MEETEETSE, Wyoming — In the afterglow of former President Donald Trump’s rally to defeat Rep. Liz Cheney in the Aug. 16 House Republican primary, challenger Harriet Hageman is feeling confident about her odds.
The primary is one of the most-watched contests in 2022, with Trump and allies making Cheney, first elected to Wyoming’s lone House seat in 2016, a top target. She became a fierce critic of Trump over his conduct in office, joining fellow Rep. Adam Kinzinger as the only Republicans on the Jan. 6 committee.
Critics take aim at Cheney’s political lineage. Her father is former Vice President Dick Cheney, and even though he held the same House seat for a decade, from 1979-89, he has come under fire from the MAGA wing of the party due to his role as former President George W. Bush’s understudy, with critics accusing both Cheneys of being “warmongers” and part of the the “establishment.”
Cheney’s House Republican colleagues largely soured on her due to persistent criticism of Trump, particularly his efforts to stay in office after losing to President Joe Biden, including the Jan. 6 Capitol riots. For Cheney’s troubles, the House Republican Conference in May 2021 dropped her from the third-ranking House leadership position, conference chairwoman.
Hageman has Trump’s endorsement in her House campaign against Cheney. The Cheyenne trial attorney said she has been ramping up her efforts to meet with voters across the state ahead of early voting. That included receiving a warm welcome while attending a horse auction at the Pitchfork Ranch in the northwest portion of the state.
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“Here in Wyoming, Donald Trump has a lot of support, and our campaign has a lot of support as well,” Hageman told the Washington Examiner.
“I think that the race is just exactly where we want it to be at this point in time — it’s about four weeks until early voting starts,” Hageman said. “And so we’re going to be starting in earnest our ground game over the next week, really launching that.”
Hageman has repeatedly hit Cheney — her one-time ally, having endorsed her in previous races and been an informal adviser — alleging the incumbent is a “RINO” (Republican in name only) and accused her of not spending enough time in the state.
“I got into the race because Wyoming deserves to have a representative that represents the people of Wyoming,” Hageman said. “I definitely am strong on Wyoming issues, and I want to make sure that it’s protected.”
If Hageman wins the Republican primary, tantamount to winning the seat in a state where Trump performed best in 2020, winning 70% of the vote, she would like to get a seat on the House Committee on Natural Resources.
But she’s got to win the primary first and is focusing on Cheney’s rising unpopularity in the Cowboy State.
“I don’t know that I have yet met a person here who supports Liz. I think she must have some supporters in Wyoming, but I sure haven’t seen them, and she’s really persona non grata, and that’s why she doesn’t come back,” Hageman said. “And she doesn’t do town halls, and she doesn’t meet with the voters because she knows that the people of Wyoming are pretty tired of her conduct.”
As the race has begun to heat up, Cheney’s campaign has hit Hageman on billboards on the roads leading to Casper, where the Trump rally was held, highlighting her former praise of Cheney and criticisms of Trump ahead of the 2016 election. One featured a quote of her referring to him as “somebody who is racist and xenophobic” in the New York Times.
Hageman alleged her comments on the billboard were taken “out of context.” Hageman added she became a full-fledged Trump supporter on election night 2016.
“He stopped the corrupt Clinton machine,” she said. “I didn’t know if he could do it, but he did it. He has definitely resonated with the people in this country. He resonates with the people of Wyoming.”
During the rally, Trump slammed Wyoming’s system of allowing for same-day party affiliation change, which permits Democrats to participate in primaries, which some argue could provide Cheney with a boost.
Hageman said she doesn’t see Democratic voters being a huge factor in the race.
“I know that they’re going to do it, there’s been a big push already by several people in the media who are pushing Democrats to switch over and vote for Liz Cheney,” she said. “The reason I’m not worried about it is that she doesn’t poll well with the Democrats or independents either.”
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“Really, there’s very few people who like Liz in the state of Wyoming. The Democrats dislike her for their reasons. The Republicans dislike her for our reasons, but there’s only 45,000 registered Democrats in the state. So if they — if they do switch and become Republicans for the day to vote for her, I just think that our numbers are such that we would still be able to prevail.”
But Cheney supporters argue that Hageman’s dismissal of Democrats weighing in indicates she recognizes her voting record is conservative. Cheney voted in line with Trump 92.9% of the time between 2017-2020.
“Interesting that she’d say that. I wonder why she thinks Dems don’t like Liz?” one Cheney ally said. “Is it because Liz actually is a conservative/has a conservative record?”
Cheney did not directly name Trump in her video announcing her reelection bid but indirectly took aim at him, stating: “I’m asking you to join me, to reject the lies, to rise above the toxic politics, to defend our freedom, to do what we all know is right.”
