(The Hill) – Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.) became the latest Republican who impeached former President Trump to lose her primary bid after she conceded on Tuesday night, one week after her primary in Washington State.
Herrera Beutler was one of 10 House Republicans to join all Democrats in voting to impeach Trump for “incitement of insurrection” related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Trump was ultimately acquitted in the Senate, becoming the first president to survive two impeachment trials.
Trump has since used his popularity to influence races across the country as he mulls a third bid for the White House in 2024, and he has taken a particular interest in removing Republicans who impeached him by endorsing and holding rallies for their challengers.
Here’s where the 10 House Republicans who impeached Trump stand.
Rep. Liz Cheney (Wyo.)
Cheney will face primary voters next week in her at-large district, but recent polling indicates she’s facing an uphill battle against the Trump-backed Harriet Hageman.
The Wyoming Republican, in particular, has drawn the ire of Trump and his allies not just for her impeachment vote but also for her role as vice chair on the House select committee investigating Jan. 6. Cheney’s caucus ousted her as conference chair last year.
She has been a vociferous critic of the former president and those in her party who support him, recently calling the GOP “very sick” and saying Republicans can either give their loyalties to Trump or the Constitution.
Trump in late May traveled to Wyoming to stump for Hageman. Hageman also has the support of Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), who became chair of the House Republican Conference after Cheney was ousted from the role, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), both of whom delivered video addresses at the rally.
Cheney and some Democratic lawmakers have encouraged Wyoming Democrats to switch parties for the primary election to boost Cheney’s chances. Two House Democrats, Rep. Dean Phillips (Minn.) and Rep. Tom Malinowski (N.J.), recently cut ads in support of the strategy.
Rep. Anthony Gonzalez (Ohio)
Gonzalez, a former NFL player who was first elected in 2018, announced in September 2021 that he would not seek a third term to the House, months after impeaching Trump.
Less than two months after the former president’s second impeachment, Trump endorsed his former aide, Max Miller, in his challenge to Gonzalez.
Gonzalez’s impeachment vote also set off a firestorm among Ohio Republicans, and the Ohio Republican Party’s central committee censured Gonzalez and called for his resignation in May 2021.
Days later, Gonzalez did not hold back and voted alongside 34 other Republicans to establish an independent Jan. 6 commission.
He also voted with a small number of House Republicans to hold Steve Bannon in contempt of Congress for his refusal to cooperate with the House Jan. 6 panel.
Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (Wash.)
Herrera Beutler is the latest pro-impeachment Republican to lose her primary.
She conceded on Tuesday evening after facing eight primary opponents, the first major primary challenge to her seat since she took office in 2011. Herrera Beutler’s state party previously rebuked her.
Trump endorsed her top opponent, Joe Kent, a former Green Beret, although The Associated Press has not yet called the race.
“Joe Kent just won an incredible race against all odds in Washington State,” Trump said in a statement on Tuesday. “Importantly, he knocked out yet another impeacher, Jaime Herrera Beutler, who so stupidly played right into the hands of the Democrats.”
Washington operates under a jungle primary system, meaning the two candidates with the most votes advance to the general election regardless of their party affiliation.
Kent is on track to face Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez in November in the district rated “Solid Republican” by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.
Rep. John Katko (N.Y.)
Katko, who represents Syracuse, N.Y., and other upper parts of the state, announced almost exactly one year after impeaching Trump that he would retire at the end of his term.
He has denied that Trump’s focus on ousting pro-impeachment Republicans factored into his decision to leave the House.
“I was quite certain, even with the redistricting that was done in New York state, that I had a path to victory,” Katko told The Washington Post in March. “And I had a very good path to victory.”
The New York Republican will also step down as chairman of the Republican Governance Group, a caucus of moderate House Republicans he has led since 2017.
Rep. Adam Kinzinger (Ill.)
Like Cheney, Kinzinger did not just impeach the former president but also now serves on the House panel investigating Jan. 6, further infuriating Trump and his allies.
He announced in Oct. 2021 he would retire at the end of the term, which also came after redistricting maps approved by Illinois lawmakers drew him into the same district as Rep. Darin LaHood (R-Ill.), who was endorsed by Trump just before the primary.
LaHood won his primary in June in what is seen as a reliably Republican district.
Rep. Peter Meijer (Mich.)
Meijer became the second pro-impeachment Republican defeated in their primary, losing last week by less than four percentage points to Trump-backed candidate John Gibbs.
Meijer and Kinzinger have condemned the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) for running an ad they say boosted Gibbs, who has supported Trump’s unfounded claims of election fraud in the 2020 presidential election.
“I would rather lose office with my character intact than stay reelected having made sacrifices of the soul,” Meijer told SiriusXM following his loss.
Rep. Dan Newhouse (Wash.)
Newhouse is so far one of only two pro-impeachment Republicans to survive a primary challenge.
He faced six challengers last week, including Loren Culp, a former police chief backed by Trump, and former NASCAR driver Jerrod Sessler, who was in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6.
Newhouse’s victory comes after the Washington State Republican Party chastised him for his impeachment vote, calling on him to resign.
In November, he will face Democrat Doug White, although the district is rated as “Solid Republican” by the Cook Political Report.
Rep. Tom Rice (S.C.)
Rice in June became the first Republican who backed Trump’s second impeachment to lose reelection.
Former state Rep. Russell Fry defeated Rice by more than 25 percentage points, or roughly 22,500 raw votes.
His defeat came the same night as South Carolina Republicans narrowly voted to keep Rep. Nancy Mace as their nominee. Mace voted against Trump’s impeachment but criticized his actions surrounding Jan. 6, leading Trump to endorse Mace’s challenger.
Rep. Fred Upton (Mich.)
Upton, the only lawmaker to vote to impeach two presidents, announced in April he was retiring at the end of his term.
A moderate Republican, Upton has bucked his party on impeachment and other issues, like a national red flag law opposed by most members of his caucus.
“He’s had a number of decisive wins where he’s endorsed candidates that they have won,” Upton said of Trump on CNN’s “State of the Union” in June.
“He’s had a few losses as well, but he certainly entertains a majority of the Republican base and will be hard to stop,” he added.
Rep. David Valadao (Calif.)
Valadao served in the House from 2013 to 2019 before being ousted by former Rep. TJ Cox (D-Calif.). In a 2021 rematch, Valadao won back his seat and voted to impeach Trump one day after being sworn in.
Unlike other pro-impeachment Republicans, Trump did not endorse a challenger to Valadao in his primary. McCarthy, the top House Republican and a Trump ally, endorsed Valadao.
Valadao advanced from California’s jungle primary system in June, and he will face California state Assemblymember Rudy Salas (D) in November.
Despite Trump not weighing in on the race, Valadao faces a tough reelection under the newly redrawn maps. The Cook Political Report rates the contest as a “toss up.”
