The pending reelection of Wyoming Representative Liz Cheney, daughter of former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney, is not looking too promising ahead of the Wyoming primaries taking place tomorrow, August 16th. While Cheney formerly had an 80% approval rating and was widely adored by the GOP, support from the Republican party plummeted following her disapproval of former President Donald Trump’s involvement in the Jan. 6th capitol riots. She followed in her father’s footsteps as Chair of the House Republican Conference before being voted out in 2021 when she voted to impeach Trump following January 6th.
While she has remained true to her Republican values and still identifies as a Conservative politician, she is also staunchly anti-Trump, which may have negative impacts on her career as a US Representative. The 2016 election proved that there are more extremes to the Republican party that we have not seen in the past within the Bush-Cheney administration, with many Republican candidates and voters expressing their disdain for the radical politics of Donald Trump. In fact, much of the Republican party has split into pro-Trump and anti-Trump Conservatives over the past 6 years, with one notable example being the late John McCain’s public clashes with the former President, despite being a former Republican Presidential candidate himself.
Liz Cheney’s vocal opposition to Donald Trump as she serves as the Vice Chair of the ‘United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack’ is not helping her chances of being reelected as the sole Representative of Wyoming, with Donald Trump blatantly telling Wyoming residents at a rally in May to “Fire Liz.” Cheney is running against 59-year-old lawyer Harriet Hageman, who is backed by Trump and was also born and raised in Wyoming, two primary characteristics that she is utilizing in her campaign. Hageman’s pro-Trump platform along with her Wyoming loyalty, telling voters “I know Wyoming. I love Wyoming. I am Wyoming,” has her currently leading the polls 29% ahead of Cheney.
This post-Trump America has dramatically altered our political climate as a whole, and shifted the entire Republican Party even further to the right. Even as a Republican, Liz Cheney has gained the support of moderate and Democratic voters due to her disapproval of Trump’s refusal to accept the 2020 election results and resort to violence instead. However, considering that the daughter of Dick Cheney is now being considered “not Republican enough,” the state of our polarized government is frankly terrifying.
