Cheney L. did herself no good as a contender in the GOP primaries when she decided to be the anti-Trump January 6th hero. In fact, it backfired on her as the people of Wyoming had their voices heard tonight.
Cheney knew full well that her key role on the Jan. 6 panel, cast by no other than Madame Speaker herself, would cause irreconcilable damage inside her party. But she accepted her role head-on, co-chairing national TV’s dramatic and often over-the-top hearings.
On Tuesday, Trump-backed challenger Harriet Hageman, an attorney, resoundingly defeated Rep. Liz Cheney in a Wyoming primary that ended the once-promising congressional career of a rising GOP star.
The younger Cheney will then leave the U.S. House next January, where just two years ago she had risen to the No. 3 Republican job before her clash with Trump and acceptance of a position on the Democrat-driven Jan. 6 investigative committee roiled her world.
Cheney’s race is the last outstanding primary race of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump over the Jan.6 hearings. Six of the ten members sought reelection, and only two won their primary races and are moving on to the general election in November — California’s David Valadao, who is in a swing district, and Washington’s Dan Newhouse — Which sends an unmistakable and concise message across the board: the former president Trump still holds significant influence over the party, as many Americans still feel like their votes were stolen.
Cheney kept coy about that decision, but did little to dampen speculation of a future run, or the continuation of her battle with the Trump nation.
“The primary election is over,” she said in a defiant concession speech in Jackson, Wyo. “But now the real work begins.”
That work, she made clear, means stopping the 45th president from returning to the White House in two years.