbrook.

Ray said: Willowbrook is an amazing place which does so much for the people who live in St Helens and Knowsley. We enjoy doing what we can to help raise funds for the hospice and weve organised a range of events over the years from jazz nights to tea parties all with the support of friends, family and our local church.

Willowbrook Hospice set up the Tea Party Appeal to find a fun way for people to help generate the 4 million needed to continue to offer services to patients.

Emily Naylor, community fundraiser for Willowbrook, said: Hosting a tea party is a fantastic way to help raise funds for the hospice. This year alone, our tea parties have raised just under 8,000.

We provide all of our services free of charge and we rely on the generosity of people like Ray and Barbara to enable us to continue to provide care to the people of St Helens and Knowsley.

To host your own tea party for Willowbrook, contact the hospice fundraising team on 01744 453798 or email EmilyN@willowbrookhospice.org.uk for your free fundraising pack.

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Couple offer cup of cheer