The Midterm Report: Republicans flip House seat, vote out GOP member who impeached Trump
(Credit: Arnaud Jaegers, Unsplash)
The last few weeks of primary elections have seen Santa Claus lose, Dr. Oz win, and two former Trump administration officials secure their spots in the fall midterms.
Tuesday also marked the first U.S. House seat flip since May 2020 after Republican candidate Mayra Flores beat out Democratic challenger Dan Sanchez in Texas, giving the GOP an extra seat in the current session. Flores will need to run again in the November election if she hopes to complete a full congressional term.
A few weeks ago, The Blueprint profiled Santa Claus, an independent candidate running in the U.S. House special election in Alaska. With a slate of four dozen candidates, it was an uphill battle for Claus, of North Pole. After running a campaign exclusively on name recognition, Santa Claus fell just short of the four-person qualifier. Sarah Palin, a former Republican running-mate for John McCain and reality television star, is widely expected to win the seat in August.
In South Carolina, U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace faced an uphill battle to hold onto her seat in the House after Trump endorsed challenger Katie Arrington. Mace faced opposition from the GOP after criticizing Trump’s role in the Jan. 6th insurrection but still emerged victorious in her primary.
Also in S.C., U.S. Rep. Tom Rice became the first of ten House Republicans who voted to impeach Donald Trump after Jan. 6th to lose his seat in Congress after Trump-backed candidate state Rep. Russell Fry’s victory on Tuesday.
While some Trump administration officials went on to become Fox News correspondents or guests on reality competition series The Masked Singer and Dancing with the Stars, others have been convicted of crimes and participated in the Jan. 6 insurrection.
But there are two former White House staff running in the midterms this fall. After Montana's latest round of redistricting, former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke narrowly won the Republican nomination for a new U.S. House seat. In addition to Zinke, Sarah Huckabee Sanders is widely expected to become Arkansas governor. That victory will come despite her admission to the Mueller team that she lied to the press in her role as White House Communications Director.
Over in Wisconsin, Trump-backed construction company co-owner Tim Michels will still appear on the ballot in the Aug. 9 primary. Michels was the subject of a complaint by Democrats arguing he didn’t include his correct mailing address on his candidacy papers, but election officials disagreed.
Meanwhile, a historic state lawmaker has decided not to seek re-election. Stephanie Byers, who became the first trans legislator elected at the state level in Kansas, announced last week that she would be moving to Texas to help look after her wife’s parents. Byers noted that transphobic comments from colleagues, including an email from a Republican lawmaker who complained about the “transgender female who is now in our restrooms at the Capitol,” had no influence on her decision to leave the political scene.