‘I’m Staying in the Party’: One of Two Democrats to Vote Against Impeachment Won’t Switch to GOP

Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) speaks during a rally for the passage of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) near the U.S. Capitol in Washington, on Sept. 12, 2019. Alastair Pike/AFP via Getty Images

After stating he will not vote in favor articles of impeachment, Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) said he has no plans to leave the Democratic Party in a Monday interview amid speculation he would switch after Rep. Jeff Van Drew (D-N.J.) reportedly decided to join the GOP.

“I’m staying in the party, in spite of some of the stuff that’s going on that I don’t agree with, I am not going switch parties at this stage of my career,” Peterson told local station KFGO. “There have been overtures by the highest levels of the Republican party in the last couple weeks to ask if I would consider it, and I told them no.”