Rep. Kerry Bentivolio, the ex-reindeer farmer-turned-tea-party-aligned congressman, was defeated in the Republican primary for Michigan’s 11th Congressional District on Tuesday night.
The race was called for Bentivolio challenger David Trott before 10 p.m. Trott defeated Bentivolio 66 percent to 34 percent with 61.8 percent reporting.
Bentivolio, TPM readers should recall, was the congressman who received national attention in August for saying it would be a “dream come true” to impeach President Barack Obama, something some other congressmen have been suggesting recently too.
Bentivolio was a long-shot candidate when he was elected in 2012, ousting four-term incumbent Thaddeus McCotter (R). The “accidental congressman,” as Michigan Radio dubbed him, was seen as unlikely to get a second term.
Unlike in many of the most high profile 2014 Republican primaries where an incumbent faces a primary challenger, Trott aligned more with the establishment wing of the GOP. Mitt Romney actually campaigned for Trott.
On the Democratic side, some top potential candidates, including Jocelyn Benson of Wayne State University, passed on jumping into the race despite Bentivolio’s potential vulnerability.
