For John Katko and David Valadao, a potential upside to impeaching Trump

After Rep. David Valadao voted to impeach former President Donald Trump, livid grassroots Republicans in his California district cried foul. But the congressman just might have bolstered his reelection chances in a majority Democratic seat that backed President Biden in November.

Valadao, who won election last fall after having lost reelection two years earlier, took Republicans in the 21st Congressional District by surprise with his support for impeachment, with some party activists expressing buyer’s remorse. On the Facebook page for the Kings County Republican Party, one called him a coward. Another posted: “It is my opinion he was a coward just trying to get on Biden’s good side.”