Collin Peterson, a Democrat from Minnesota, and Jeff Van Drew, a Democrat from New Jersey, are the two Democrats who voted against the impeachment resolution. The resolution was adopted by the Democratic majority in the House. The final tally was 232-196. This means that rules for an impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump will go forward.
Rep. Peterson’s District Went for Donald Trump by Over 30% in 2016
Congressman Peterson’s 7th congressional district in Western Minnesota went for Donald Trump in the 2016 Presidential Election by 30.5 points. It is the largest district in Minnesota. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton won Minnesota by 1.5 points.
Rep Peterson (D-MN) (L) talks with U.S. Agriculture Secretary Edward Schafer during the American Meat Institute’s Annual Hot Dog Day Lunch in the courtyard of the Rayburn House Office Building July 23, 2008 in Washington, DC.
Peterson has represented his district since 1991. Peterson won 52 percent of the vote in 2016 and 2018. Minnesota political pundit Kyle Kundik told the Minnesota Post when Peterson was elected in November 2018, “Peterson is a true anomaly – he holds a district that Trump won by about 30 points. No other Democrat holds a district that voted for Trump by nearly that amount.”
Rep. Van Drew’s District Went for Donald Trump by 5% in 2016
Rep. Van Drew said in a speech on the house floor on October 30 that his goal was to focus on issues such as cheaper prescription drugs. Van Drew had said in an earlier speech that he hadn’t anything “impeachable” yet from the president.
The congressman is a freshman from South Jersey. His district, New Jersey’s 2nd, went for Trump in 2016. The president won the district by 50.6 percent to 46 percent.
Following his vote on the resolution, Van Drew said that he chose nay as he felt the impeachment inquiry would “further divide the country tearing it apart at the seams.” Van Drew said that he felt the impeachment efforts would fall short in the Senate. The congressman added that as the resolution has been carried forward he would make “a judgment call based on all the evidence presented by these investigations.” Although Van Drew added that he felt that Congress should still be trying “to help the American people” on issues such as infrastructure and prescription drug costs.”
Former Republican Justin Amash Voted in Favor of the Resolution
U.S. Rep. Justin Amash pictured in May 2019.
Former Republican Congressman Justin Amash of Michigan voted in favor of the resolution. New York Democrat Anthony Brindisi had not previously said if he would vote in favor.
Congresswoman Kendra Horn, who flipped a pro-Trump district in November 2018 for the Democrats, told The Oklahoman on the morning of the vote that she would vote in favor. Rep. Horn said, “A transparent, public process is a move out of the closed-door hearings that gives everybody the same rules. This is not saying I have made a determination [about impeachment] or not. But for me, it is about ensuring that our systems work.”
The President Responded to the Vote by Saying the Democrats Were ‘Hurting Our Stock Market’
In response to the vote, Donald Trump tweeted, “The Impeachment Hoax is hurting our Stock Market. The Do Nothing Democrats don’t care!”
Speaker Pelosi Said in March 2019 That She Would Only Move Forward on Impeachment if it Was Biparitsan
GettyHouse Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) joins with members of the Republican caucus during a vote by the U.S. House of Representatives on a resolution formalizing the impeachment inquiry centered on U.S. President Donald Trump October 31, 2019 in Washington, DC.
During the debate on the resolution, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, of California, brought up an interview that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi had done in March 2019. Rep. Pelosi told the Washington Post at the time that she would only support impeachment if it was “something so compelling and overwhelming and bipartisan.”
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