At his first phone call since he voted to oust former President Trump, a voter told South Carolina Congressman Tom Rice that his decision was “inexcusable.”
“Next time, I don’t think you’ll get elected,” said his member from Myrtle Beach, the district Rice has been representing since 2013. “I’m not happy with you. I’m sure I won’t vote for you again. So yes you can find some way to redeem yourself, I am an ear “.
But the next person to call, an 80-year-old woman, congratulated Rice on the “tremendous courage” she showed by voting for the impeachment.
“If you want a member of Congress who will bow to the harassers … who will accompany the people: don’t question me, if this is the guy you want, I’m not yours, ”Rice said.
“But if you want someone to stand up for what is right and protect our Constitution like I took an oath, I’m your boy.”
For Rice and the other nine House Republicans who voted for the ouster, Trump’s rally speech before the Capitol attack and his long silence as riots broke out in the building were reason enough to join the Democrats in ousting the president for the second time.
But his decision met with an immediate reaction from many members, local parties and their Republican colleagues.
Six of Dan Newhouse’s eight county Republican presidencies in Washington’s district have called for his resignation (Newhouse said in a statement that he will not resign).
Three of the Republicans who voted for the removal are already facing major challenges. In Wyoming, three candidates presented a challenge to Rep. Liz Cheney, the third Republican in the House. In his campaign announcement, state Sen. Anthony Bouchard said Cheney’s removal vote shows “the shortfall that is with Wyoming.”
At the Capitol, Cheney, the highest-ranking Republican woman in the House, faces calls to step down as caucus president. He will face the same pressure at home when Florida Congressman and Trump ally Matt Gaetz travel to Wyoming on Thursday. House minority leader Kevin McCarthy, angered by internal strife, told Republicans Wednesday during a conference call that he “cut that shit.”
Former House Speaker John Boehner will host a virtual fundraiser for Cheney in February, according to an invitation from CBS News.
A poll released Wednesday by the Trump poll found Wednesday that a sizable majority of Wyoming Republicans held an unfavorable view of Cheney and disapproved of his impeachment vote.
But Natrona County Republican President Joseph McGinley said he saw mixed reactions to it from the state’s second most populous county, and said there is general confidence and a “silent majority” of Republicans who they support her.
The state Republican party was more critical of Cheney’s decision, calling it a “true transvestite for Wyoming.” “The consensus is clear that those coming to the party vehemently disagree with Representative Cheney’s decision and actions,” the Wyoming GOP said in a statement.
Peter Nicolaysen, state commissioner for Natrona County, fired at the state party leadership by email and questioned the clarity of the “consensus.”
“Maybe we only hear the strongest Republicans? I guess time will tell,” he wrote.
In Michigan’s third district, Tom Norton wasted no time in launching a primary campaign against Republican Peter Meijer after his impeachment vote. And he’s hiring a former member of Trump’s campaign in Michigan to temporarily run his campaign.
“District Republicans believe their trust was violated,” Norton said. “When you accuse someone and violate their due process, that’s a huge problem.” Norton ran against Meijer in the 2020 Republican primaries and finished third with 16% of the vote.
Meijer is a freshman who took the seat of libertarian Congressman Justin Amash, who voted his own office to oust Trump in 2019. Meijer was one of two Republican freshmen who voted for the ouster .
“It may have been an act of political suicide, but it’s what I thought was necessary for the good of the country, to have responsibilities right now, but also to set a path forward,” Meijer told the Detroit Free Press on the day of his vote. .
Anthony Gonzalez, a member of the Ohio Congress, is also fairly new to Congress and entering his second term.
Gonzalez said he voted in favor of the dismissal because Trump had helped “organize and incite a crowd” and was “the full scope of the events that lasted until Jan. 6, including the president’s lack of response.” “, which forced him to support the dismissal.
Doug Deeken, chairman of the Republican Party in Wayne County, believes Gonzalez was “upset” by participating in a “hasty” impeachment trial. But he also said potential challengers would be “stupid” to declare before redistributing them.
Amanda Suffecool, president of the Portage County GOP, said she has heard from donors closing funds to Gonzalez for now, though she noted that it is still early.
South Carolina Republican Party President Drew McKissick could not count how many donors have shut down Rice, but suspects it will be a problem for him.
“The base of the party, they are very upset. I think this will be expressed in 2022,” he said.
However, Rick Scott, a resident of Myrtle Beach, a steady rice donor, said he is proud of his congressman for his decision. He will continue to support Rice and has not heard any donors say he would leave the ship.
“I felt like [his vote] “It could cause him some pain, but he did the only thing a decent person could do,” he said. “My wife tells me Facebook is full of people who don’t support it. But there’s a reason I’m not on Facebook.”
Chris Ekstrom, president of the Courageous Conservateurs PAC, says he hopes to raise $ 5 million to $ 10 million to go after Republicans who backed the ouster. His main goals include Cheney, Gonzalez and Rice.
“I’m going to send Liz Cheney a Valentine’s Day card because it’s going to be the best fundraiser for Republicans sitting in Congress we’ve ever had,” Ekstrom said.
In competitive districts, Republican Party donor Dan Eberhart said some donors could step in to support the Republican candidate they believe is most likely to win in November.
The 2022 House maps have not yet been drawn, but three of the ten Republicans who voted for the removal represent the districts Trump won by less than five points. President Biden won two representative districts.
“The recovery of the House is a big focus among what the donors I’m talking to are talking about,” Eberhart said. “I think the donor class will finally get upset with the main competitors making it harder to win overall.”
The backlash against House Republicans who supported the ouster showed senators who would face re-election in 2022 what awaits them if they vote to condemn Mr. Trump. Forty-five Republican senators supported a motion by Kentucky Senator Rand Paul to declare the impending trial unconstitutional. The only Republican who did not join the re-election was Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski.
Tuesday’s vote makes it very unlikely that 17 Republican senators will vote to condemn the former president. South Dakota Sen. John Thune, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate to be re-elected in 2022, told reporters that the vote does not “bind anyone once the trial begins,” but said it is “indicative of where there are a lot of people the bosses are. ”
Democrats have been proposing a measure to censor Mr. Trump, though it is unclear whether this will get more support from Republican senators for re-election.
“The specter of a Trump-branded Republican to challenge anyone in 2022 is very high,” Eberhart said. “Seeing a Trump rally for a challenger to a headline that rejected Trump is a pretty powerful incentive to keep people in line.”
Members of the Republican National Committee have debated how to address whether Trump played a role in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
Demetra DeMonte, an Illinois RNC commissioner, last week proposed a resolution calling the removal of the House “illegal” and urging all Republicans in the Senate to “oppose this false dismissal trial.” unconstitutional, motivated by a radical and reckless democratic majority. ”
But Bill Palatucci, a New Jersey RNC committee, opposed the resolution because it did not “recognize the direct role of former President Trump inciting insurrection.” He argued that the RNC could help the country heal itself by condemning the role of Mr. Trump.
McDaniel released a statement Wednesday that did not refer to the dismissal as illegal, but did describe the Senate process as “unconstitutional.”
“I join the vast majority of Republicans in the Senate to oppose it,” he added.
Rebecca Kaplan contributed to the notification.