Republican Representative Liz Cheney from Wyoming better get ready to stick out like a sore thumb. As vice-chair of the committee investigating the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, she will get a major spotlight as one of the few who turned their back on their party and former President Donald Trump. The public hearings on this event begin this week.
Cheney has stood proud on her national platform declaring her opposition to the former president, but it probably is going to lead to her demise in her own state of Wyoming. According to polls and dialogue with state GOP leaders, Cheney is becoming too entrenched in Washington politics and it is damaging her career.
Harriet Hageman is Cheney’s rival in the GOP primary later this summer. She is leading Cheney by a 28 to 56 percent margin. This is according to a survey chartered by a super PAC backing Hageman called Wyoming Values.
The survey obtained by NBC News was conducted by Tony Fabrizio who polls for President Trump as well.
Bill Cubin, a GOP consultant, said, “I think the race is kind of getting baked in here against Cheney. It wouldn’t be so much that she’s participating in the Jan. 6 Committee — and yes a lot of Republicans are uncomfortable with that — but there’s this feeling she’s not really representing Wyoming anymore.”
Some people who have supported Cheney in the past are echoing the same ideas as Cubin. Spokespersons for Cheney deny that she is not home enough to lead her state and they also deny that she is too far behind to win.
Cheney released her first major statewide ad last week. She talked about the challenge she faces and had testimonies praising her candidacy.
The fact that she is so behind in this race indicates how little Republicans care about the January 6 Capitol riot. It is also an indication of how strong Trump’s endorsement still is in his party.
This race will get all of Trump’s attention because of how outspoken Cheney has been in her opposition to Trump and her support of his impeachment.
At first, Hageman led by just 8 points, but now she is ahead by 28 points. Her ads called out Cheney as a tool of Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The conservative Club for Growth in Wyoming ran a commercial against Cheney that compared her to Hillary Clinton.
Fabrizio wrote in a memo that was obtained by NBC News, “Not only is Cheney getting creamed in the ballot, but Wyoming [Republican primary voters] are clear that there is no room for her to get back into this race. A huge 71% majority say they will vote against her, including 66% who will definitely vote against Cheney no matter who she runs against. With only 26% saying they will definitely or probably vote for Cheney, she has hit her ceiling on the ballot.”
The survey that was done by the super PAC did not focus on attitudes about the Capitol riot. And the survey created by the Club for Growth did not focus on that either. But they both came to the same numbers.
Joe Kildea, a spokesperson for Club for Growth said that Cheney’s role on the January 6 committee along with her vehement opposition to Trump is damaging her candidacy.
He talked about how Trump remains a very popular figure in the GOP. He said that Cheney is definitely on the wrong side of the party in Wyoming.
There’s no way that Cheney can soften her stance as these hearings go public, so the clock is ticking before she will leave her office.
