House Freedom Caucus founder Jim Jordan may not be ready to announce a bid to be the next speaker, but several grass-roots conservative groups have begun campaigning on his behalf.

The Ohio Republican has said he would consider running for speaker when there’s a race. Speaker Paul D. Ryan is planning to serve through the remainder of his term and then retire. And a Republican speaker’s race won’t happen if the party doesn’t hold on to their House majority in the midterms.

A Jordan speaker candidacy would be a foil to House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who has support from Ryan and the current GOP leadership team.

For many of the groups backing Jordan, blocking McCarthy’s ascension is part of the goal. They’d also like to see Jordan hold the speaker’s gavel but acknowledged that it will be an uphill battle for him to get the 218 votes needed to be elected speaker on the House floor.

“We are not under any illusions that this is easy,” said Noah Wall, vice president of advocacy for FreedomWorks. “This is a long process. And I think the path to victory is making this a campaign issue.”