Liz Cheney may face a competitive primary election should she choose to run for Wyoming’s open Senate seat next year.
Former Wyoming Rep. Cynthia Lummis filed with the Federal Election Commission to run in 2020 for the seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Mike Enzi, 75, who announced in May his intention to leave Capitol Hill after 24 years. But her fledgling campaign team made clear Lummis was not announcing for the seat and has not decided whether to run.
Lummis’ own retirement from Congress in 2017 provided former Vice President Dick Cheney’s daughter with the opportunity to make her political debut, easily winning the election during the 2016 cycle to represent Wyoming’s at-large congressional district.
Liz Cheney, the 52-year-old House Republican Conference chairwoman, is widely speculated to be considering a Senate bid behind closed doors, but in public has remained mum regarding her plans. If she decides to run, she’ll have to relinquish her leadership position, a plum post rarely bestowed on a second-term lawmaker.
“I don’t have any announcements to make about that other than to say how privileged I am to call Mike Enzi a friend, what a tremendous mentor he has been. He’s going to be in the Senate for another 18 months. I look forward to continue doing work on behalf of the people of Wyoming,” Cheney said in May.
Lummis, 64, had been open about her desire to return to public life but decided against seeking Wyoming’s governorship in 2018. When she stepped down from her role in Congress, she said she “never viewed” herself “as a long-termer in Washington,” effectively term-limiting herself. Earlier this year, Lummis was reportedly under consideration to join the Trump administration as interior secretary.
