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On his first town hall call since voting to impeach former President Trump, a voter told South Carolina Congressman Tom Rice his decision was “inexcusable.”
“Next time around, I don’t think you’ll get elected,” said her constituent from Myrtle Beach, the district Rice has represented since 2013. “I’m not happy with you. And I certainly will not vote. for you again. So if you can find a way to redeem yourself, I’m all ears. “
But the next appellant, an 80-year-old woman, praised Rice for the “extraordinary courage” he displayed in voting for impeachment.
“If you want a congressman who’s going to bow down to the bullies … who goes with the crowd, ‘Oh, everybody on this side voted that way, then I’d better vote that way so that the folks back home don’t question me – if this is the guy you want, then I’m not your guy, ”Rice said.
“But if you want someone who is going to stand up for what’s right and protect our Constitution like I have sworn to do, then I’m your guy.”
For Rice and the nine other House Republicans who voted for impeachment, Mr. Trump’s rallying speech before the Capitol attack and his long silence as rioters violated the building was reason enough to join. to Democrats to impeach the president a second time.
But their decision was immediately greeted by many voters, local parties and their Republican colleagues.
Six of the eight Republican presidents of Dan Newhouse’s Washington district have called for his resignation (Newhouse said in a statement he will not resign).
Three of the Republicans who voted for impeachment are already facing major challenges. In Wyoming, three candidates have come forward to challenge Rep. Liz Cheney, the third House Republican. In his campaign ad, Senator Anthony Bouchard said Cheney’s impeachment vote shows “how out of touch she is with Wyoming.”
On Capitol Hill, Cheney, the House’s top Republican, faces calls to step down as caucus chair. She will face the same pressure at home when Florida Congressman and Trump ally Matt Gaetz visits Wyoming on Thursday. Minority House Leader Kevin McCarthy, angered by infighting, told Republicans on a conference call Wednesday to “cut this shit”.
Former House Speaker John Boehner will host a virtual fundraiser for Cheney in February, according to an invitation obtained by CBS News.
A poll released Wednesday by Mr. Trump’s pollster found that a large majority of Wyoming Republicans had an unfavorable opinion of Cheney and disapproved of his impeachment vote.
But Natrona County Republican President Joseph McGinley said he had seen mixed reactions to him from the state’s second most populous county, and said there was general confidence in it and a “silent majority” of Republicans supporting it.
The state’s Republican Party further criticized Cheney’s decision, calling his vote “a real travesty for Wyoming.” “The consensus is clear that those reaching out to the Party vehemently disagree with Representative Cheney’s decision and actions,” the Wyoming GOP said in a statement.
Natrona County State Committee Peter Nicolaysen hit back at the state party leadership in an email and cast doubt on the clarity of the “consensus”.
“Maybe we’re just hearing the loudest Republicans? Time will tell, I guess,” he wrote.
In Michigan’s 3rd District, Tom Norton was quick to launch a primary campaign against Republican Peter Meijer after his impeachment vote. And he’s hiring a former Trump campaign staffer in Michigan to temporarily lead his campaign.
“District Republicans feel their trust has been violated,” Norton said. “When you impeach someone and violate their due process, that’s a huge problem.” Norton ran against Meijer in the 2020 Republican primary and finished third with 16% of the vote.
Meijer is a freshman who occupied the seat of Libertarian Congressman Justin Amash, who voted to impeach Mr. Trump in 2019. Meijer was one of two GOP freshmen to vote for impeachment.
“It may have been an act of political suicide, but it is what I felt was necessary for the good of the country, to be responsible at the moment but also to chart the way forward,” said Meijer told the Detroit Free Press on the day. of his vote.
Ohio Congressman Anthony Gonzalez is also fairly new to Congress, entering his second term.
Gonzalez said he voted for impeachment because Mr. Trump helped “organize and incite a crowd,” and that was “the full scale of the events leading up to January 6, including the failure response from the president, “which forced him to support impeachment.
Doug Deeken, president of the Republican Party in Wayne County, believes Gonzalez was “pushed” into a “rushed” impeachment trial. But he also said that would-be challengers would be “dumb” to state before recutting.
Portage County GOP President Amanda Suffecool said she had heard from donors who were blocking funds in Gonzalez at the moment, although she noted it was still early days.
South Carolina Republican Party Chairman Drew McKissick couldn’t count the number of donors who have shut down Rice, but he suspects it’s going to be a problem for him.
“The base of the party, they are very upset. I think that will be expressed in 2022,” he said.
However, Myrtle Beach resident Rick Scott, a constant Rice donor, said he was proud of his congressman for his decision. He will continue to support Rice and has not heard from any other donors saying he will abandon ship.
“I felt like [his vote] might cause him grief, but he did the only thing a decent person could do, “he said.” My wife tells me Facebook is full of people who don’t support him. But there’s a reason I’m not on Facebook. “
Chris Ekstrom, chairman of the Courageous Conservatives PAC, says he hopes to raise $ 5-10 million to tackle Republicans who supported impeachment. Its main targets are Cheney, Gonzalez and Rice.
“I’m going to send Liz Cheney a Valentine’s Day card because she’s going to be the biggest Republican Sitting in Congress fundraiser we’ve ever had,” Ekstrom said.
In competitive districts, GOP donor Dan Eberhart said some donors could step in to support the Republican candidate who they say has a better chance of winning in November.
The cards for House 2022 have yet to be drawn, but three of the 10 Republicans who voted for impeachment represent districts Mr. Trump won by less than five points. Two represent the districts won by President Biden.
“Taking over the House is a priority among the donors I’m talking about,” Eberhart said. “I think the donor class will end up being upset by the main challengers who make victory difficult in general.”
The backlash against House Republicans who backed impeachment showed senators facing re-election in 2022 what to expect if they vote to convict Mr. Trump. Forty-five GOP Senators supported a motion by Kentucky Senator Rand Paul to declare the impending trial unconstitutional. The only Republican to re-elect who did not join them was Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski.
Tuesday’s vote makes it highly unlikely that 17 Republican senators will vote to condemn the former president. South Dakota Senator John Thune, the second Senate Republican to be re-elected in 2022, told reporters the vote “does not bind anyone once the trial begins” but said it “indicates where many people heads are. ”
Democrats have launched a measure to censor Mr. Trump, although it is not clear whether this will garner more support from Republican senators for re-election.
“The specter of a Trump-branded Republican to challenge anyone in 2022 is very high,” Eberhart said. “Watching a Trump rally for a challenger to an incumbent who has resisted Trump is a pretty powerful incentive to keep people in line.”
Members of the Republican National Committee debated how to determine whether Mr. Trump played a role in the Jan.6 attack on Capitol Hill.
Demetra DeMonte, a woman on the Illinois RNC committee, proposed a resolution last week calling the indictment of the House “illegal” and urging every Republican in the Senate to “oppose this unconstitutional impeachment trial , motivated by a radical and imprudent democratic majority ”.
But Bill Palatucci, a member of the New Jersey RNC committee, opposed the resolution because it “failed to recognize former President Trump’s direct role in inciting the insurgency.” He argued that the RNC could help the country heal by condemning Mr. Trump’s role.
McDaniel issued a statement Wednesday that did not call the impeachment illegal, but called the Senate trial “unconstitutional.”
“I join with the vast majority of Republicans in the Senate in opposing it,” she added.
Rebecca Kaplan contributed to the reporting.
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