Republicans who voted for Jan. 6 commission survive primary challenges


Five of the 35 House Republicans who angered former President Donald Trump by voting to create the Jan. 6 commission appeared on primary ballots Tuesday, and at least four of them appear to have survived, Politico reports.
In Mississippi's 3rd Congressional District, incumbent Michael Guest is headed for a runoff against challenger Michael Cassidy, with both on track to narrowly miss the 50 percent threshold needed to win outright. With 89 percent of precincts reporting, Guest trailed Cassidy by less than 700 votes.
Reps. Chris Smith (N.J.) and Dusty Johnson (S.D.) both easily defeated their primary opponents, while Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (Iowa) ran unopposed.
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The race in California's 22nd Congressional District is still too early to call, but as of Wednesday morning, Rep. David Valadao was leading challenger Chris Mathys by around 6 points despite Democratic attempts to boost Mathys.
"Before, it was perceived to be a done deal that Trump could kill you, and now it's not so clear," said GOP consultant Bob Heckman.
It is important to note, however, that Trump did not actually endorse a challenger in any of these races. So far, the only Trump-endorsed candidate to lose a U.S. House of Representatives primary is Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.).
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Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Modern Age, The American Conservative, The Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.
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