On Saturday night, former President Donald Trump released a statement that included a number of Republican Party officials he says he wants to become primary challengers. The former president is looking for “good and INTELLIGENT American early Republican patriots.” In return, they will receive his support.
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President Donald J. Trump:
“Any interest from good and SMART America First Republican Patriots in running primary campaigns against Representatives Tom Rice, John Katko, Don Bacon, Don Young, Fred Upton (challenge accepted), Andrew Garbarino, Peter Meijer (challenge accepted) pic.twitter.com/5RY8oQGDwH
— Liz Harrington (@realLizUSA) November 13, 2021
The list includes Republicans who voted for the infrastructure bill last Friday, as well as Republicans who voted for articles of impeachment against Trump in January. The articles reached the Senate, which ultimately found Trump not guilty in February, on January 25, after he had already left office.
This includes Representatives: Tom Rice of South Carolina who voted for the articles of impeachment, John Katko of New York who voted for impeachment and infrastructure, Don Bacon of Nebraska who voted for infrastructure, Don Young of Alabama who voted for infrastructure, Fred Upton of Michigan who voted for impeachment and infrastructure, Andrew Garbarino of New York who voted for infrastructure, Peter Meijer of Michigan, who voted for infrastructure and impeachment, David McKinley of West Virginia who voted for infrastructure, Nancy Mace of South Carolina, Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington who voted for impeachment and Chris Smith of New Jersey who voted for infrastructure.
Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming gets a separate mention, with Trump emphasizing that he already has a competitor. In September, Trump endorsed attorney Harriet Hageman, who also published a column in Townhall on September 14. In the statement, Trump calls her “warmonger Liz Cheney” – and calls her that often.
Representatives Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio, as well as Adam Kinzinger of Illinois and Tom Reed of New York, as Trump admits, have already announced that they are not seeking re-election. Although the statement says they are “out of politics, hopefully for good,” Kinzinger, who is not seeking re-election due to likely redistricting of his congressional seat, suggested he may run for the U.S. Senate or become governor of Illinois , and even the president.
Also on the list is Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who just yesterday announced that she is, in fact, running for re-election. In June, Trump endorsed her main rival, former Alaska Commissioner of Administration Kelly Tshibaka.
Interestingly, however, Representative Nicole Malliotakis of New York is missing from this list. The congresswoman attended the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) dinner on Monday, where Trump spoke and called out 13 Republicans who voted for infrastructure. “I love all the Republicans in the House of Representatives. Well, I don’t actually love you all. I don’t like the 13 who voted for Biden’s infrastructure plan,” he reportedly said. As Leah reported, according to the New York Post’s Juliegrace Brufke, Malliotakis was “visibly shaken.”
Correction: A previous version stated that Republican Nancy Mace of South Carolina voted for the infrastructure bill. She didn’t do it.
