Democratic Rep. Jefferson Van Drew (N.J.) is set to switch political parties after voicing opposition to impeachment.
Van Drew has begun informing his staff and fellow New Jersey delegation members that he will leave the Democratic Party, Democratic aides said.
His decision comes after a lengthy Friday meeting with President Trump.
Van Drew is one of just two Democratic lawmakers who voted against launching an impeachment inquiry into Trump. He is a member of the centrist Blue Dog Coalition.
He told The Washington Post on Tuesday that he wasn’t switching parties but would vote against impeachment.
The lawmaker in 2018 won a previously Republican-held seat in a district that The Cook Political Report rates as slightly Republican.
Van Drew’s opposition to impeachment sparked a Democratic primary challenge.
“I am imploring you to vote in favor of impeachment,” Atlantic County Democratic Chairman Michael Suleiman said in a recent letter to Van Drew. “Voting for impeachment will undoubtedly hurt your standing with some Republican voters. However … I find it hard to believe that voters that have known you for decades will ditch you over one vote.”
Suleiman hasn’t yet endorsed Van Drew’s reelection, and some saw his letter as a warning sign Van Drew should heed.
Atlantic County accounts for 37% of the district’s voters and 41% of its registered Democrats, according to state election data.
Democrats were worried that liberal anger at Van Drew could ultimately hurt other candidates next year.
“A ‘no’ vote on impeachment will suppress Democratic turnout down-ballot, which my organization cannot sustain,” Suleiman wrote. “We cannot afford to have Democrats sit on their hands in a presidential year when we usually perform well.”
The House Judiciary Committee this week voted to advance two articles of impeachment accusing the president of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, setting the stage for a full chamber vote.