 On October 8, 1985, he announced that he had changed his party affiliation from Conservative to Republican in an attempt to improve his chances of receiving the Deputy Minority Whip position.Tom Loeffler, the current Deputy Minority Whip, had announced that he would run for the Republican nomination in the 1986 Texas gubernatorial election.The Conservative Party leader in the 1st congressional district, Harold Haar, stated that he regretted Carney's decision, but that he understood why.