News that Democrats have commenced impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump was greeted with mixed reaction in Iowa’s capital, Des Moines.

Iowa hosts the first vote in the 2020 fight for the Democratic nomination, and is a likely swing state in next year’s presidential election. Both contests are set to be upended by a long impeachment process, triggered by a scandal over an intelligence service whistleblower complaint alleging the president tried to force Ukraine to help him in his re-election bid.

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“It’s about time,” said Rebecca Shell, a local bar manager. “I’d like to think it gets him out of office and in jail but he’s slipped through so many different things at the very least I’d hope it prevents him from getting in office in 2020.”

Shell’s view was echoed by Cindi Griglione, a paralegal who, like many people in Des Moines, works for an insurance company. “I think it’s about time they started on it and hopefully things will progress as they should,” she said.

Outside a Marriott hotel, Daryl Washington, a retirement planner from Chicago in town on business, shared the same sentiment. “I just heard it,” he said, “and my initial thought was what the hell happened to the stock market today, but secondly I thought it needed to be addressed. They needed to at least get this out in the open. Trump has overreached a number of times and I think they need to take action.”

But Greg Whaley, a businessman from Nebraska who was in Des Moines for an insurance conference, had a different take. “I think it’s a bunch of crap. I think they’re just looking for anything to just try to get Trump in trouble.”

A registered Republican, Whaley added: “I think they’ll go through the proceedings and it will hurt them in re-election time.”

Next to the Scenic Route Bakery in the East Village, a trendy neighborhood overlooked by the imposing gold dome of the Iowa state capitol building, Chris Costa, a president of a local real estate company, concurred. “There’s always the risk that for the opposing party it will rally the base of the other side but I think this is going to be a universal situation,” he said.

“I think this might be the one potential crime [Trump] has committed that all Americans will jump on board and say that it certainly violated the constitution. It could potentially have an impact on the 2020 election and I think that’s what scares people. I think it’s going to be tough to overcome the evidence that will come forward with the whistleblower complaint. I’m very excited and very happy about it.”

At the AC hotel around the corner on Grand Avenue, its popular rooftop bar, The Republic, bustled with businesspeople. Brian Purscell was excited for a different reason. “I think it’s the best thing that’s ever happened to the Republicans,” said the businessman and pharmacist who grew up on the south side of Des Moines. “I think they’re going to re-live the Russia thing and what they’re going to find is there’s no ‘no’ there. It all has to do with the fact that they all hate what Trump’s doing and they just can’t stand it because they’re so diametrically opposed.”

Describing himself as an independent who voted Trump in the last election and would do so again, he said: “I believe they’re going to be hoisted by their own petard. The attitude out in the world, if you get past where the centers of elitism is, you get in the flyover country here, things are good. People are happy and they haven’t been for a while.”

Across the street, Nick and Alex Meirick sat on the patio outside Ernie’s Boondock, a recently opened dive bar, and reflected on the news while drinking from cans of craft beer.

“Whether or not he did anything wrong, I’d like to see them go through the process and investigate it to its full level and see if anything happened,” Nick Meirick said. “My concern is if there’s any national security threats that it gets taken care of.”

Alex Meirick said: “I’m just kinda waiting to see what happens.”

Mike Kitzman, who works in communications for a local state agency, expressed no such patience. “It’s about damn time. I can’t believe it took him saying on TV, I did a crime, for the House Democrats to be like, oh, he did a crime. I’m excited that he’s getting impeached but it’s too late, they should have done this years ago.”