Trump’s Biggest Enemies in GOP Have One Thing in Common
(TheRedWire.com) – In January 2021, 10 House Republicans decided to break from party orthodoxy. They chose to side with the Left and voted to impeach former President Donald Trump and charged him with inciting an insurrection. That was double the number of Democrats who joined the GOP in 1998 when the House impeached former President Bill Clinton.
Only seven primaries remain through mid-September ahead of the 2022 November midterm elections. Voters have decided the fate of those 10 GOP House members. Trump came out on top.
Anti-Trump Republicans Kicked Out of Congress?
Of the 10 Representatives who bucked the Republican Party, only two escaped the primary season and have a chance to win re-election this fall. Reps. David Valadao (R-CA) and Dan Newhouse (R-WA) survived with their political careers potentially intact. Four of the 10 members who went along with Democrats retired from Congress.
The remaining four all lost to Trump-backed candidates in their primary elections. As a result, representatives Tom Rice (R-SC), Peter Meijer (R-MI), Jamie Herrera Beutler (R-WA), and Liz Cheney (R-WY) will not return to Washington in January.
Cheney was the highest profile and the last to fall. On Tuesday, August 16, the Wyoming congresswoman lost to Trump-endorsed challenger Harriet Hageman. The race wasn’t even close. Hageman received 66.3% of the vote to the incumbent’s 29.9%.
In her concession speech, Cheney struck a tone of defiance, which empowered voters to remove her from office in the first place after overwhelmingly electing her in 2018. She rose quickly to the number three Republican in the House before the leadership removed her in 2021.
She alleged the business titan turned politician was sending America into a crisis and declared that “no American should support election deniers.” Cheney is one of two anti-Trump Republicans serving on the Democratic-led January 6 House Select Committee investigating the former president.
What Does It All Mean for Trump?
Since the primary season started in early March, Ballotpedia reported that Trump endorsed 235 candidates across 39 states. His record was 183 to 17, for a 92% winning rate. But, perhaps his most cherished victory was Cheney’s loss.
On Truth Social, he said it was a great victory for America and a rebuke of the “Unselect Committee of political Hacks and Thugs.” He added the Wyoming congresswoman could disappear into oblivion where she would be happier than she is now.
The results over the last few months suggest the 45th president is as popular as ever with the Republican base. If he decides to run in 2024, he would have the fast track to the GOP nomination in a potential showdown with President Joe Biden.
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