While many Republicans were one-time critics of former President Donald Trump in one way or another, most of them have since migrated over to his side.
Republicans who were weary of the former president came around to him during his presidency, but Trump faced criticism from several Republicans at the end of his term due to the events of Jan. 6, 2021. Since then, however, Trump has won back nearly all of his party’s elected officials.
The former president has managed to gain the support of some of his harshest critics, including Nikki Haley, former United Nations ambassador and presidential candidate, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), and even his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH).
“How many more times do we have to lose before we realize that he is the problem,” Haley said in February of Trump, which she followed with other critiques.
However, Haley later endorsed the former president at the Republican National Convention, saying, “I’ll start by making one thing perfectly clear: Donald Trump has my strong endorsement, period.”
Gov. Chris Sununu (R-NH) supported Haley in the 2024 Republican primary and called Trump “a disaster for this party,” but he has since come around to him.
“Nobody should be shocked that the Republican governor is supporting the Republican president,” Sununu said in April. “For me, it’s not about him as much as it is having a Republican administration.”
However, there are some remaining holdouts who have chosen silence over endorsements, including the entirety of the 2012 Republican ticket: Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) and his once-running mate, former House Speaker Paul Ryan.
Ryan has been retired from politics for a long time, and Romney announced his retirement this year. Former President George W. Bush and former vice presidents Mike Pence, Dick Cheney, and Dan Quayle also have not endorsed Trump and have not commented on the modern-day Republican Party after leaving the executive branch.
This election cycle, three Republicans on the ballot who have been critical of Trump have yet to come around to the former president.
Remaining “Impeachment 10” Members
In 2021, ten House Republicans voted to impeach Trump after the House charged him with “incitement of insurrection” over the Jan. 6 attack. Of the so-called “Impeachment 10,” just two remain in office: Reps. David Valadao (R-CA) and Dan Newhouse (R-WA).
Newhouse recently came second in his primary to Trump-backed challenger Jerrod Sessler, a Navy veteran and former NASCAR driver. Newhouse, however, will still appear on the ballot because of Washington, D.C.’s, ranked-choice primary voting system.
He is running for a sixth term in Washington’s 4th Congressional District. During the primary, Trump called him “weak and pathetic RINO, Dan Newhouse, who stupidly voted to impeach me for absolutely no reason.”
Trump also tried to oust Newhouse in 2022 but failed to do so.
Valadao has also stayed quiet about Trump. His California district is somewhat Democratic-leaning. It’s a district President Joe Biden would have won in 2020 had the current congressional boundaries been in place.
The California Republican did not attend a closed-door meeting with the former president on Capitol Hill earlier this summer.
“I never loved him,” Trump said of Valadao, according to a GOP member who was present at the meeting.
Trump also claimed at the meeting that he saved Valadao from being ousted by a challenger by not endorsing one.
Still, Trump reportedly extended an olive branch to those who voted to impeach him but were not present at the meeting, which seemingly only applied to Valadao as he was the only one who fit those criteria.
“He referenced that there was one person left in the room that had voted for impeachment and that he is staying, and that’s good. We need a bigger Republican majority,” said Rep. French Hill (R-AR), who said the former president’s comments were “forward thinking” and “about winning the election.”
In a statement to 17 News Bakersfield, Valadao responded to Trump’s comments, saying, “I’m focused on doing my job and getting results for the Central Valley. I’m willing to work with anyone to get things done for our community, and that will be the same no matter who is in the White House next year.”
The other eight House members of the “Impeachment 10” either retired or were ousted from their seats by Trump-backed challengers during the 2022 midterm elections.
The Washington Examiner reached out to Newhouse and Valadao for comment.
Former Gov. Larry Hogan
As Maryland’s former Republican governor, now running for Senate in deep-blue Maryland, Larry Hogan has tried to distance himself from Trump and the majority of the MAGA Republican Party. He did not attend the RNC in Milwaukee earlier this year.
Trump did endorse Hogan despite some Republicans harshly criticizing him. Hogan said the endorsement was not sought after.
“I didn’t seek it, I didn’t want to have it, and I have no interest in it,” Hogan said. “It’s not something we’re going to be promoting, that’s for sure.”
Some Republicans close to Trump pounced on Hogan for his comments on Trump’s criminal New York hush money trial. Hogan called for voters to respect the jury’s verdict in Trump’s hush money case, which ended in a felony conviction. In return, Trump’s co-campaign manager, Chris LaCivita, replied on X, saying, “You just ended your campaign.”
“[Hogan] doesn’t deserve the respect of anyone in the Republican Party at this point, and, quite frankly, anybody in America,” said Lara Trump, RNC co-chairwoman, on CNN.
Trump distanced himself from his Republican operatives and endorsed Hogan on Fox News, saying, “I’d like to see him win. I think he has a good chance to win … I know other people made some strong statements, but I can just say from my standpoint, I’m about the party, and I’m about the country. And I would like to see him win.”
Hogan represents a unique opportunity to help Republicans regain control of the Senate. Maryland has not had a Republican represent the state in the Senate since 1987, but Republicans hope Hogan’s popularity from his time as governor in the blue state will give him the push he needs for victory.
Still, it looks unlikely that the former Maryland governor will fully embrace Trump in this election cycle, and Hogan isn’t convinced Trump will boost him here.
“In a state that Donald Trump lost by 33 points, [the endorsement] doesn’t really carry a lot of voters over to our cause, so I don’t think we’re going to have any interest in accepting it,” Hogan said.
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The Washington Examiner asked the Hogan campaign if his sentiment toward Trump had shifted since the endorsement, to which a campaign spokesman responded, “No.”
Hogan and his Democratic opponent, Prince George County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, are locked in a dead heat for the Senate seat, according to the latest survey.
