On Saturday, Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney was overwhelmingly defeated by her Trump-endorsed primary opponent Harriet Hageman in a state Republican straw poll.
Out of 74 votes cast, Hageman beat Cheney in a 59 to six vote; a terrible sign for Cheney in the upcoming primary race.
Donald Trump, Jr. advertised the results on Twitter:
Republican voters in Wyoming are sick and tired of being represented by a Pelosi puppet like Liz Cheney.
Harriet Hageman wins big in congressional straw poll held by Wyoming GOP activistshttps://t.co/sKf6NVsrGF
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) January 23, 2022
Hageman Destroys Cheney
Hageman told the Star-Tribune after the results were released, “I think it’s a good sign. It’s not an endorsement, but these are the county activists.”
Cheney campaign spokesperson Jeremy Adler downplayed the results, telling the Star-Tribune, “The only elections that matter are in August and November.”
The Wyoming Republican primary is currently scheduled for August. This gives Hageman seven months to campaign against Cheney, including focusing on the incumbent’s Never Trumpism.
Cheney joined nine other House Republicans to vote in favor of impeaching former President Donald Trump over the January 6 Capitol riot.
Cheney also sits on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s House select committee to investigate January 6.
But the race may not be all that it seems.
Despite earning Trump’s endorsement, Hageman has a questionable history.
Hageman was once a close ally of Cheney, even serving as a campaign adviser for her.
Further, Hageman was part of the ‘Never Trump’ coalition of Republicans who tried to deny Donald Trump the nomination for president in 2016.
She also accused Trump of being “racist” and “xenophobic.”
[totalpoll id=”247887″]
Time will tell if Trump’s endorsement ends up backfiring on him.
NEW: A video from April 2016 shows Liz Cheney’s Trump-backed primary Harriet Hageman rebuking Trump and enthusiastically endorsing Cheney for Congress. Hageman even cites her own Trump opposition in her Cheney endorsement. https://t.co/W4YhR0yzxV pic.twitter.com/Cu3aBKsyWN
— andrew kaczynski (@KFILE) September 30, 2021
Wyoming Republicans Voted To Oust Cheney
In November, the Wyoming GOP voted to no longer recognize Cheney as a member of the party.
“The 31-29 vote Saturday in Buffalo, Wyoming, by the state party central committee followed votes by local GOP officials in about one-third of Wyoming’s 23 counties to no longer recognize Cheney as a Republican,” the Associated Press reported.
The AP added, “In February, the Wyoming GOP central committee voted overwhelmingly to censure Cheney, Wyoming’s lone U.S. representative, for voting to impeach Trump.”