Katko is third impeachment-backing Republican to head for exit

The central New York district, which includes Syracuse, has supported Democratic presidential candidates in recent election cycles, but Katko still managed to win reelection. Despite predictions from both parties that Biden would easily win the district in November, Katko won a rematch against former college professor Dana Balter. He defeated Balter by 10 points in 2020 after defeating her by 5 points in 2018. Biden won the district by 9 points.

Katko was the first Republican to publicly announce he would support impeachment after the assault on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. At the time, he said he approached his decision “by reviewing the facts at hand.” “It cannot be ignored that President Trump encouraged this insurrection — both on social media ahead of January 6th, and in his speech that day,” Katko said in a statement the following week, referring to a rally the former chief executive headlined before his supporters, at his behest, headed across town. Katko’s announcement came hours after he appeared at an U.S. Chamber of Commerce event where he described delivering a care package to the family of a Capitol Police officer, a former intern in the congressman’s office who, he said, was “severely assaulted” at the Capitol.