Tipsheet

Red District Democrats Are Feeling the Heat. Here's How They Plan to Vote on Impeachment.

Beth Baumann
Beth Baumann  |  December 17, 2019 7:40 PM

Impeachment has been on Democrats' minds since before President Donald Trump took office. They disliked him from the moment he stepped on the political scene. Once he won the 2016 election, the Democrats began to plot to take him down. For more than two years, we heard about how the Trump campaign colluded with Russia. The Democrats handpicked Special Counsel Robert Mueller to lead their investigation into Russia. And guess what? He found no collusion took place. 

When Mueller failed to deliver the "smoking gun" they had been waiting for, the Democrats latched onto President Trump's call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. They've run with the idea that quid pro quo – or bribery – took place. Trump released transcripts that showed that no quid pro quo took place. He didn't threaten to withhold military aid unless Zelensky looked into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, for corruption. 

Polling has continually shown that Americans do not want a duly elected president impeached. But Democrats put their members from heavily pro-Trump districts in a bind. They're now having to decide: do they do the right thing and vote against impeachment or do they vote with their party?

These are the vulnerable Democrats from red districts and how they plan to vote:

Rep. Elissa Slotkin (MI-08) - voting yes

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Rep. Haley Stevens (MI-11) - voting yes 

Rep. Angie Craig (MN-02) - voting yes

Rep. Collin Peterson (MN-07) - unsure but likely voting no

Peterson is still unsure about how he's going to vote on the articles of impeachment once it comes to the full House floor for a vote. He told MPR news on Monday that he generally likes to see all of the information on an issue before making a decision. Peterson plans to vote against impeachment “unless they come up with something between now and Wednesday,” although it's highly unlikely.

Republicans have approached Peterson about leaving the Democratic Party and becoming Republican, something the 15-term Congressman said no to.

"I'm staying in the party, in spite of some of the stuff that's going on that I don't agree with, I am not going switch parties at this stage of my career," Peterson told KFGO. "There have been overtures by the highest levels of the Republican party in the last couple weeks to ask if I would consider it and I told them no."

Rep. Chris Pappa (NH-01) - voting yes

Rep. Jeffrey Van Drew (NJ-02) - voting no and switching parties

Out of all of the vulnerable Democrats, Rep. Jeffrey Van Drew is the one who has caused quite the stir. He announced that he would vote against the Democrats' articles of impeachment and will be switching political parties. Once Van Drew announced that he would become a Republican, five of his top aides quit. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) promised to hire those staffers until they found a job that aligned with their personal values.

Rep. Andy Kim (NJ-03) - voting yes

Rep. Josh Gottheimer (NJ-05) - voting yes

Rep. Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11) - voting yes

Rep. Xochitl Torres Small (NM-02) - voting yes

“After serious consideration, I believe impeachment is the necessary response to President Trump’s use of the Executive Office of the President for his own personal and political gain. We cannot allow any President of either party to abuse the power of the highest office, jeopardizing our country's national security in the process, to pressure foreign leaders to conduct investigations against political rivals," Torres Small told the Las Cruces Sun News in a statement. "We also cannot allow any President to obstruct Congress’ power to investigate impeachable offenses by prohibiting White House and other administration officials from testifying or providing evidence. I must act to protect our national security, our Constitution, and the integrity of our elections."

Rep. Susie Lee (NV-03) - voting yes

“This is a grave decision that requires thorough and solemn deliberation,” Lee said in a statement. to the Las Vegas Review Journal. “After weighing all of the facts, I will be voting in support of impeachment of the president.”

Rep. Max Rose (NY-11) - voting yes

Rep. Sean Maloney (NY-18) - voting yes

Rep. Antonio Delgado (NY-19) - voting yes

Rep. Anthony Brindisi (NY-22) - voting yes

Rep. Kendra Horn (OK-05) - voting yes

Matt Cartwright (PA-08) - voting yes

“At some point, it becomes necessary to announce certain conduct by an American president as unacceptable. There have been credible allegations this week that the President abused the power of his office, on the international stage, for his own political gain," Cartwright said in a statement. "We need to get to the bottom of these serious allegations through comprehensive impeachment proceedings and document production. Whether such hearings result in actual impeachment of the president and/or senior cabinet officials remains to be seen.”

Rep. Conor Lamb (PA-17) - voting yes

Rep. Joe Cunningham (SC-01) - voting yes

“I’ve waited and waited and I have not found any evidence they submitted compelling at all,” Cunningham told the The Post and Courier. “At the end of day, this is simply about the rule of law, whether we’re a country with laws or not and what type of precedent we want to set for future presidents.”

“For the president to withhold that to curry a personal and political favor that would help his reelection at the expense of America, I just find that something all of us must stand against,” he said.

Rep. Ben McAdams (UT-04) - voting yes

Rep. Elaine Luria (VA-02) - voting yes

Rep. Abigail Spanberger (VA-07) - voting yes

Rep. Ron Kind (WI-03) - still unsure