The next Congress will include the two Republicans who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump after the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021. NBC News predicts both California’s David Valadao and Washington’s Dan Newhouse to win again. election.
NBC News projected Valadao as the winner Tuesday night in a close rematch against former Democratic state lawmaker Rudy Salas in the Central Valley district.
Valadao is the only Republican in the House to vote to impeach Trump who did not incur the wrath of the former president in the form of confirmation, although Valadao has faced challenges from the right since the impeachment vote.
But Valadao partially overcame those challenges thanks to California’s top two primary system, in which candidates from all parties compete on the same primary ballot and advance to the general election regardless of party affiliation.
Washington also has the first two systems. Newhouse easily won re-election against Democrats two Novembers ago after dropping out of the 2022 primary.
But in this year’s general election, Newhouse faced a fellow Republican backed by Trump. former NASCAR driver Jerrod Sessler. Trump had endorsed Sessler in the primary, but also hedged his bets and endorsed another Republican in the race, Tiffany Smiley, even though Sessler finished in one of the top two spots alongside Newhouse.
Trump reinvigorated Sessler a week before polling day. He writes at Truth Social Newhouse is a “weak and pathetic RINO,” or a Republican in name only, and Sessler is “going to do an incredible job — He’s a MAGA all the way and has my complete and total endorsement.”
But that was the extent of Trump’s help in the race, and Sessler spent heavily on the air after the August primary.
National Interest Action, a GOP super PAC involved in the other two House primaries, spent $1.6 million on ads to boost Newhouse after the primary, according to ad-tracking firm AdImpact. Newhouse’s campaign spent $471,000 on airtime, while Sessler’s spent $227,000.
Newhouse’s the most published place focused on immigration and Newhouse’s work in the House, describing Sessler’s policies as extreme.
Newhouse and Valadao are the only two of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump and are still serving in the chamber. Four retirees and four others — Wyoming’s Liz Cheney, Michigan’s Peter Meijer, South Carolina’s Tom Rice and Washington state’s Jaime Herrera Beutler — lost primaries to Trump-backed challengers in 2022.
Three of the seven Senate Republicans who voted to impeach Trump in a second impeachment trial will return to the chamber next year: Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Susan Collins of Maine.
Cassidy and Collins are both up for re-election in 2026.
Jake Traylor contributed.