In the aftermath of the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, 10 House Republicans voted to impeach former President Donald Trump. Nearly a year since Trump’s acquittal in his Senate impeachment trial, these GOP lawmakers are staring at a range of political problems. Each has been increasingly ostracized within their own party, and at least three have declined reelection bids, while others face primary challengers.
Trump has gloated about the post-2022 retirements of the three and backed primary opponents for several of the others. But for those seeking reelection, their success or failure in primaries will be seen as an indication of Trump’s sway in his party.
GOP REP. JOHN KATKO, WHO VOTED TO IMPEACH TRUMP, WON’T SEEK REELECTION
Rep. Liz Cheney
Wyoming’s lone representative voted with Trump’s position an estimated 93% of the time while he was in office, but she became a vocal critic of his actions leading up to and during the Jan. 6 riot and his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Cheney in May was booted from her role as chairwoman of the Republican Conference, the party’s No. 3 leadership position due to her criticism of the former president.
Cheney was appointed to the select committee investigating the riot by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi after House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy pulled his own nominees. The panel’s chairman, Rep. Bennie Thompson, appointed Cheney vice chairwoman.
Cheney faces a Trump-backed primary challenger, Harriet Hageman.
Rep. Adam Kinzinger
Like Cheney, Kinzinger became an outspoken critic of Trump and became the only other Republican appointed to the Jan. 6 panel by Pelosi.
Kinzinger announced in October he would not seek reelection to Congress. The Illinois redistricting process, controlled by Democrats in the state Legislature, left Kinzinger’s district much friendlier to Democrats, making his prospects of reelection slim.
Rep. John Katko
Katko, of central New York, announced this month he would not seek reelection. His impeachment vote wasn’t the only aspect of his record that made him a target of the former president: Katko voted for the bipartisan infrastructure bill pushed by President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats, and he negotiated the formation of an independent Jan. 6 commission before the plan was later spiked by McCarthy. Katko also was among 11 House Republicans in February 2021 to vote to remove GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia from her committee assignments. The vote stemmed from incendiary and violent past statements from the first-term lawmaker.
Katko’s 24th Congressional District in the Syracuse area will likely undergo changes in the state’s redistricting process, leaving the seat likely to be won by a Democrat.
Rep. Anthony Gonzalez
Gonzalez announced in September that he would not seek reelection to the House, citing threats faced by his family since his impeachment vote as a factor in his decision in addition to his disillusionment with the Republican Party as a result of Trump’s actions.
In making his announcement, the Ohio lawmaker acknowledged to the New York Times that he would have faced a brutal primary from a Trump-backed challenger but said he believes he would have been successful had he chosen to run.
“I don’t believe he can ever be president again,” Gonzalez said in the New York Times interview about Trump. “Most of my political energy will be spent working on that exact goal.”
Rep. Fred Upton
Upton, a longtime Michigan lawmaker, has not yet announced his reelection plans. The state’s redistricting process left him in the same district as Rep. Bill Huizenga, setting the stage for a member vs. member primary. In a December tweet, Upton wrote that seeking “bipartisan consensus putting policy over politics” will help him win reelection should he decide to run.
He is leaning toward a reelection bid, according to the Detroit News.
Rep. Peter Meijer
Meijer, Upton’s Michigan colleague, cast his impeachment vote just days after being sworn in for his first term in Congress. The freshman lawmaker faces primary challengers in his reelection bid in the 3rd District, which has become friendlier to Democrats in the state’s redistricting process.
Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler
The six-term Washington state lawmaker faces several primary challengers, including the Trump-backed Joe Kent. In the days following the riot, Herrera Beutler also confirmed details of a phone call between House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Trump on the day of the attack, in which she said the president chastised McCarthy for not being as “upset” about the election results as the rioters.
Rep. Dan Newhouse
Newhouse, also of Washington state, has several primary opponents although Trump has not to date made an endorsement in that race.
Rep. David Valadao
The California Republican will run for reelection in the newly drawn 22nd District, which leans Democratic, but Valadao has a record of outperforming partisan margins. But the challenge to win the district will likely become more difficult if he loses Republican support over the vote and must first win a primary with multiple challengers.
Rep. Tom Rice
Rice’s impeachment vote was seen as the biggest surprise of the 10, and CNN reported that some of his colleagues thought his vote was an accident.
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Rice later told Politico he regretted voting against Biden’s victory, becoming the first Republican to state such regret publicly.
Rice is running for reelection, and he has at least 10 primary challengers: Three others have filed to run but appear to have ended their bids.
