Michigan GOP Rep. Peter Meijer defeated by Trump-backed rival, but 2 other pro-impeachment Republicans survive

(Image credit: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call Inc via Getty Images)

published 3 August 2022

Michigan Republicans ousted freshman Rep. Peter Meijer (R-Mich.) in Tuesday's primary, his first race since voting to impeach former President Donald Trump for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Meijer narrowly lost to John Gibbs, an official in Trump's administration, in Michigan's 3rd Congressional District. He conceded defeat before the race was called.

Of the 10 Republicans who backed Trump's second impeachment, four chose not to seek re-electon, Meijer and Rep. Tom Rice (R-S.C.) were unseated in GOP primaries, Rep. David Valadao (R-Calif.) survived a primary challenge and will be on November's ballot, and Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) doesn't face her voters until later in August. The remaining two pro-impeachment Republicans, Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler and Rep. Dan Newhouse, appear to have survived their challenges from Trump-backed rivals in Tuesday's Washington primaries.

Gibbs, one of several Tuesday winners who endorsed Trump's false claims about election-tipping vote fraud, will face Democrat Hillary Scholten in the newly redrawn 3rd District. Gibbs benefited from Trump's endorsement but was also boosted by ads paid for by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which viewed him as the weaker candidate. Elections handicappers agree with that assessment.

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Unlike Meijer and Rice, Valadao, Herrera Buetler, and Newhouse ran in states with open primary systems where the top two vote-getters advance to the general election, regardless of party affiliation. As of early Wednesday morning, Newhouse was narrowly leading his closest Democratic rival while Herrera Buetler was trailing her main Democratic opponent by 7 percentage points but leading her Trump-backed GOP challenger by 4.5 points.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.