How These Republican Impeachment Supporters Survived the Primary

Murkowski, Newhouse, and Valadao did not face a traditional Republican primary. Instead, they entered a contest in which all candidates appeared on the same ballot, regardless of political party. In California and Washington the top two will advance to the general election, and in Alaska the top four will advance to the general election.

With all voters mixed, these Republicans didn’t need to appeal to party loyalists who diluted the influence of Trump’s most ardent supporters. was meant to require only a fraction of the total votes to clear.

Of course, there were other factors at work in these campaigns that helped the Republican impeachment supporters to meet the same fate as the Republican impeachment supporters.

Valadao and Newhouse have remained relatively quiet about their feelings about Trump after the impeachment vote. As for Newhouse, his Trump-backed opponent Lauren Culp has had trouble raising money.

Still, all-party primaries have undoubtedly played an important role, which could help strengthen the arguments put forward by supporters of the system. This kind of primary creates incentives for candidates to play in the middle, rather than the most partisan element that usually dominates the primary, making the overall political environment less polarizing.

That goal is still far from being achieved. But for now, all-party primaries appeared to offer the best chance of political survival at a time when the number of Republicans supporting impeachment was dwindling.

point: The 2022 primary shows that it takes a unique set of circumstances for Republicans who have been Trump opponents to stick the needle and maintain their place in the party.