Liz Cheney’s Potential Loss Would Leave Just 3 Impeachment Republicans in the House

Rep. Liz Cheney’s (R-WY) potential loss in the August 16 primary will likely leave only three impeachment Republicans in the House.

In 2021, ten House Republicans voted to impeach former President Donald Trump, but just three will likely remain in Congress after having taken on Trump.

Four opted to retire and not compete in a GOP primary, and with Rep. Peter Meijer’s (R-MI) projected primary loss on Wednesday and Rep. Tom Rice’s (R-SC) loss in June, Cheney’s defeat later in August would solidify the impeachment vote as one of the most career-wrecking votes in congressional history.

The impeachment Republicans who are projected to keep their seats are Reps. David Valadao (R-CA), Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA), and Dan Newhouse (R-WA). Both Beutler and Newhouse are projected to win their Tuesday primary in safer red districts, while Valadao has advanced to the general election in a more contested district.

The impeachment Republicans who did not bother to run in 2022 are Reps. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH), Fred Upton (R-MI), and John Katko (R-NY).

All eyes will be on Cheney on August 16. According to PredictIt odds, Cheney only has a 3 cent chance on the dollar of winning. Trump-endorsed Harriet Hageman is favored by 98 cents on the dollar. Polling also shows Cheney well behind Hageman, by about 30 points.

“The big story is Liz Cheney is going to get beat,” Brad Coker, managing director of the polling firm Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy, said, reflecting on a primary poll released in June. “That’s a foregone conclusion.”

Cheney’s downfall seems to be her impeachment vote and further fixation on Trump on the partisan January 6 Committee in Washington, DC, where she has remained almost 2,000 miles away from Wyoming. The spotlight has brought her donations from Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton donors, along with Hollywood and big business elites. Cheney has also solicited votes from Democrats.

Many Wyoming voters have taken notice of Cheney’s alliance with Democrats. Some are wondering if Cheney has lost her mind. “I sit there watching the January 6 hearings and I think: ‘Have you lost your mind?’” one voter told the Financial Times. “This man [Trump] has every major institution going after him, from the media to the swamp in Washington, DC, and now to have one of his own party do the same thing?”

Cheney still professes to be a Republican. Yet the Wyoming Republican Party has “excommunicated” Cheney from the state party by no longer recognizing her as a Republican. Cheney has lost the support of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), who have endorsed Hageman.

Over the weekend, voters expressed their frustrations with Cheney on CNN. “Can I cuss?” one voter responded when asked about Cheney’s role on the partisan January 6 committee. “She’s done us dirty,” the voter explained. “Look at how she’s done Trump. I’m a Trump fan.”