Out of the 10 House Republicans who voted for President Donald Trump’s impeachment last year, only two made it to the general election ballot.
As of early Thursday, one of those candidates will return to Congress next year, while another is still in question.
Rep. Dan Newhouse of Washington led Democrat Doug White by a nearly two-to-one margin. Newhouse is the projected winner in his district.
Newhouse ran in a district that has not elected a Democrat since 1993 and has voted for every Republican presidential candidate since 1968. According to Dave’s Redistricting, even with tweaks to the boundaries following redistricting, the district gives Republicans a 59-39 edge in the seat.
Meanwhile, Rep. David Valadao holds a slim advantage over Democrat Rudy Salas. Even nearly 36 hours after polls closed, only about 39% of the vote has been counted.
Valadao ran in a swing district that voted him out in 2018, only for him to regain the seat two years later. Even though Valadao won in 2020, President Joe Biden carried the district by double digits, indicating many voters put both Valadao and Biden on their ballots.
Dave’s Redistricting suggests the district is more Democratic than before, giving the party a 58-40 edge over Republicans.
In the Senate, just one of the seven Republican senators who voted to convict Trump was on the ballot. Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski is up for reelection. While Alaska is expected to elect a Republican, it’s not a guarantee that the Republican will be her.
Alaska uses ranked-choice voting, meaning voters will be asked for their favorite candidate among four listed. If no candidate gets a majority in the first round, the lowest-ranked candidate is eliminated until a majority is reached.
As of early Thursday, Murkowski had about 42.8% of the vote, while Trump-backed candidate Kelly Tshibaka has 44.3%.
As lower-tier candidates get eliminated, those voters’ second choice will be added to their totals. With other candidates pulling in 13% of the vote, voters’ second choice could decide whether Murkowski gets another term.
