CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) 鈥 Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, Donald Trump鈥檚 fiercest Republican adversary in Congress, was defeated in a GOP primary Tuesday, falling to a rival backed by the former president in a rout that reinforced his grip on the party鈥檚 base.
The third-term congresswoman and her allies entered the day downbeat about her prospects, aware that Trump鈥檚 backing gave Harriet Hageman considerable lift in the state where he won by the largest margin during the 2020 campaign. Cheney was already looking ahead to a political future beyond Capitol Hill that could include a 2024 presidential run, potentially putting her on another collision course with .
Cheney described her loss as the beginning of a new chapter in her political career as she addressed a small collection of supporters, including her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, on the edge of a vast field flanked by mountains and bales of hay.
鈥淥ur work is far from over,鈥 she said Tuesday evening, evoking Abraham Lincoln, who also lost congressional elections before ascending to the presidency and preserving the union.
The results 鈥 and the roughly 30-point margin 鈥 were a powerful reminder of the GOP鈥檚 rapid shift to the right. A party once dominated by national security-oriented, business-friendly conservatives like her father now belongs to Trump, animated by his populist appeal and, above all, his denial of defeat in the 2020 election.
Such lies, which have been roundly rejected by federal and state election officials along with Trump鈥檚 own attorney general and judges he appointed, transformed Cheney from an occasional critic of the former president to the clearest voice inside the GOP warning that he represents a threat to democratic norms. She's the top Republican on the House panel investigating the at the U.S. Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters, an attack she referenced in nodding to her political future.
鈥淚 have said since Jan. 6 that I will do whatever it takes to ensure Donald Trump is never again anywhere near the Oval Office 鈥 and I mean it," she said.
Four hundred miles to the east of Cheney鈥檚 concession speech, festive Hageman supporters gathered at a sprawling outdoor rodeo and Western culture festival in Cheyenne, many wearing cowboy boots, hats and blue jeans.
鈥淥bviously we鈥檙e all very grateful to President Trump, who recognizes that Wyoming has only one congressional representative and we have to make it count,鈥 said Hageman, a ranching industry attorney who had finished third in a previous bid for governor.
Echoing Trump鈥檚 conspiracy theories, she falsely claimed the 2020 election was 鈥渞igged鈥 as she courted his loyalists in the runup to the election.
Trump and his team celebrated Cheney鈥檚 loss, which may represent his biggest political victory in a primary season full of them. The former president called the results 鈥渁 complete rebuke鈥 of the Jan. 6 committee.
鈥淟iz Cheney should be ashamed of herself, the way she acted, and her spiteful, sanctimonious words and actions towards others,鈥 he wrote on his social media platform. 鈥淣ow she can finally disappear into the depths of political oblivion where, I am sure, she will be much happier than she is right now. Thank you WYOMING!鈥
The news offered a welcome break from Trump's focus on his . Just eight days earlier, federal agents executing a search warrant recovered 11 sets of classified records from the former president鈥檚 Florida estate.
Cheney鈥檚 defeat would have been unthinkable just two years ago. The daughter of a former vice president, she hails from one of the most prominent political families in Wyoming. And in Washington, she was the No. 3 House Republican, an influential voice in GOP politics and policy with a sterling conservative voting record.
Cheney will now be forced from Congress at the end of her third and final term in January. She is not expected to leave Capitol Hill quietly.
She will continue in her leadership role on the congressional panel investigating the Jan. 6 attack until it dissolves at the end of the year. And she is actively considering a 2024 White House bid -- as a Republican or independent -- having vowed to do everything in her power to fight Trump鈥檚 influence in her party.
With Cheney鈥檚 loss, Republicans who voted to impeach Trump are going extinct.
In all, seven Republican senators and 10 Republican House members backed Trump鈥檚 impeachment in the days after his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol as Congress tried to certify President victory. Just two of those 10 House members have won their primaries this year. After two Senate retirements, Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska is the only such Senate Republican on this year鈥檚 ballot.
Cheney was forced to seek assistance from the state鈥檚 tiny Democratic minority in her bid to pull off a victory. But Democrats across America, major donors among them, took notice. She raised at least $15 million for her election, a stunning figure for a Wyoming political contest.
Voters responded to the interest in the race. With a little more than half of the vote counted, turnout ran about 50% higher than in the 2018 Republican primary for governor.
If Cheney does ultimately run for president 鈥 either as a Republican or an independent 鈥 don鈥檛 expect her to win Wyoming鈥檚 three electoral votes.
鈥淲e like Trump. She tried to impeach Trump,鈥 Cheyenne voter Chester Barkell said of Cheney on Tuesday. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 trust Liz Cheney.鈥
And in Jackson, Republican voter Dan Winder said he felt betrayed by his congresswoman.
鈥淥ver 70% of the state of Wyoming voted Republican in the last presidential election and she turned right around and voted against us,鈥 said Winder, a hotel manager. 鈥淪he was our representative, not her own.鈥
___
Peoples reported from New York. AP writers Thomas Peipert in Cheyenne and Jill Colvin in new York contributed.