Democratic New Jersey Rep. Jeff Van Drew, who voted against both articles of impeachment, confirmed to reporters Wednesday night he is still a registered Democrat.
Following the impeachment vote, regarding whether he switched from being a Democrat to a Republican and if he considered himself a Republican, he replied that he had not switched parties.
“I am a Democrat — I’m a registered Democrat,” he said.
During the impeachment debate throughout the day, Van Drew sat with Republican House members, who greeted him when they saw him.
“You know, I shook the president’s hand when he came in to give the State of the Union. I was a registered Democrat, so everything is going to clarify within a couple of days.”
Democratic Minnesota Rep. Colin Peterson also voted against both articles, and Democratic Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard voted present for both. Democratic Maine Rep. Jared Golden voted for only one article of impeachment.
Van Drew’s vote against the articles of impeachment registered as a Democratic vote, but Democrats are discounting its worth.
“It’s two [Democrats] with an asterisk. Van Drew is not a Democrat. I think that might have been part of his price that he’s paying for whatever he’s getting from Trump, but he’s going to switch parties,” Democratic Tennessee Rep. Steve Cohen told reporters. “And to vote today as a Democrat is not a Democrat. He’s not a Democrat. He should have voted with Gabbard.”
