Rep. Tom Rice’s (R-S.C.) primary loss in South Carolina on Tuesday made him the first Republican lawmaker who voted for former President Trump’s impeachment to be defeated in a primary.
But Rice wasn’t the only one to vote to impeach Trump in the aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. In all, 10 House Republicans moved to impeach the former president, and while half of them have chosen not to seek reelection, others are taking their chances with voters this year.
Here’s where the 10 pro-impeachment House Republicans currently stand.
Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (Wash.)
Herrera Beutler is facing eight challengers in the Aug. 2 primary in Washington’s 3rd Congressional District, including four Republicans. Trump has already weighed in on the race, endorsing GOP candidate Joe Kent’s bid to oust Herrera Beutler.
While Kent has seized on Herrera Beutler’s impeachment vote on the campaign trail, however, that may not be the deciding factor in the race.
Washington’s 3rd District, while favoring Republicans, has a more moderate lean than Rice’s district, for example, and Herrera Beutler has sought to court the support of Democrats and independents alike ahead of the August all-party primary.
Rep. Liz Cheney (Wyo.)
As one of the highest-profile Republican backers of Trump’s second impeachment, Cheney has already paid a massive political price. House Republicans voted last year to strip her of her leadership role and have all but isolated her within their ranks.
Since then, things haven’t gotten easier for Cheney. She’s facing four different primary challengers, including Trump’s endorsed candidate Harriet Hageman.
It’s too early to write Cheney off. She has a sizable cash advantage over Hageman and virtually universal name recognition. But she’s also running for reelection in a state that Trump won by a 44-point margin. And while public polling has been scarce, two recent surveys commissioned by pro-Hageman groups showed Cheney trailing in the primary by double-digits.
Rep. Anthony Gonzalez (Ohio)
Gonzalez, a former NFL player and two-term congressman, became the first pro-impeachment House Republican to announce that he would not seek reelection in 2022, choosing to bow out of the race instead of facing a ferocious primary.
While Gonzalez cited family considerations in his decision to not seek a third term in the House, his political difficulties were already clear: He was already facing a primary challenge from Max Miller, a former Trump aide.
The redistricting process eventually prompted Miller to run in another district. Still, Gonzalez’s decision to retire underscored the political distress that those in the GOP who voted to impeach Trump are under.
Rep. John Katko (N.Y.)
Katko joined other pro-impeachment House Republicans in January in announcing his retirement.
But he has also denied that Trump’s pledge to oust GOP lawmakers who voted for impeachment factored into his decision not to seek a fifth term in the House, telling The Washington Post in March that he is confident that he would have won had he decided to run for reelection this year.
“I was quite certain, even with the redistricting that was done in New York state, that I had a path to victory,” Katko said. “And I had a very good path to victory.”
Rep. Adam Kinzinger (Ill.)
Along with Cheney, Kinzinger is among Trump’s most prominent Republican critics in the House and also serves on the select committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.
Unlike Cheney, however, he’s not seeking reelection this year.
Kinzinger announced in October that he would step down after his current term. But his reasoning for bowing out of Congress wasn’t necessarily tied to his impeachment vote. Rather, he announced his retirement after Illinois state lawmakers approved a new congressional map that drew him into the same district as Rep. Darin LaHood (R-Ill.), a more reliable Trump ally.
Rep. Peter Meijer (Mich.)
Meijer is also facing a primary on Aug. 2, when he will square off against John Gibbs, a Trump-endorsed former assistant secretary in the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
So far, he appears to be in good shape. He has a massive financial advantage over Gibbs and has already booked hundreds of thousands of dollars in advertising.
Still, he hasn’t made his impeachment vote a central part of his political identity and hasn’t shied away from attacking the Biden administration over everything from rising inflation to ongoing supply chain issues.
Rep. Dan Newhouse (Wash.)
Newhouse, a four-term congressman from central Washington, is facing seven opponents in an Aug. 2 open primary, six Republicans and one Democrat. The top-two finishers in the nominating contest will advance to the November general election.
Given the strong Republican tilt of Washington’s 4th Congressional District, the biggest threat to Newhouse’s political survival is likely to come from within his own party.
Trump has endorsed Loren Culp, a former police chief, in the race, though Culp lags Newhouse badly in the money race. According to their latest filings with the Federal Election Commission, Newhouse is sitting on more than $928,000, while Culp has less than $47,000 on hand.
Rep. Tom Rice (S.C.)
Rice’s vote last year to impeach Trump came as a surprise to many political observers. Up to that point, the South Carolina congressman had been a stalwart supporter of the former president and his agenda.
But despite his past support for Trump, Rice never walked back his criticism or expressed regret over his impeachment vote, saying recently that if he loses reelection because of it, he would “wear it like a badge.”
That strategy ultimately cost him a sixth term in the House on Tuesday, when Republican voters in South Carolina’s 7th District chose Trump-endorsed state Rep. Russel Fry as their nominee over Rice.
Rep. Fred Upton (Mich.)
Like Kinzinger and Gonzalez, Upton decided to forgo a reelection bid this year, ringing in the end of a nearly four-decade-long career in Congress.
While Upton voted to impeach Trump last year, it wasn’t the only instance in which he broke with the former president. The Michigan congressman was also one of the few GOP backers of a sweeping $1 trillion infrastructure bill that was championed by President Biden and congressional Democrats.
Ultimately, Upton made the decision to retire in April after redistricting drew him into the same district as Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.). Trump has endorsed Huizenga.
Rep. David Valadao (Calif.)
Trump didn’t endorse one of Valadao’s challengers ahead of California’s June 7 primaries, but the first-term congressman’s political future isn’t yet safe.
Democrat Rudy Salas emerged as the top vote-getter in the state’s all-party primary earlier this month, earning him a spot on the ballot in November. Valadao is currently sitting in second place with about 26 percent of the vote.
If he remains in second place, he’ll advance to the November election. Still, the divided Republican vote underscores the political peril that potentially awaits Valadao.