OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney is in an uphill battle to win reelection this year thanks to a serious challenge by a Trump-backed opponent.
But the embattled Republican does not appear to be concerned enough about the situation to make an effort to mount a serious campaign.
The daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney was blasted by her Republican primary opponent after she skipped a major event in her home state to remain in Washington, D.C., to take part in more Jan. 6 committee hearings.
Meanwhile, challenger Harriet Hageman, who received former President Donald Trump’s endorsement last year, met with voters at the Central Wyoming Fair & PRCA Rodeo.
Breitbart News reports:
The Wyoming fair featured a “rodeo parade” in which Hageman participated, waving to constituents and shaking hands with potential voters. Yet Cheney did not attend the parade, instead opting to remain in Washington to conduct the partisan January 6 hearings with Democrats.
Wyoming residents who attended the event definitely took note of Cheney’s absence.
“She doesn’t live here, for starters. She doesn’t really represent us,” Sally O’Brien told Yahoo News of Cheney. “She says she’s a constitutionalist, but she doesn’t believe in justice for all, only for the Jan. 6 people.”
“I’m supporting [Hageman] because everything that I have read about her, she is a true Wyomingite,” O’Brien added. “She’s a real conservative.”
Meanwhile, local businessman Bob Ide, who also attended the parade, told Breitbart News he believes that Cheney has “betrayed” Wyoming by helping Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) committee and remaining in Washington.
“She betrayed the voters of Wyoming with her Jan. 6 show trial,” Ide said.
Another former Cheney supporter, Nancy Donovan, who has given over $35,000 to Cheney’s past campaigns, thinks the Wyoming Republican and daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney has lost it.
“I sit there watching the January 6 hearings and I think: ‘Have you lost your mind?’” she told the Financial Times. “This man [Trump] has every major institution going after him, from the media to the swamp in Washington, D.C., and now to have one of his own party do the same thing?”
Hageman cited Cheney’s continued voluntary participation in the January 6 committee as an act of betrayal, saying she “does not represent us and she has betrayed us.”
“[Cheney] spends her time on the January 6 committee. She has stated very, very, very clearly that her priority is to block Donald Trump from ever being elected… People care about inflation and about the open border and about protection of our jobs and protection of our schools and protection of our kids,” Hageman told the Times. “That’s not what she cares about right now.”
Regarding Cheney’s chances against Hageman, a leading Republican senator essentially wrote her political obituary earlier this week, and he just happens to be from her home state.
Sen. John Barrasso told Fox News on Sunday that Cheney’s likely to lose to Hageman because there are “not enough Democrats” to help her.
“Wyoming politics is very personal. It’s face-to-face. It’s town to town,” Barrasso said. “The travel that I have done around the state, I think she has a lot of work to do if she hopes to win the primary.”
“There’s really not that many Democrats out there,” Barrasso told Emanuel. “Even the chairman of the Democratic Party said there are not enough Democrats to do that.”
Last month, Cheney’s campaign sent mailers to Democrats in her state informing them about how they can switch parties to support her.
“How do I change my party affiliation to register as a Republican so I can vote for Liz?” the mailer says.
“To change your party affiliation or to declare a new affiliation, complete the Wyoming Voter Registration Application & Change Form and submit it to your county clerk’s office no later than 14 days before the primary election,” it adds.
“You may also change your party affiliation at your polling place on the day of the primary or general election, or when requesting an absentee ballot,” the mailer says, noting the GOP primary in Wyoming is Aug. 16.
