After speaking out, GOP Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler heads toward clash with her party

Donors and political experts said her independent streak may actually serve to strengthen her hold on southwest Washington.

• By Troy Brynelson/Oregon Public Broadcasting

(Portland, Ore.) — Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler thrust herself into the national spotlight on Friday when the Washington Republican came out with a stunning account of Donald Trump’s actions on the day of the Capitol insurrection.

In a statement put out on the eve of the vote in Trump’s Senate impeachment trial, Herrera Beutler said that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy told her that in a conversation with the then-president on Jan. 6, Trump appeared to side with the mob, telling him the rioters were “more upset about the election than you are.”

For most Republicans, particularly those in ruby-red districts, the statement would seem to doom any hope of avoiding a primary challenge and winning reelection. But for Herrera Beutler, a Republican in deep blue Washington state, the potential ramifications may not be so straightforward.

While it’s too early to tell how the majority of her constituents may respond come next year’s midterm elections, donors and political experts said on Saturday that Herrera Beutler’s independent streak may actually serve to strengthen her hold on southwest Washington.

“I could see a primary in 2022 where Republicans put forward a very clear Trump candidate. Her weakness will be on the right,” said Mark Stephan, an associate professor of political science at Washington State University. “But I think there will be Democrats who will vote for her because they felt she acted courageously in this case.”

Some donors have already begun lining up to reward the six-term congresswoman for breaking ranks to speak out against the former president, according to one wealthy benefactor. Her account of McCarthy’s conversation with Trump on Jan. 6, first reported by a local newspaper in Washington last month, was entered as evidence Saturday in the Senate impeachment trial of the former president.

“It’s another demonstration of tremendous principle and personal courage,” said David Nierenberg, a career investor who lives in Camas, Wash. Nierenberg, a close friend and former colleague of Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, is also one of the largest political donors in Washington state.

“I have told Jaime … I will do everything that I can do to raise contributions for her, not only from people I know in this district, not only people throughout the Pacific Northwest, but many friends all around the country,” Nierenberg said.