Liz Cheney is 'riding for the brand' in D.C. But back in Wyoming, the brand may be Trump
, a super PAC with Trumpworld ties that is also supporting her — found Hageman leading Cheney by about 30 percentage points.
“Cheney has burned her relationship with Republicans, meaning she’s completely lost the ability to be effective in Congress,” Hageman said. “She’s not from here, she doesn’t represent our views, and it’s time for her to stay home in Virginia.” But back home, it might be too late to convince voters who still believe unfounded claims that the election was stolen or, like Nicolaysen, just think the country needs to move on.
On the more than four hour drive from Jackson to Casper, it’s rare to see any Cheney signs. But in Casper, which is home to 58,000 people and is the second-largest city in the state, yard signs supporting the incumbent line the streets. If Liz Cheney won, it wouldn’t be the first time she overcame claims that she’s a carpetbagger. In 2016, then-state Rep. Tim Stubson ran against Cheney in the Republican primary for the U.S. House, banking on voters’ beliefs that Cheney inhabited the stereotype.
“I thought she was excellent,” Susan Stubson said. “That was very much the Liz that she has presented to Wyoming.” But the party of Ronald Reagan has become the party of Trump, and GOP political dynasties like the Bushes and the Cheneys no longer garner the loyalty they once did. “Primary day here is going to be terrifying,” she said. “By the end of the day, as the results come in, we’ll go, ‘OK, so that’s where Wyoming sits.’”Stubson is hoping there’s a less vocal majority waiting to give Cheney another term in office.
Others said they believe the Trump campaign’s claims that there was widespread voter fraud, though they have been found to be baseless. “In Wyoming we had a 70% vote supportive for Trump. It’s hard for people to understand — in other states — how that same thing didn’t happen,” said Joseph McGinley, a Cheney supporter and the Natrona County GOP’s state committeeman. “There was suspicion regarding the election results, and I think the suspicion was partly disappointment.”