Rep. Liz Cheney, a critic of former President Donald Trump, will have to fend off competition in the Wyoming state primary from Harriet Hageman, who has the endorsement of Trump.
How did Harriet Hageman come into the picture?
Hageman was endorsed after Cheney, along with nine other GOP House members, voted to impeach Trump, per Politico.
The last time Cheney was on the ballot was in 2020, she beat her opponent by 40 percentage points, as Michael J. Mooney reported for Deseret Magazine. But this time around, she’s trailing 30 points behind Hageman, a former supporter and a family friend.
Hageman chose to support Sen. Ted Cruz during the Republican primary election in 2016 while pushing back on Trump’s reign. At the time, she called Trump “the weakest candidate,” according to The New York Times.
Later on, many of the same Republicans who wholeheartedly opposed Trump joined his side — including Cruz and Hageman.
“I heard and believed the lies the Democrats and Liz Cheney’s friends in the media were telling at the time, but that is ancient history as I quickly realized that their allegations against President Trump were untrue,” Hageman told the Times.
“He was the greatest president of my lifetime, and I am proud to have been able to renominate him in 2020. And I’m proud to strongly support him today.”
How is Harriet Hageman polling against Rep. Liz Cheney?
Mooney also noted that while Cheney hasn’t made many public appearances, “Hageman has driven back and forth across the state, racking up thousands of miles stumping at events.”
Hageman has also raised more money from individual contributors in Wyoming, totaling $543,094, while Cheney raised $255,336, according to Newsweek.
Last November, the Wyoming Republican Party voted to no longer recognize her as a Republican.
What is Harriet Hageman’s background?
With a business degree and a law degree from the University of Wyoming, Hageman has clerked for federal appeals judge James E. Barrett and later established her own practice in Wyoming, Nebraska and Colorado, per Ballotpedia. Her specialty is water and natural resources litigation.