New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu is the only GOP governor to fight Democrats’ efforts to impeach President Donald Trump in a state that Trump lost during the 2016 election.
When Democrats moved to impeach President Trump over his conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, many Republicans moved to defend the president.
However, many Republican governors in states that Trump lost during the 2016 presidential election have not backed the president.
Last week, Maryland Republican Governor Larry Hogan expressed support for an impeachment inquiry into President Trump.
Gov. Hogan told PBS:
I think we do need an inquiry because we have to get to the bottom of it. I’m not ready to say I support impeachment and the removal of the president, but I do think we should have an impeachment inquiry.
Gov. Hogan did, however, express concern over whether Democrats could lead a “fair, objective” inquiry into the president’s call with Zelensky.
“I don’t see any other way to get the facts,” Hogan said.
The Maryland GOP governor previously considered whether to primary Trump, but decided against it, citing his commitment to the people of Maryland.
Hogan joins Massachusetts GOP Governor Charlie Baker and Vermont Republican Governor Phil Scott, who both came out in favor of an impeachment inquiry in September.
Baker said, “It’s a deeply disturbing situation and circumstance, and I think the proper role and responsibility for Congress at this point is to investigate it and get to the bottom of it.”
Gov. Scott told the Washington Post that an impeachment inquiry was “appropriate” and contended that it served as a critical part of Congress’s duty as a co-equal branch of government:
I think we have much more to learn and need to understand all the facts as this serious allegation is considered. Congress has a solemn responsibility to every American to fulfill its role in our government system of checks and balances.
However, despite the three northeast Republican governors’ support for an impeachment inquiry, New Hampshire GOP Gov. Sununu has rebuked Democrats’ call for it.
Gov. Sununu told reporters last week that he believes that the impeachment inquiry is nothing more than partisan politics:
Everyone trying to get at each other. There is no place for that here in New Hampshire. We do things differently; we get stuff done. We work across the aisle. Those types of Washington circus theatrics [should be left] for Washington.
Asked whether he supports the impeachment inquiry, Sununu said, “No, of course not.”
While President Trump lost Massachusetts, Vermont, and Maryland in the 2016 presidential election by a substantial margin. Trump only lost New Hampshire by less than 3,000 votes.
Sununu’s backing of Trump amidst an impeachment inquiry and the governor’s gubernatorial victory in 2018 could signal that the president could win the state in 2020.
Sununu said Thursday:
From what I’ve seen, this doesn’t rise to the level of an impeachment; it’s politics. It’s been politics from day one. It’s all a big circus. You have individuals who have been asking for this president to be impeached since the day he took office.
The Republican governor of New Hampshire said the voters will have the “ultimate say” regarding impeachment in 2020.
“I don’t buy any of it; I don’t think anybody should,” Sununu said. “And you know who’s going to have the ultimate say, the voters in 2020 will have the ultimate say about whether this is valid or not.”
He added, “Of course I don’t think this rises to the level of an entire impeachment inquiry by the House of Representatives.”
Sean Moran is a congressional reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.
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