"[H]e is the only institution that some folks trust"

According to Meijer, it’s “impossible to know” if Democrats’ meddling in his race — their ads portrayed Gibbs as a rock-ribbed conservative and made no mention of his conspiracy-mongering — was decisive, but it’s also “inarguable that it had some impact.” Going into election night, Meijer’s internal polling had him up by single digits, with the number of undecided voters in double digits.

“You put on 1,200 points of TV and a half-million dollars in one week, that’s gonna move the needle in one direction or the other, especially considering it was more than my challenger raised and spent over the course of his campaign,” he said. (Gibbs was unable to raise enough money to get on TV before the late-stage Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee cash infusion.)

Dirty tricks aside, however, it’s self-evident that Meijer’s loss can ultimately be traced back to his vote to impeach the former president. Meijer described that vote as not just a political, but a personal affront in the minds of many Michigan Republicans.

“I think what Donald Trump is in the party right now is he’s kind of — to a large constituency — he is the only institution that some folks trust,” observed Meijer. “There are some people who like the personality of Trump — like the brashness. There’s others who like the policies of Trump and like the successes that were achieved during the administration. But then there’s also a group who view him as somebody who is standing in opposition to a corrupt establishment or in opposition to a corrupt and deceptive media environment.”