Trump impeachment inquiry to reshape 2020 presidential election

Bloomberg

The start of public impeachment hearings in the House this week will push the race for the White House into a new phase, testing whether Democratic efforts to investigate President Donald Trump risk hurting the party in the 2020 election.
Democratic front-runner Joe Biden will also be a central figure in the proceedings, which will challenge his political resilience.
And six senators in the running, including top contenders Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, will be jurors in a trial that may force them off the campaign trail at a crucial moment.
While US public opinion has moved in favour of impeachment, the country is deeply divided along party lines and Trump remains highly competitive against top Democrats in swing states like Michigan, Florida and Pennsylvania that played the key role in his 2016 victory.
The House proceedings will pit the Democrats’ message that Trump gravely abused his power against his insistence that the impeachment effort is a political “coup” to remove him from office.
An Economist/YouGov poll found independents split with 39% favouring impeachment and 35% opposing it. But 27% were unsure and the hearings may be clarifying for that group. Those conclusions could sway the 2020 election.

Sidelined Senators
The trial will also sideline the campaigns of White House-aspiring senators if they are forced to spend time in Washington in the run-up to the February 3 Iowa caucuses, where voters demand to see candidates in person. It stands to help the non-senators in the race such as Pete Buttigieg or Biden to get traction in the early nominating states.
“It certainly could help someone like Buttigieg or Biden, who will have the field literally and figuratively to themselves,” said Democratic strategist Mary Anne Marsh.
Less than a year before the election, impeachment takes Democratic hopefuls into uncharted waters.
Trump is only the fourth president in US history to face such an inquiry.