A number of Democrats from Trump-winning districts have come out for impeachment over the past 24 hours as the House of Representatives vote looms.
Despite being invited to last week’s Congressional Ball at the White House, Rep. Antonio Delgado, a New York Democrat, announced today he planned to vote to impeach.
He was joined by Rep. Elissa Slotkin, a Michigan Democrat, who oannounced her pro-impeachment stance, before walking into a Rochester, Michigan town hall to explain her decision to constituents.
Slotkin faced a noisy crowd of Trump supporters, who called her a ‘CIA hack,’ a reference to her former job, and chanted ‘Hey. hey! Ho, ho! Elissa Slotkin has got to go!’
‘Guys, let’s try to have a civil conversation,’ she implored.
And while her anti-impeachment constituents were louder, the majority of the 400 people gathered at the town hall stood and applauded when she announced how she would vote.
Slotkin and Delgado represent two of the 31 districts who voted for Trump in 2016 and went Democratic in 2018, allowing the Democrats to take the House.
As of Monday evening, 17 Democratic lawmakers who came from pro-Trump districts had gotten to yes.
They also include Rep. Ben McAdams, the Utah Democrat who narrowly unseated Rep. Mia Love, the only black female Republican in the House.
‘What the president did was wrong,’ McAdams said today. ‘I cannot turn a blind eye there by condoning this president and future presidents Republican or Democrat, to do the same.’
McAdams said he also knew that Trump would be acquitted in the Senate ‘in a display of partisan theater that Republicans and Democrats in Washington perform disturbingly well.’
Also among the 17 yes votes was Rep. Joe Cunningham of South Carolina.
He made his announcement with an interview where he said he was waiting for Republicans to present evidence to defend Trump.
‘I’ve waited and waited and I have not found any evidence they submitted compelling at all,’ he said today. ‘At the end of the day, this is simply about the rule of law, whether we’re a country of laws or not and what type of precedent we want to set for future presidents.’
Late today, Reps. Abigail Spanberger and Andy Kim also came out for impeachment.
Two Democrats didn’t initially vote for impeachment nor will they vote for it this week.
Rep. Collin Peterson, a Minnesota Democrat, has said he’ll vote no.
Rep. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey went a step further and said he’s leaving the Democratic Party over the impeachment vote.
That leaves another 12 Trump-district Democrats up in the air.
They include Reps. Abby Finkenauer, Dave Loebsack, Cindy Axne, Cheri Bustos, Lauren Underwood, Jared Golden, Haley Stevens, Josh Gottheimer, Mikie Sherrill, Anthony Brindisi, Kendra Horn and Ron Kind.