Incumbent Rep. Liz Cheney (R-At-large), Wyoming’s lone U.S. House representative and the leading Republican critic of former President Donald Trump, lost her primary election to the Trump-endorsed candidate Harriet Hageman Tuesday.
Despite winning 75% of the vote in Teton County as of press time, according to The New York Times, Cheney trailed Hageman statewide by more than 36 percentage points: With 93% of votes reported, Hageman had received 65.8% of the votes compared to Cheney’s 29.5%.
“Harriet Hageman has received the most votes in this primary. She won,” Cheney said shortly after the race was called, adding that she had already called Hageman to concede. “This primary election is over. But now, the real work begins.”
Cheney addressed a modest crowd of supporters who gathered Tuesday evening for a private election night event at Mead Ranch on Spring Gulch Road. Standing in front of a backdrop of three massive hay bales, four American flags and the Tetons, Cheney doubled down on her criticism of the former president and his lies about the 2020 presidential election.
“I have said since Jan. 6 that I will do whatever it takes to ensure Donald Trump is never again anywhere near the Oval Office, and I mean it,” she said to applause.
Cheney stopped short of announcing a 2024 presidential run but certainly left the door open to the possibility.
Before quoting President Abraham Lincoln, for example, Cheney noted that he lost elections for both the Senate and the House “before he won the most important election of all.”
Cheney also spoke of her love for the Republican Party, and its history and ideals, but said she loves her country more.
“I ask you tonight to join me,” she said. “As we leave here, let us resolve that we will stand together—Republicans, Democrats and Independents—against those who would destroy our republic.”
Hageman held a celebratory election night event in Cheyenne Tuesday.
