Democrat Cartwright Seat Rated ‘Toss-Up’ After Backing Impeachment

Swing district Democrat Rep. Matt Cartwright’s (D-PA) seat is now rated as a “toss-up” in the 2020 congressional elections, according to a report released Tuesday.

Cartwright, a swing district Democrat that represents Pennsylvania’s Eighth Congressional District, has faced criticism since backing articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump.

Now, the Cook Political Report has changed his chances of getting reelected to a “toss-up.”

The Pennsylvania Democrat won the district by less than ten percent during the 2018 midterm elections. Cartwright represents one of the 13 congressional districts that Trump won during the 2016 presidential elections by more than six percent, and House Democrats flipped during the 2018 midterm elections.

Trump won the district by 9.6 percent during the 2016 presidential election, making the district a prime candidate for Republicans to retake during the 2020 congressional elections.

The Pennsylvania Democrat voted for both articles of impeachment against Trump, charging that Trump had obstructed Congress and abused the office of the presidency.

Cartwright contended that the president obstructed Congress by neglecting to participate in the Democrats’ impeachment inquiry as well as trying to “bribe” a foreign leader to improve his chance of getting reelected.

The Pennsylvania Democrat wrote in an op-ed for USA Today before the impeachment vote:

However, the president has refused to participate in the House investigation and even barred members of his team from coming to testify to explain their actions.

The evidence and lack of any rebuttal point clearly to President Trump’s attempt to use taxpayer funds to bribe a foreign leader to boost his own political prospects. It shows he threatened our national security, jeopardized the integrity of our democracy and since then has obstructed justice by refusing to obey properly issued subpoenas.

I believe there is sufficient evidence of these things to warrant further proceedings. So I will vote to send this matter to the Senate, where at long last we may well hear an innocent explanation for all of it. Despite every indication that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has prejudged the outcome, I hope he will join us in a serious endeavor to find the truth.

“In the end, I took only one oath — the one to support, uphold and defend our Constitution. And even though it may be deeply unpopular at times, I intend to remain faithful to it,” Cartwright concluded in his op-ed for USA Today. “That is why I will vote to advance both articles of impeachment to the Senate.”