Donald Trump neither forgets nor forgives. When the House of Representatives voted to subject him to his second impeachment, an impeachment trial in the Senate, this time for the assault on Capitol Hill, 10 Republican congressmen voted in favor of the decision. Trump declared war on them and his revenge has been successful. Only two will be eligible for re-election in the mid-term elections to be held on November 8, where they will still have to beat their Democratic rivals. There is one last congresswoman who submits this Tuesday to primaries. It is the Republican most hated by Trump, Liz Cheney, who also seems doomed to defeat.
“Most of the impeachers will have gone or are going. Crazy Liz Cheney, who rarely leaves Virginia, will be fired by the great people of Wyoming next Tuesday.” Trump tweeted on his social network this Friday. He found time the same day the search warrant for Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s mansion in Palm Beach, Florida, was published, showing that he is under investigation for three possible crimes and the inventory of seized assets, including numerous documents labeled top secret.
Wyoming is the least populated and most Trump state in the entire country. The former president achieved 70% of the vote in 2020 and won Biden by more than 43 points. Trump promoted another candidate there, Harriet Hageman, whom he supported and financed. Hageman has a wide lead in the polls. The search of Trump’s mansion has served to show her support, denouncing “political persecution”. “If the FBI can treat a former president this way, imagine what they can do to the rest of us. It is a justice system with double standards: one for the elites and another for their political enemies,” said the candidate. Hageman, needless to ask, takes the electoral rigging hoax for granted.
Vice President Dick Cheney’s daughter, meanwhile, has become an outlaw in her own party. She can’t even give rallies for fear of incidents. Cheney is a purebred conservative, anti-abortion, pro-gun, advocate of fossil fuels, tax cuts, arms spending and a tough foreign policy. Her opposition to her same-sex marriage brought her into public conflict with her lesbian sister, Mary. But her great sin was recognizing the obvious, Biden’s victory in 2020. That is why, in the harangue prior to the assault on Capitol Hill, Trump called for getting rid of “the weak congressmen”, the “Liz Cheney of the world”. Cheney supported the impeachment Trump for inciting insurrection and has played a leading role in the January 6 commission of inquiry. Republican voters in his state will not forgive him.
Trump conspired so that none of the 10 who supported his political prosecution repeat their mandate. There were four who threw in the towel and did not even show up for the primaries: Anthony Gonzalez (Ohio), Adam Kinzinger (Illinois), John Katko (New York) and Fred Upton (Michigan), some slamming the door and others more discreetly. “Great news, another bites the dust,” Trump was celebrating.
The other six have tried, but with little success. The first to fall, in June, was Tom Rice (South Carolina). He was beaten by Russell Fry, sponsored by Trump, who put “the betrayal” of the former president at the center of his campaign. Rice was also an orthodox conservative, who did not usually stray from the party line until the impeachment and complained about the revenge of the former president when he went to campaign. “Trump is here because he burns his grudge like no one he has ever met. I had a vote that he didn’t like and now he has chosen to support a man-yes, who will bow to anything you say, no matter what.” he said in a statement.
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David Valadao restored some hope to the group by winning his California district thanks to the division of the Trump candidates. Even so, he passed the cut by about 1,500 votes and, with 25.6% of the votes, he was 20 points behind Democrat Rudy Salas, in open primaries in which voters could choose candidates from either party. Valadao and Salas face each other on November 8, but there are serious risks that the Republican will lose, especially if he fails to mobilize the Trump vote.
Last week came Super Tuesday impeachment. Three candidates faced each other in the primaries, two in the state of Washington and one in Michigan. Peter Meijier of Michigan, a 34-year-old conservative, had a promising career in the party before he criticized Trump’s performance. He said he was aware that his political future could have ended because of his decision. He was narrowly defeated by Trumpist John Gibbs, a conspiracy theorist so extreme that Democrats saw him as a chance to win the seat in November. They launched a campaign that, pretending to criticize him, actually reinforced him: “He’s too conservative,” “he’s endorsed by Trump,” “he supports a hard line against immigration at the border,” and “patriotic education” were the criticisms, music to the ears of his potential voters. The Democrats achieved his goal, now it remains to be seen if they can defeat him.
In the State of Washington, Representative Jaime Herrera Butler also fell last week after six terms in the House of Representatives. The position was disputed by three Trump loyalists, deniers of Biden’s victory. One of them, Joe Kent, will face Democrat Marie Perez in November. When Herrera Butler defended his vote for the assault on the Capitol, he said: “I am not choosing a side; I am choosing the truth. It’s the only way to overcome fear.” Trump has now gloated over his defeat: “Joe Kent just won an incredible vote against all odds in Washington State. And what is more important, he has eliminated another impeacherJaime Herrera Beutler, who has so stupidly played the game of the Democrats”, he wrote last week on his social network.
Dan Newhouse, also from Washington, is about the group’s only hope. He won the primary last week with more votes than his Democratic rival. He has four terms in Congress, his campaign was well financed and against him he had a split Trump vote. He dedicated himself to attacking Trump’s recommendation, with insinuations of corruption, and it paid off.
This Tuesday comes the latest chapter in Trump’s revenge against the 10 members of the House of Representatives who supported his second impeachment trial. Trump will celebrate the defeat of Liz Cheney in style. It will also be a warning to navigators for those who do not close ranks with the former president due to his legal problems.
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