Nine of the 10 Republicans who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump over the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol are already facing primary challenges – and some of them may have a very hard time holding on to their seats.
Trump vows to work against those Republicans as they run for reelection in 2022, and has already endorsed one primary challenger and signaled there are more to come.
“Instead of attacking me and, more importantly, the voters of our movement, top establishment Republicans in Washington should be spending their energy in opposing Biden, Pelosi, Schumer and the Democrats,” Trump said in his February CPAC speech.
“Get rid of them all,” he said of the Republicans who voted to impeach him.
Here’s a breakdown of the developing primary challenges:
Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo.
Cheney, the highest-profile Republican favoring impeachment, was the House Republican conference chair when she cast her vote. Cheney, at the urging of Trump and his allies, was eventually deposed from her leadership post but still faces a horde of at least eight primary challengers aiming to remove her from office.
State Sen. Anthony Bouchard has raised the most money so far, recently eclipsing $500,000. Bouchard told Fox News that Cheney’s impeachment vote “made it obvious … to everyone” that “she has not had a conservative vote in Washington.”
Cheney, for her part, has been defiant amid the harsh criticism of her opposition to Trump.
Other candidates running against Cheney include veteran Denton Knapp, Wyoming state Rep. Chuck Gray and lawyer Darin Smith.
Rep. Tom Rice, R-S.C.
Rice is also facing a bevy of pro-Trump Republicans gunning for his job. Among the announced candidates are former Myrtle Beach Mayor Mark McBride and state Rep. William Bailey.
One of the more unique candidates in the race is Graham Allen, who gained prominence as a right-leaning influencer rather than through holding office.
“I think that President Trump showed the world that you don’t have to be a politician to become a politician,” Allen told Fox News.
“Tom Rice forgot his place,” Allen added. “It’s Tom Rice’s job to be the conduit – that is the voice – of the people that he represents. He did not do that.”
Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Wash.
Herrera Beutler faces challenges from at least four candidates, including former Green Beret Joe Kent.
“Rep. Beutler voted for the impeachment of President Trump based on a false narrative that Trump inspired an armed insurrection against the Capitol,” Kent told Fox News in an email. “But the facts don’t matter to the left or Rep. Beutler.”
Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill.
Kinzinger has positioned himself as one of Cheney’s closest allies in the fight to de-Trumpify the GOP. It’s paid off for him in massive fundraising hauls – he pulled in $2.2 million via his leadership PAC and campaign in the first quarter of this year.
Kinzinger’s top challenger is Catalina Lauf, 27, who worked in the Trump administration in the Commerce Department. Lauf slammed Kinzinger as a “fake Republican” when she announced her campaign.
Kinzinger’s office and Lauf did not return requests for comment.
Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash.
Newhouse came under fire for his impeachment vote and faced calls to resign from Republicans in his district.
He has at least three candidates running against him so far, led by state Rep. Brad Klippert and former GOP candidate for governor, Loren Culp.
Rep. Anthony Gonzalez, R-Ohio
Gonzalez faces the most well-financed challenger to date in former Trump aide Max Miller, who got the former president’s endorsement shortly after announcing his candidacy.
Miller told Fox News that “weak Republicans” like Gonzalez “need to see the door and have an exit.” Miller said Trump endorsed him because “he knows that I am not ever going to fold or take a knee, and I will continue to fight for the people and the America First agenda no matter at what cost.”
Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich.
Upton faced a common form of retribution against the GOP representatives who voted for impeachment – censure by local parties. He’s drawn at least five challengers so far, including two sitting officeholders – state Rep. Steve Carra and Berrien County Commissioner Ezra Scott.
But unlike some other House members like Cheney, who have been largely marginalized after their impeachment votes, Upton has gained some influence as a vice chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus.
Rep. Peter Meijer, R-Mich.
Meijer is an Iraq veteran who replaced former Rep. Justin Amash in 2020 after Amash left the Republican Party. During his campaign, Meijer racked up endorsements from a number of high-profile Republicans, including Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La.
Rep. David Valadao, R-Calif.
Valadao was first elected to Congress in 2012 but lost his 2018 race to former Rep. TJ Cox, D-Calif. Valadao ran again in 2020, however, and won back his former seat even as President Biden beat Trump in the district by more than 10 points.
But following his vote for impeachment, Valadao is facing a primary challenge from Chris Mathys, an Army veteran and former member of the Fresno City Council.
Rep. John Katko, R-N.Y.
Katko is the only Republican who voted to impeach Trump who does not yet have an announced primary challenger. Katko, the ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee, appeared to get back into good graces with GOP leadership quickly after his impeachment vote. He was one of the faces of a border trip McCarthy took with a group of House Republicans earlier this year.