OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
A Republican congressman from Washington state who voted to impeach then-President Donald Trump has learned his fate. Fox News Digital reported Wednesday morning that Rep. Dan Newhouse, one of 10 Republican lawmakers who backed impeachment, successfully defended his seat.
“Newhouse, representing Washington’s 4th Congressional District, was called the winner on Election Night with 49.92% of the vote in, according to The Associated Press. Newhouse polled 68.5% (82,445 votes), while his challenger, Democrat Doug White, polled 31.5% (37,859 votes),” Fox News Digital noted, adding that Newhouse managed to fend off several GOP primary challengers as well.
The outlet noted further:
The Republican’s re-election is a rare success compared to most of the other nine impeachment voters during this political cycle.
Of the 10 House Republicans who voted for Trump’s impeachment, four opted not to run for re-election. Michigan Rep. Peter Meijer was defeated in a primary on Aug. 2 by Trump-endorsed John Gibbs and Rep. Tom Rice of South Carolina lost to a Trump-endorsed challenger in June. Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming was defeated in her Aug. 16 primary against a Trump-backed rival.
Newhouse has held his seat since 2015, Fox News Digital added.
Despite Newhouse’s victory, overall, Republicans appear to have underperformed expectations of a ‘red wave.’
“Definitely not a Republican wave, that is for darn sure,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said in an interview on NBC News. “I think that we are going to be at 51,52 when it is all is said and done in the Senate.”
That led NBC News anchor Lester Holt to ask whether the GOP’s lackluster performance was due to the “Donald Trump effect,” which means that association with the former president having hurt Republican candidates in key races.
Graham said, “not really,” going on to suggest that the midterm was really a “referendum on Biden” and adding: “If we take back the House, and we get the Senate majority, that is a very good night. A wave would have been New Hampshire and Colorado.”
He went on to predict that the GOP would still take power and as such, force President Joe Biden to negotiate if he wants to get key pieces of legislation passed.
“But at the end of the day, guys, if we take the House and the Senate, we are going to have to sit down as a country and figure out to do with it,” he said. “Some unsolicited advice for President Biden, If we do take the House, and we do take the Senate, let’s all go to the border and see if we can find a way to fix it.”
He was also asked about 2024, going on to suggest that Democrats don’t really have a viable candidate to offer up if Biden sits out.
“You know, I don’t know. It depends on what happens tonight. If Biden doesn’t run, who do you replace him with?” he asked.
But, he said: “That is their problem, not ours. We have got plenty of problems. But I think that tonight is going to be a very good night for Republicans if we take the House by a governing majority. Y’all made a good point, I said 25 house seats and 52 Senate seats. I think we are going to be short of 25, and maybe at 51. So it is not a wave for sure, but I think it will be a very good night.”
Trump’s team is reportedly eying November 14, roughly a week after the midterm elections, to announce a 2024 presidential run.
“Trump and his top advisers have been signaling for weeks that a 2024 announcement is imminent. But those discussions have reached the point that allies are blocking off days in their calendars for the week after the midterms — and preparing to travel,” Axios reported.
The Axios report notes that “discussions are still fluid and could change depending on Tuesday’s results, especially if the Senate still hangs in the balance and the Georgia race between Herschel Walker and Raphael Warnock goes to a run-off.”
