Array
Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday is looking to settle the score with three of the ten House Republicans who voted to impeach him for inciting the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Reps. Peter Meijer of Michigan, and Reps. Jaime Herrera Beutler and Dan Newhouse, both of Washington, are fighting for their political lives against Trump-backed primary challengers in races that will test the ex-president’s political reach.
Mr. Meijer faces the added challenge of having Democrats meddle in his race by running ads that seek to lift up his primary opponent, John Gibbs.
“It is a very big test for Trump,” GOP strategist Steve Mitchell said of Mr. Meijer’s primary race in western Michigan. “One of Trump’s major missions was to make sure all ten Republicans who voted to impeach him were not in the Congress next year.”
“Therefore, it is very important for Trump to see Meijer defeated,” Mr. Mitchell said.
So far, half of the pro-impeachment House Republicans will not be returning to Washington next year.
Four of them decided to call it quits rather than face voters again, and Rep. Tom Rice lost to a Trump-backed primary challenger in South Carolina’s 7th Congressional District.
Voters on Tuesday will have their say in House, Senate and gubernatorial nomination races in Arizona, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri and Washington.
In Kansas, voters also will consider a referendum adding an amendment to the Kansas state Constitution that would allow state lawmakers to legislate abortion access.
It’s the first referendum vote on abortion policy by a state since the Supreme Court rolled back abortion protections that had existed since the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.
The primary battles on Tuesday will set the table for the general election. Democrats are defending their fragile hold on the House and the 50-50 Senate, where Vice President Kamala Harris has the tie-breaking vote.
