Michigan GOP Rep. Peter Meijer defeated by Trump-backed rival, but 2 other pro-impeachment Republicans survive
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.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
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.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
-
Political cartoons for November 30Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include the Saudi-China relationship, MAGA spelled wrong, and more
-
Rothermere’s Telegraph takeover: ‘a right-leaning media powerhouse’Talking Point Deal gives Daily Mail and General Trust more than 50% of circulation in the UK newspaper market
-
The US-Saudi relationship: too big to fail?Talking Point With the Saudis investing $1 trillion into the US, and Trump granting them ‘major non-Nato ally’ status, for now the two countries need each other
-
Judge halts Trump’s DC Guard deploymentSpeed Read The Trump administration has ‘infringed upon the District’s right to govern itself,’ the judge ruled
-
Trump accuses Democrats of sedition meriting ‘death’Speed Read The president called for Democratic lawmakers to be arrested for urging the military to refuse illegal orders
-
Court strikes down Texas GOP gerrymanderSpeed Read The Texas congressional map ordered by Trump is likely an illegal racial gerrymander, the court ruled
-
Trump defends Saudi prince, shrugs off Khashoggi murderSpeed Read The president rebuked an ABC News reporter for asking Mohammed bin Salman about the death of a Washington Post journalist at the Saudi Consulate in 2018
-
Congress passes bill to force release of Epstein filesSpeed Read The Justice Department will release all files from its Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking investigation
-
Trump says he will sell F-35 jets to Saudi ArabiaSpeed Read The president plans to make several deals with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this week
-
Judge blasts ‘profound’ errors in Comey caseSpeed Read ‘Government misconduct’ may necessitate dismissing the charges against the former FBI director altogether
-
Ecuador rejects push to allow US military basesSpeed Read Voters rejected a repeal of a constitutional ban on US and other foreign military bases in the country
