Shockwaves ran through the GOP last January when 10 turncoat legislators voted with the Democrats to impeach President Trump. Now the party is back on course and many members still look to Trump as the Republicans’ future. Meanwhile, the impeachment renegades are quickly becoming its past.
On August 16 Wyoming voters ended the congressional career of Representative Liz Cheney (R-WY), one of the former president’s loudest critics within the GOP. Cheney has been desperately trying to hang on to her seat, even begging for — and getting — funding and votes from Democrats, but it wasn’t enough. Outraged by her betrayal of Trump, Wyoming Republicans dealt her a crushing defeat in the state primary. Her Trump-endorsed challenger, Harriet Hageman, looks to have picked up more than double Cheney’s votes.
Cheney’s fall was spectacular, but it’s distracting attention from an even more impressive fact; of the 10 Republicans who voted for impeachment, at least 8 won’t be in attendance for the next session of Congress. Four — Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH), Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), John Katko (R-NY), and Fred Upton (R-MI) opted for retirement rather than run again. Three more — Jaime Beutler (R-WA), Tom Rice (R-SC), and Peter Meijer (R-MI) — shared Cheney’s fate, being defeated by Trump-endorsed rivals. Only two will be defending their seats in November.
Meanwhile, the former president is as popular as ever with the GOP base. Cheney and the other rebels managed to spark a lot of anger, but they didn’t achieve much of anything.
