On Saturday night, former President Donald Trump released a statement that included a slew of Republican representatives he wants to see get primary challengers. The former president is looking for "good and SMART America First Republican Patriots." In return, they'll receive his backing.
NEW!
— Liz Harrington (@realLizUSA) November 13, 2021
President Donald J. Trump:
"Any interest from good and SMART America First Republican Patriots to run 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
The list includes those Republicans who voted in favor of the infrastructure bill last Friday, as well as Republicans who voted in favor of 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.
Included are Reps. Tom Rice of South Carolina who voted in favor of impeachment articles, John Katko of New York who voted for impeachment and infrastructure, Don Bacon of Nebraska who voted in favor of infrastructure, Don Young of Alabama who voted in favor of infrastructure, Fred Upton of Michigan who voted in favor of impeachment and infrastructure, Andrew Garbarino of New York who voted in favor of infrastructure, Peter Meijer of Michigan who voted in favor of infrastructure and impeachment, David McKinley of West Virginia who voted in favor of infrastructure, Nancy Mace of South Carolina, Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington who voted in favor of impeachment and Chris Smith of New Jersey who voted in favor of infrastructure.
Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming gets her own separate mention, with Trump pointing out she already has a challenger. Trump endorsed attorney Harriet Hageman in September, who also published a column with Townhall on September 14. In the statement Trump refers to her as "Warmonger Liz Cheney," a title he frequently bestows upon her.
Rep. Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio, as well as Reps. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois and Tom Reed of New York, as Trump acknowledges, have already announced they are not seeking re-election. While the statement says "they are out of politics, hopefully for good," Kinzinger who is not running for re-election due to his congressional seat likely being redistricted out of existence, has hinted he may run for U.S. Senate or to be governor of Illinois, or even president.
There's also a senator on the list, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who just announced yesterday she is indeed running for re-election. Trump endorsed a primary challenger of hers, the former Alaska Commissioner of Administration Kelly Tshibaka in June.
Curiously missing from that list, however, is Rep. Nicole Malliotakis of New York. The congresswoman was at a National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) dinner on Monday where Trump spoke and called out the 13 Republicans who voted in favor of infrastructure. "I love all the House Republicans. Well, actually, I don’t love all of you. I don’t love the 13 that voted for Biden’s infrastructure plan," he reportedly said. As Leah reported, according to Juliegrace Brufke of the New York Post, Malliotakis was "visibly shaken."
Correction: A previous version said Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina voted for the infrastructure bill. She did not.
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