A Republican challenging Democratic U.S. Rep. Angie Craig says he’d vote to impeach President Donald Trump.

Rick Olson, the only Republican to have announced a challenge to Craig in Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District, issued a statement saying he’d vote “Yes” if he were in Craig’s shoes after Craig said in an open letter to constituents that she plans to vote in support of two articles of impeachment against Trump: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

“The Founding Fathers expected the members of the House to impartially cast their votes,” said Olson, a Prior Lake resident and former state lawmaker from Michigan. “With the President choosing not to present any evidence (if fact, prohibiting documents from being produced and witnesses from testifying that the House Committees wanted), the only evidence on the record (which a juror is supposed to rely on exclusively) is for a vote ‘yes.’ ”

Olson’s career has been that of a moderate, and at one point he considered switching parties to run as a Democrat in Michigan. But he said his support of impeachment has nothing to do with political affiliations.

“One of the reasons I am running for Congress is that I believe that the limits of power and the separation and balance of power between the executive, legislative and judicial branches have been so greatly eroded that the Founding Fathers would not recognize the government we have today,” he said in his statement. “It would be hypocritical for me to vote ‘no,’ just because it would be more comfortable and convenient politically while I seek the Republican party endorsement.”

The south suburban Twin Cities district was narrowly carried by Trump in 2016. In 2018, Craig wrested the seat, from former U.S. Rep. Jason Lewis, a Republican who has announced a challenge to U.S. Sen. Tina Smith.

The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote on impeachment Wednesday.