NY-22 Minute: How Brindisi's Impeachment Vote Compares to Sherwood Boehlert's in 1998 By Luke Perry
Sherwood Boehlert (R) represented NY-23, which comprised much of present-day NY-22, when Bill Clinton was impeached.
Boehlert served in Congress for NY-25 (1983-1993), NY-24 (1993-2003), and NY-25 (2003-2007) as reapportionment redistricted New York time and again. NY-22 acquired its current boundaries in 2012.
In 1996, Clinton won every county in NY-23, including Chenango, Madison, Oneida, and Otsego counties, and parts of Broome, Delaware, Herkimer, and Schoharie counties.
Boehlert voted in favor of the Clinton impeachment inquiry, and for two of the four articles of impeachment levied against the president, articles I and II that dealt with perjury. He voted against articles III and IV that dealt with obstruction of witnesses and abuse of power.
Clinton was impeached for one count of perjury (article I) and obstruction of justice (article III). Donald Trump is facing two articles of impeachment, abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
Photo by Blake Sell/Reuters
“This is a vote of conscience,” Boehlert said at the time, “and everybody better know that.” Boerhlert was unable to find “the means to rationalize away the fact that our president lied under oath.”
Similarly, Brindisi said of his impeachment vote, “what the President has done is nothing I can pretend is normal behavior.” Brindisi stated it was “not okay for the President to block the testimony of key subpoenaed witnesses that had direct knowledge of the administration’s actions.”
Boehlert hoped the Senate would adopt a censure resolution that enabled Clinton to stay in office, but only after the trial. Brindisi unsuccessfully pursued censure in lieu of an impeachment vote.
The 1998 House election occurred during Clinton’s impeachment inquiry. The outcome witnessed the first time a president’s party gained seats in a midterm election since 1934 and provided Republicans the smallest House majority since 1953. Boehlert was easily reelected without facing a Democratic challenger.
The 2000 House election following Clinton’s impeachment netted two more seats for the Democrats narrowing the Republican majority to 9 seats. Boehlert resoundingly defeated Democratic challenger Richard Englebrecht 124,132 votes to 38,049 votes.
Unlike Brindisi, Boehlert had previously won several Congressional races, represented a district where his party had a 47,291 registered voter advantage, and split his impeachment votes for and against.
At the same time, there is much greater support for impeaching President Trump than there was for President Clinton. 24 percent of Americans wanted the House to impeach Clinton. 49 percent of Americans want the House to impeach Trump and the Senate to remove him from office.
Boehlert’s experience provides one historical comparison to help analyze the electoral implications for Brindisi’s vote, which has garnered national attention.
Political Scientists are mindful of how several factors influence the outcome of elections. This was the case in the 2018 midterm election in NY-22 and central New York, and will likely be the case 11 months from now in the next election.
Luke Perry (@PolSciLukePerry) is Professor of Government at Utica College
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