9-26-19 democratic governors in swing states cautious on impeachment

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Democratic governors in states that President Donald Trump hopes to win in 2020 are reacting cautiously to impeachment proceedings beginning in Congress.  House Democrats’ impeachment probe focuses on Trump’s phone call to Ukraine’s president. A rough transcript released Wednesday shows Trump repeatedly urged the Ukrainian leader to “look into” Democratic rival Joe Biden.  While some Democratic House members were outspoken in calling for Trump’s impeachment, governors were more cautious. The governors’ understated responses underscore the risks those in key 2020 swing states face as they try to walk the line between appeasing Democrats clamoring for impeachment and alienating more moderate voters.  Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a former congressman, called details of Trump’s phone call “deeply troubling,” but said impeachment may not be the way to go.  “It may not be politically good to do because I think at this point I, like many Minnesotans, am so sick and tired of the dysfunction in D.C.,” Walz told reporters.  Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers did not respond to questions about the impeachment probe Wednesday. But on Tuesday, before Democrats launched it, Evers tried to distance himself from the political turmoil in the nation’s capital.  “I don’t make any decisions on that,” Evers said of impeachment. “I’m focused on Wisconsin. Clearly, I follow it in the news, but that’s for the people that are in Washington, D.C., and their constituents here in Wisconsin to figure out.”