‘Liz Cheney Is in a Lot of Trouble in Wyoming’ CNN Admits

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 16: U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), Vice Chair of the House Select Comm
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Wendell Husebø

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) may not survive the Republican August 16 primary, CNN reported on Thursday.

While Cheney “has become an unexpected hero for Democrats” and the media, CNN’s Harry Enten analyzed, CNN readers “shouldn’t mistake adoring press coverage and bipartisan bona fides for popularity in the place where popularity matters most for Cheney: Wyoming.”

Citing polling that shows Cheney the least popular member of Congress in 2021, Enten acknowledged only 17 percent of Republicans nationwide approved of Cheney’s alliance with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) January 6 committee. Sixty-one percent disapproved. More specifically, the article also noted Cheney’s opponent, Trump-endorsed Harriet Hageman, is leading Cheney “by a significant margin” of 28 to 30 points in Wyoming.

“Now, we should treat this data with caution since the people releasing it likely have their own motives, such as rooting for Cheney to lose. Still, the congresswoman trailing makes a lot of sense given what the nonpartisan polling in Wyoming has indicated,” the article stated.
Enten also highlighted Cheney’s campaign strategy of asking Democrats to vote for her, though few think the strategy will be successful, even though she opposed Donald Trump and his policies at nearly every turn:
Wyoming, though, doesn’t have many Democrats. Yet Cheney has been trying to get the few Democrats there are to cross over and vote in the Republican primary. These statistics demonstrate that those efforts probably won’t do much for her.
The problem for Cheney is that there isn’t a lot of room in the Republican Party for those who voted to impeach Trump. A 2021 Pew Research Center poll found that 64% of Republicans said the party should not be accepting of those who had. And recent primary elections also suggest that her actions toward Trump could cost her.
…
“In sum, the statistics are daunting for Cheney heading into her August primary,” the article said. “It’s no wonder that the betting markets give her less than a 10% chance of earning another term in office. That doesn’t mean Cheney can’t win It would just be quite surprising.”

CNN’s negative analysis of Cheney’s reelection chances is not surprising. Cheney is in hot water after opposing America First policies, voting to impeach Donald Trump, and allying herself with the January 6 Committee, which has sought to investigate the January 6 incident without focusing on the alleged FBI informants at the Capitol.

Cheney’s conduct has drawn condemnation from the Wyoming Republican Party and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. After the Wyoming GOP voted to no longer recognize her as a Republican in November, McCarthy announced in February his endorsement of Hageman to defeat Cheney, a rare move for a minority leader.

Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter and Gettr @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.

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