3) Jeb Hensarling (Tex.)

Hensarling left his post as the fourth-ranking House Republican to lead the Financial Services Committee, but his name has come up often recently as a potential candidate for Speaker. A former chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee, Hensarling would likely garner support from the Texas delegation, the largest Republican state bloc in the House, which has not had a member in the top ranks of leadership since the departure of Tom Delay in 2006.

Since leaving the leadership after the 2012 election, Hensarling has re-established his conservative voting record by opposing the fiscal cliff bill and the legislation ending the government shutdown in October.

4) Tom Price (Ga.)

Another former RSC chairman who served in leadership in 2011-2012, Price was briefly the center of speculation about a challenge to Boehner last year after he lost his bid for conference chairman to Rep. Cathy McMorris-Rodgers (R-Wash.). He enjoys support from grassroots conservatives and signaled his intention to remain a force in the House GOP by passing on a bid for the open Senate seat in Georgia in 2014. The leadership gave Price a soft landing by naming him the vice chairman of the Budget Committee, and while he could be a factor in a leadership shakeup, he is seen as a more likely replacement for Ryan as budget chairman in 2015.