San Joaquin Valley's GOP lawmakers are caught up in the swirls and eddies that result from Tuesday's election.

With House Republicans losing nearly two dozen seats, heads are starting to roll among party leadership. That, of course, creates openings. Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Visalia, on Wednesday was among those being bandied about as a potential candidate to run the House Republican Conference. It's a lower-level leadership slot, which sometimes is a launching pad for higher office.

"It is absolutely a possibility," Nunes said Wednesday afternoon.

But Nunes also faces other considerations, including the possibility of becoming a ranking Republican on a House subcommittee, part of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee. His colleague, Rep. George Radanovich, R-Mariposa, likewise looks like he will be moving up in seniority on the House Energy and Commerce Committee.