Tumult surrounding the White House is a reminder that midterm elections often serve as referendums on the president. The party in charge typically loses congressional seats, and expectations are that Democrats will make gains in November.
With high-profile investigations surrounding the Trump administration and with reports last week that some White House staff members have doubts about the president’s competency, it is likely that President Donald Trump will cast an unusually large shadow over this year’s midterms. All of which could play a role in the race for representative from Washington’s 3rd Congressional District between incumbent Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Battle Ground, and Democrat Carolyn Long.
Herrera Beutler and Long met for a wide-ranging interview last month with The Columbian’s Editorial Board. The board will wait until closer to the Nov. 6 election before offering a recommendation to voters; for now, we are providing a series of editorials examining their positions on specific issues. Previously, we compared their thoughts about the economy and about health care.
“I think the approach of the president is furthering the divide in this country, and the inability of Republicans to really stand up and say ‘stop it,’ on many issues, is what’s destroying this democracy,” said Long, a political science professor at Washington State University Vancouver. “I think Congress is fundamentally broken right now.”
On policy issues, Long disagrees with Trump and criticizes his approach to tax cuts, health care, tariffs and other major issues.
But, as often has been the case throughout Trump’s presidency, his demeanor and his penchant for straining relationships both domestic and foreign often overshadow his policies.
Regarding members of the House of Representatives, Herrera Beutler said: “We’re direct reflections of our districts. My district voted for this president, and I didn’t with my personal vote. So I’ve had to be very careful. It’s not just a title it’s a job description; you need to represent them.”
In the 3rd District, Trump outpolled Hillary Clinton by 7.4 percentage points. Herrera Beutler announced prior to the election that she would vote for House Speaker Paul Ryan, and she confirms that she followed through on that pledge.
Since then, according to FiveThirtyEight.com, Herrera Beutler has voted in line with Trump’s position 91 percent of the time. According to an ideology scale at GovTrack.us, she ranks as more of a centrist than most Republican members of the House.
Both candidates say an ongoing investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller should continue until conclusions can be reached. Asked whether she would support impeachment proceedings should Trump fire Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein or work to halt the Mueller investigation, Herrera Beutler said: “I think that would be the biggest mistake he could make, because he says he is innocent and that to me would not indicate that. But I need to see what are my responsibilities? I’m actually not sure; I’ve never wandered into the area of impeaching the president.”
Long said: “If he were to fire Rosenstein that would be yet another example of somebody obstructing justice, in my opinion. I’m waiting for the investigation, but if he were to fire Rosenstein and if the investigation doesn’t go through, I would absolutely vote to impeach.”
