Jun 8, 2022 - Politics & Policy
House Republicans face retirement or retribution over Jan. 6 commission vote
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The bipartisan Jan. 6 commission may have died in the Senate, but the House vote on it has proved consequential in Republican primaries a year later.
Driving the news: Rep. Michael Guest (R-Miss.) finished second in his primary on Tuesday, behind a conservative challenger who attacked him for being one of the 35 Republicans that voted to create the commission.
- Guest's fate will be decided in a runoff with the challenger, test pilot Michael Cassidy, later this month.
By the numbers: Almost a third of the House Republicans who voted for the commission either plan to retire this cycle, already resigned or lost their primary.
- Among those retiring is Rep. Van Taylor (R-Texas), who, like Guest, was unexpectedly forced into a runoff with a conservative challenger in March. He then dropped out after admitting to an extramarital affair.
- Rep. David McKinley (R-W.Va.), who also voted for a bipartisan infrastructure package maligned by former President Trump, lost to Trump-backed Rep. Alex Mooney (R-W.Va.) after the two were drawn into a single district.
- Many others, including Reps. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.), Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and Tom Rice (R-S.C.), face perilous primaries later this year.
