A Michigan state lawmaker swiftly filed a Republican primary challenge to Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) on May 20, just two days after Amash became the first Republican congressman to call for the impeachment of President Donald Trump.
“Congressman Justin Amash tweets yesterday calling for President Trump’s impeachment show how out of touch he is with the truth and how out of touch he is with people he represents,” Lower said in a statement on his campaign website.
“Amash has not only failed to support President Trump as the President works to make the United States stronger and safer, he has now united with radical liberals like Democratic Congresswomen Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit) to try and bring down our President. He must be replaced and I am going to do it,” Lower added.
Amash made headlines on May 18 with a series of messages on Twitter accusing Trump of “impeachable conduct” and calling on Congress to impeach the president. Amash is the only Republican to have called for the president’s impeachment.
Amash said he came to his conclusion after reading the report by special counsel Robert Mueller. The special counsel’s report concluded there is not enough evidence to establish that Trump or anyone on his campaign colluded with Russia. Mueller also decided against filing an obstruction of justice charge against the president.
Amash also accused Attorney General William Barr of intentionally misrepresenting the findings of the Mueller report.
No Republican joined Amash’s call for impeachment. Sen. Mitt Romney, a prominent anti-Trump Republican, said he and Amash didn’t come to the same conclusions. Top Republicans also criticized Amash.
Trump countered Amash on May 19, calling him a “ total lightweight” and a “loser” while pointing to the conclusions of Mueller’s report.
Lower has held the state seat for two terms while Amash was elected in 2010 and reelected three times.
Amash ran unopposed in 2018 in the Republican primary before winning 54 percent of the vote in the general election. He also appeared to run unopposed in 2016 before winning nearly 60 percent of the vote in the general election. In 2014, he beat primary challenger Brian Ellis with 57 percent of the vote before getting 58 percent of the vote in the general election.
Shortly prior to unveiling his campaign website, Lower shared a statement by Laura Cox, Michigan’s Republican chairwoman.
“While President Trump’s leadership has led to the strongest economy in a generation, Justin Amash has opposed his ‘America First’ agenda every step of the way,” Cox wrote.
“Now in a desperate attempt to grab headlines and advance his own presidential ambitions, Amash is peddling a narrative that has repeatedly been proven false. Shameful.”
