McCarthy told ABC News, after stepping off the House floor, that the current vote against him was "exactly what we thought it'd be."

McCarthy added that this vote could go on for days and that "we got a number of members who are trying to fight for their own personal items" instead of for the country.

When asked how he what he can do to persuade the large number of members who voted against him by voting for others, McCarthy said he needs to convince them that "they don't win gavels by trying to threaten or leverage somebody … I don't think that's what their constituents elected."

-ABC News' Will Steakin

After the first round of voting, no member obtained the 218 votes needed to become House speaker, but Democrat Hakeem Jeffries earned more votes than Kevin McCarthy -- on the first day of a new Republican-controlled House.

Jeffries received 212 votes to McCarthy's 203. Far-right Republican Andy Biggs of Arizona received 10 votes, and there were nine votes for others, including six for Rep. Jim Jordan, and, in a surprise move, Rep. Chip Roy of Texas voted for Florida's Byron Donalds.

Nineteen Republicans broke from McCarthy, who could only afford to lose four, marking a stunning defeat by 15 votes. Despite having a majority this Congress, McCarthy got fewer votes this time than the last time he ran for speaker against Nancy Pelosi.

For the first time since 1923 -- and the first time since floor proceedings have been televised -- the speaker's vote appears headed towards a second ballot.

While McCarthy has signaled he's up for more voting rounds, he faces a steep hurdle in a second vote with so many lawmakers to win over -- and the potential for Republicans to nominate another member, such as No. 2 Steve Scalise.

After standing to cast a voice vote for himself, Kevin McCarthy smiled as he got a round of applause from his GOP supporters – even as it appeared that he would lose the first ballot for speaker.

McCarthy faced enough defections from his conference – with some voting for Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona or Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio – to likely not prevail in the first tally.

But the quick standing ovation for McCarthy was both indicative of the support he still has in the House Republican Conference and the challenges of a slim Republican House majority.

The majority of House Republicans applauded when Rep. Elise Stefanik rose to nominate Kevin McCarthy -- but more than a dozen, most of them sitting by the center aisle in the second to last row of the chamber, sat on their hands. The applause for McCarthy was hardly thunderous.

And with every vote against McCarthy, the sounds of murmuring in the chamber grew, as it also grew more obvious that McCarthy will not have the votes on the first ballot to be elected speaker.

In contrast, Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., had a sustained standing ovation when he nominated Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-NY. Once the applause died down, Aguilar declared, “Today, House Democrats are united” -- prompting even louder and more sustained applause from Democrats -- while McCarthy sat silently and stone-faced on the other side of the aisle.

As McCarthy entered the rear of the chamber through the center door about 15 minutes earlier, he did so quietly and with little fanfare. Most people on the floor seemed not to notice. He walked all the way down to the area in front of the clerk before somebody went to talk to him, and it was a staffer for Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla.

-ABC News' Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl