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With Nebraska Republican Sen. Ben Sasse's retirement, 11 of the 17 Republicans who voted to impeach or convict former President Donald Trump in 2021 have now opted not to seek re-election or have lost their primary races this year.
Sasse announced Thursday he is stepping down to lead the University of Florida. The Nebraska Republican came to the Senate after a stint as the president of Midland University, and his public statements about his decision to join Florida do not mention Trump at all. He went as far as to tell National Review “the impeachment vote has exactly zero to do with this.”
But his decision does mean that three of the seven Republican senators who voted to convict Trump will retire this cycle — Sasse, North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr and Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey. Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski faces a competitive re-election fight from a Trump-backed opponent, while the remaining three aren't on the ballot this cycle.
And that comes after a primary cycle where out of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump, four decided to retire and four lost primaries to candidates who used their vote as a wedge issue.
