The Impeachment 10 are a group of United States Representatives from the Republican Party who voted in favor of the second impeachment of Donald Trump in 2021, then the president of the United States from the Republican Party. Of the 211 members of the Republican caucus, the 10 voting to impeach were Liz Cheney (WY‑AL), Anthony Gonzalez (OH‑16), Jaime Herrera Beutler (WA‑3), John Katko (NY‑24), Adam Kinzinger (IL‑16), Peter Meijer (MI‑3), Dan Newhouse (WA‑4), Tom Rice (SC‑7), Fred Upton (MI‑6), and David Valadao (CA‑21). Donald Trump avoided being convicted by the Senate in the subsequent impeachment trial, and as he reclaimed his role as the leader of the Republican Party, he began targeting the Impeachment 10 and attempting to replace them with loyalists. As of August 2024[update], only two remain: Dan Newhouse and David Valadao. (recheck and expand all of this after writing body)
Background
editDonald Trump was the 45th president of the United States, serving from 2017 to 2021. He sought to re-election in 2020, but lost the election to Joe Biden, the former vice president. Trump refused to accept this loss, attempting to overturn it by challenging results in the courts and spreading conspiracy theories about the election process. On January 6, 2021, as the United States Congress was preparing to certify Biden's victory, a group of Trump supporters attacked the Capitol building where Congress meets in an attempt to stop the certification. Four Capital Police officers and one protestor, Ashli Babbitt, died as a result of the attack. Congress reconvened later in the day and certified Joe Biden as the winner of the election. Ten(?) days later, Congress impeached Trump for incitement of insurrection.
- Trump regains and strengthens hold on party
- note Boatright 2022 talks about redrawing of districts (incumbents would have had to run in significantly different ones)
Electoral targeting
editTrump sought to remove nine of the Impeachment 10 in the 2022 primary elections for the House; four lost to Trump-endorsed challengers, another four chose not to seek re-election, and one kept his seat. He did not endorse a challenger to David Valadao.
2022
editRetirements
edit- Gonzalez et al. bow out
Candidates
editIn his primary, David Valadao faced two Republican challengers - local school board member Adam Medeiros and former Fresno City Councilman Chris Mathys. Throughout his campaign, Mathys emphasized his support of Trump, even requesting the ballot designation of "MAGA Conservative," which he was not granted.[1]
However, neither ended up being endorsed by Trump, nor did he speak publicly about the campaign. Reportedly, Trump's lack of involvement in Valadao's race came at urging of then House minority leader Kevin McCarthy, who raised concerns about the contentious nature of Valadao's house seat.[2] Valado, who was first elected to California's 21nd congressional district in 2012, lost the seat to TJ Cox in 2018. He won his seat back in 2020.[3] Furthermore, redistricting in 2020 lead to Valado's district (now the 22nd congressional district[4]) becoming more Democrat-leaning then it had been in the past.
2024
editReferences
edit- ^ Fraser, Darren (2023-12-31). "Court denies Chris Mathys' MAGA ballot designation". Mid Valley Times. Retrieved 2024-08-28.
- ^ Beavers, Olivia (14 July 2022). "Meet the House Republican who impeached Trump and escaped his fury". Politico. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Former House Republican flips central California seat". AP News. 2020-11-27. Retrieved 2024-08-28.
- ^ "California 22nd Congressional District Primary Election Results". The New York Times. 2022-06-07. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-08-28.