Topline
Rep. Peter Meijer (R-Mich.), the only freshman Republican congressman who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump, has been defeated by Trump-endorsed challenger John Gibbs in the GOP primary for his House seat.
Then-Michigan 3rd Congressional District Republican candidate Peter Meijer speaks at a campaign … [+]
Key Facts
The AP called the 3rd Congressional District primary for Gibbs at 3:03 a.m. Eastern time.
Meijer has long blasted fellow Republicans who pushed “lies and deceptions” that there was widespread fraud in the 2020 presidential election, while Gibbs openly supports conspiracy theories concerning election fraud.
Gibbs faces Democrat Hillary Scholten in the November general election in what’s expected to be an extremely competitive race.
The old 3rd District boundaries had slightly favored Republican candidates but the redrawn district appears to give Democrats about a 3-percentage-point advantage, according to FiveThirtyEight.
What To Watch For
Two more Republicans who voted to impeach Trump are also facing primary challenges Tuesday night: Reps. Dan Newhouse (Wash.) and Jaime Herrera Beutler (Wash.). The races were too close to call early Wednesday morning.
Key Background
Ten House Republicans voted to impeach Trump over the January 6 Capitol riot, leading to the former president mounting a relentless campaign to force the representatives out of office. Only six of the 10 chose to run for reelection rather than retire, and heading into Tuesday, just two had already faced a primary. Rep. David Valadao (R-Calif.) survived his race in California’s jungle primary, but finished a distant second to Democrat Rudy Salas and appears all but certain to lose to Salas in the general election. Rep. Tom Rice (R-S.C.) was walloped in the GOP primary for South Carolina’s 7th Congressional District, losing to Trump-backed challenger Russell Fry by more than 26 percentage points.
Further Reading
These 10 Republicans Voted To Impeach Trump In An Unprecedented Break From Party (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2022/08/03/rep-peter-meijer–republican-who-backed-trump-impeachment–ousted-in-michigan/