Michigan Rep. Peter Meijer, who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump, has lost his primary election to former Trump administration official John Gibbs.
Gibbs has been critical of President Joe Biden's 2020 election.
Rep. Meijer only served one term representing the state's 3rd Congressional District, but was a loud voice opposing Trump's claims that the election was fraudulent.
“A Constitutional Republic like ours requires leaders who are willing to take on the big challenges, to find common ground when possible, and to put their love of country before partisan advantage," Meijer said in a statement following his concession. “Though this was not the outcome we hoped for, I will continue to do everything possible to move the Republican Party, West Michigan, and our country in a positive direction.”
Gibbs ran largely on criticizing Meijer for not being a "real Republican" over his vote to impeach and supporting the gun control measures signed into law by President Biden. He was strongly endorsed by Trump. Just got a call from President Trump, congratulating me and my team on tonight’s big win! Thank you, Mr. President for your support! pic.twitter.com/43BZfvqBEo
— John Gibbs for MI-3 (@votejohngibbs) August 3, 2022
In a strange twist, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has been accused of spending over $400,000 to boost Gibbs, allegedly because they believe he will be easier to defeat in the fall. In televised ads, the committee lightly criticized him for his Trump endorsement, which Meijer and his supporters believed would actually help him in the context of their race.
“Under a different context it would be almost humorous,” Meijer said, according to a report from The Hill. “It just shows you that you can have all the high-minded rhetoric you want, the Democrats are always going to put party ahead of country.”
Meijer's loss is the second of the ten Republicans who voted to impeach that have lost to primary challengers. South Carolina Rep. Tom Rice was first, losing to a Trump-endorsed challenger in June.
California Rep. David Valadao, who also voted to impeach, survived his primary and will be moving on to the midterms. Four others did not run for re-election.
Perhaps the highest profile Trump opponent in the Republican Party, Rep. Liz Cheney, will be facing a primary challenge later this month. She has been consistently behind by a wide margin in the polls.
The Department of Justice has said that they found no evidence of election fraud on a large enough scale to have altered the outcome of the 2020 election.
Gibbs will now face Democrat nominee Hillary Scholten in November's midterm election.
Timcast has reached out to Meijer for comment and will update this story if one is provided.
