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As the House Judiciary Committee held its first impeachment hearing into President Trump this week, some of the House’s most vulnerable Democrats privately huddled to discuss how to protect their majority.
At the headquarters of the House Democrats’ campaign arm, they talked about what they were hearing back home and were briefed on an internal poll surveying 57 battleground districts from October to November, according to a source familiar, which showed support for impeaching and removing Trump had stayed about the same ? slightly trailing the opposition ? despite a Republican onslaught. While independents had surged to support it, Republicans had rallied around their party leader.
While the polling was meant to reassure Democrats from highly competitive districts, they are still uneasy about the historic vote they’re about to cast, which could have major ramifications for the country and their races.
“I’m totally undecided,” Rep. Anthony Brindisi of New York, a freshman from a competitive district who had initially resisted an impeachment inquiry, said Friday. “Anytime you talk about impeaching a president — the third time in our nation’s history — that’s a very serious vote. I take it very seriously.”
The day after the briefing, Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the House would proceed with articles of impeachment, setting up a vote that will present a tricky choice for the 31 Democrats in Trump districts.
Hours later, Brad Parscale, the Trump campaign manager, tweeted that “impeachment is killing” freshman House Democrats ? “and polling proves it.” He then tweeted an internal poll showing that in Oklahoma Rep. Kendra Horn’s district, less than half of respondents support impeachment ? a surprisingly high number there, but one that still showed that a slim majority of her constituents did not want her to vote to impeach the President.
Like many other Democrats in red districts, Horn told CNN that she’s still deciding on how to vote, waiting to see “all the information,” including how the articles of impeachment will be written.
The charges laid out during Wednesday’s hearing include abuse of power and bribery, obstruction of justice and obstruction of Congress.
Democrats say Trump put his personal interest over the country’s when he pressured Ukraine to announce politically-damaging investigations of Democrats, while using military aid and a White House meeting coveted by Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky as leverage.
Some Democrats hope that their colleagues do not expand the articles further, or include episodes of alleged obstruction of justice found in the Mueller report in the articles.
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