WASHINGTON - Conservative Ohio congressman Jim Jordan - a longtime thorn in the side of Republican leaders on Capitol Hill - says he's open to a run for Speaker of the House following incumbent Paul Ryan's announcement that he won't run for re-election next year.

Conservative activists displeased with current GOP leaders have publicly urged the House Freedom Caucus co-founder from Champaign County to seek the job. Other potential candidates to succeed Ryan include House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy of California and GOP Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana.

"If and when there is a Speaker's race, colleagues have approached me about running and that's something I'm open to doing," said a statement Jordan released on Friday.

"What's important is not who the next Speaker is, but what the next Speaker does," Jordan's statement said. "It's time to start delivering on what we told the American people we would do. We have six more months to prove Republicans deserve to keep the majority."

Jordan has regularly received protest votes for House Speaker even when he hasn't run, but his chance of beating candidates who rose through the party hierarchy seems slim. Jordan has lost multiple bids to chair the House Government Oversight and Reform Committee, and the Freedom Caucus' refusal to back some of the party's legislation has convinced some Republicans Jordan isn't a team player.

Nonetheless, his entry into the race could siphon conservative votes from other candidates and be used as leverage to attain his group's goals.

"House Speaker Paul Ryan's announcement yesterday that he will not seek reelection offers congressional Republicans an opportunity to pull out of the political death-spiral that imperils their majority and invites the impeachment of President Trump," said a statement from Frank Gaffney, one of the conservative activists who has been urging Jordan to run.

.@Jim_Jordan on @SpeakerRyan not seeking re-election: "The most important thing to me is not who the Speaker is but what the Speaker does... And what we need to do is get refocused on what the American people sent us here to do." pic.twitter.com/0a1S6jKAxx — FOX Business (@FoxBusiness) April 13, 2018

Gaffney, who heads the Center for Security Policy, said that Republicans could use the leadership change to excite their base voters, or alienate them by imposing "another establishment politician, presumably drawn from the ranks of Ryan's lieutenants.

"If, instead, in the days ahead the House GOP embraces as its next leader an authentic conservative with passion, energy and, most importantly, Make America Great Again principles, they will give the base a reason to turn out - and prevail: Jim Jordan for Speaker," his statement concluded.

In an interview that will air on Sunday's "Meet the Press," Ryan told NBC's Chuck Todd that he favors McCarthy to succeed him.

"We have a great story to tell," Ryan told Todd, according to a transcript released by NBC." We have a great record to run on. We have made a huge positive difference in people's lives, and people are more confident as a result of it. More jobs are being offered. Bonuses are being handed out. And so we have made a difference in this country. This leadership team has done that, and so I really do envision a more seamless transition, versus say the time when I came in."