Three Republicans who backed impeachment face the voters

Tuesday’s primaries mark the biggest one-day electoral test so far for the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach President Donald Trump. Three of them are on the ballot Tuesday: Reps. Jaime Herrera Beutler and Dan Newhouse of Washington state and Peter Meijer of Michigan. They will find out whether they will survive primary challenges from Trump-backed opponents, as outside groups have rushed millions to their races. Freshman Meijer faces the most peril. Not only does the grocery chain scion have a difficult primary against John Gibbs, a former Housing and Urban Development official under the Trump administration, but his district also became more Democratic-leaning during redistricting, making him vulnerable all around.

Herrera Beutler and Newhouse also face stiff competition in their primaries Tuesday, but their state’s nominating system takes the top two finishers from an all-party contest, offering them some advantage to getting on the November ballots. If they survive their primaries, both should have a smooth reelection in the fall in their solid GOP seats. Offering a sense of the electoral hazards for Republicans who voted to impeach Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, four of the 10 opted not to run for reelection. One, so far, Rep. Tom Rice of South Carolina, has lost a primary. One has survived an all-party primary: California Rep. David Valadao. And Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney will face voters Aug. 16 in a race where she has become the underdog to a Trump-backed challenger. “Tuesday’s primaries could confirm an emerging trend: Republicans who voted to impeach Trump either don’t seek reelection or lose in traditional primaries,” Nathan L. Gonzales, CQ Roll Call’s elections analyst, said in an email. “Pro-impeachment Republicans who have the luxury of running in states with nontraditional primaries (and don’t have to rely on support from base GOP voters) have a chance to survive. That’s good news for Herrera Beutler and Newhouse and bad news for Meijer, and later Cheney.”