Conservative Democratic congressman says he rejected Republican offer to join the GOP

(Image credit: Jonathan Ernst/Getty Images)

published 17 December 2019

Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) is one of his party's most conservative lawmakers, and while he's not sure yet if he will vote in favor of impeaching President Trump, he does know he has no interest in becoming a Republican — despite being asked by members of the GOP.

In October, Peterson voted against endorsing the Democratic-led House impeachment inquiry into Trump, and on Monday, he told KFGO News that he has yet to decide if he will vote in favor of impeachment later this week. Peterson revealed that there have been "overtures by the highest levels of the Republican Party in the last couple weeks" to ask him if he would consider joining their ranks, but he turned them down.

Peterson said he is staying in the Democratic Party "in spite of some of the stuff that's going on that I don't agree with" because he is "not going to switch parties at this stage in my career." Peterson, 75, was first elected in 1990, and has not decided whether he will run for re-election. While Peterson rejected the Republican Party, another conservative Democrat, Rep. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey, is reportedly ready to embrace the GOP.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.