Although one squad of freshmen House Democrat females fueled calls for an impeachment inquiry, another squad galvanized its launch — but not all of them seem enthusiastic in the face of declining public support for impeachment.

That second squad was the female national security veterans who came out in support of the impeachment in late September — Reps. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), and Elaine Luria (D-VA). They announced their support in op-ed credited with helping convince House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to launch the impeachment inquiry.

Immediately after, CNN ran a glowing piece profiling the self-labeled “badasses” titled, “These five freshman congresswomen changed history by becoming unlikely leaders on impeachment.”

But now, with public support for impeachment slipping, only one has really embraced her stance.

On Veterans Day, Luria recently put out a campaign video explaining her support for impeachment, which the Washington Post noted was an “unusual move for a moderate on the cusp of a tough reelection.”

The video ends with Luria at a town hall in her Republican-dominated district representing the military-heavy Virginia Beach saying, “People might say, ‘Well why would you do that? You might not be reelected.’ I don’t care, because I did the right thing.”

The others stayed relatively quiet on the topic until this week, when they have been confronted by constituents back home during the Thanksgiving recess.

Sherrill defended her stance under criticism from constituents at a town hall Monday, reportedly saying, “The president crossed a line for me when it seemed as if he had withheld critical military funding from a security partner because he wanted to investigate an opponent of his in an election.”

Spanberger told WRIC that she did not think impeachment “is something we should rush.”

“For me, I want to see all available evidence. I want to see good questioning of witnesses, which is something that we have seen so far. … A desire for a process that is transparent and clear, that is what people want to see,” she said Monday.

Slotkin was also reluctant to say where she stands now on impeachment. “Well, for me, I’ve always said I’m going to reserve judgment until I see the final report,” she told The Steve Gruber Show on Monday.

Pressed on how she would vote on impeachment if she had to that day, she again demurred. “You know, again, I’d want to put it all together.”

Houlahan reportedly downplayed impeachment at a town hall on Friday.

“Houlahan said impeachment is just a small part of Congress’ job right now, and many members of Congress are still focused on legislating,” Daily Local News reported.

The Hill recently reported on a bevy of polls that show support for impeachment has slipped since the public impeachment inquiry hearings began two weeks ago.

The national poll average tracked by FiveThirtyEight showed that support for impeachment has shrunk from 50.3 percent in mid-October to 46.3 percent presently, while opposition has risen from 43.8 percent to 45.6 percent.

Among independents, support for impeachment maxed out at 47.7 percent in late October but has dropped to 41 percent over the past three weeks.

According to a recent YouGov poll, independent support for impeachment dropped from 39 percent earlier this month to 35 percent now, with opposition increased from 35 percent to 40 percent.

And an Emerson University survey showed that in October, independent support for impeachment went from 48 percent in October to 34 percent, with opposition increased from 35 to 49 percent. A recent Morning Consult survey also showed a flip among independents.

A key battleground state has also shown a drop in support for impeachment. A survey from Marquette University showed that in Wisconsin, support for impeachment was at 44 percent in October, but has now dropped to 40 percent, while opposition has gone from 51 percent to 53 percent.

A New York Times–Siena College poll found majorities in the key swing states of Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Arizona, and Florida oppose removing the president from office through impeachment.

“All of these numbers are consistent with other trends that suggest Democrats are losing the impeachment debate, particularly in swing states and districts,” Chris Wilson, a GOP pollster and president of WPA Intelligence, told the Hill.

 

Follow Breitbart News’s @Kristina_Wong.