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Wyoming voters are praising Rep. Liz Cheney as ‘civil and serious’ and say she ‘can stand up to bullies’ in the Republican’s first TV commercial of her heated primary campaign, released on Thursday.
Cheney’s ad comes after a recent poll showed her slipping behind her Donald Trump-endorsed challenger, attorney Harriet Hageman, with mere months to go until the August 16 primary election.
The ex-president recruited Hageman to challenge Cheney after the lawmaker angered him by voting for his impeachment after the January 6 attack.
Trump’s name, notably, was not heard one in the roughly one-minute advertisement – likely an effort to not alienate herself from GOP voters in the deep-red state.
It focuses on ‘everyday Wyomingites praising Liz Cheney’s leadership, highlighting the work she has done on behalf of the state, and explaining why they are voting for her,’ according to her campaign.
But Hageman argued that Cheney is ‘deeply unpopular’ with her own constituents in a statement to DailyMail.com.
‘Liz Cheney had to find other people to speak for her because she knows how deeply unpopular she is in Wyoming,’ the GOP candidate said.
‘People have already decided that she has abandoned Wyoming at the expense of her personal war with President Trump and we’re all fed up. When I’m the next congresswoman from Wyoming, I’ll never forget who hired me for the job.’
Cheney not featured very prominently in her TV ad, which shows residents of her state talking about why Cheney appeals to them.
‘As a mom, I want a statesman not a politician. I want someone who is civil and serious and someone my children can look up to,’ says one person identified as Laura from Cheyenne.
Ronna from Casper said: ‘So many people today claim to be a constitutional conservative. Liz truly is one.’
Another voter said Cheney has ‘always fought hard for veterans’ while someone else praised her for fighting for ‘recreational access on our public lands in Wyoming.’
The roughly one-minute ad featured Wyoming residents praising Cheney for standing up for veterans and the state’s energy industry
In a nod to the state’s status as the second-biggest net energy supplier in the country, a Wyomingite named Shane said in the video, ‘We are very lucky to have Liz as a strong advocate for the oil and gas industry and for the state of Wyoming.’
And in an indirect swipe at Trump and his allies’ steady stream of attacks, one voter said Cheney ‘has the courage to do the right thing to stand up to bullies.’
It also appears to be a nod to her work on the Democrat-led House select committee investigating the Capitol riot, which earned her backlash and censures from Republicans on the state and national level.
The efforts along with her criticism of Trump cost her the No 3. role in the House GOP as Republican Conference Chair, which then went to the former president’s ally Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York.
Now it looks like her once-safe seat could be up for Hageman’s taking, after a new poll taken by the anti-Cheney Club For Growth showed her trailing Hageman by 30 points.
If the primary were held now, 56 percent of Wyoming Republicans surveyed said they would support Hageman while just 26 percent backed Cheney, according to the survey.
An additional 12 percent said they would vote for Wyoming state Senator Anthony Bouchard, another Trump supporter, and six percent were undecided.
The ad campaign came at a six-figure price tag, a source suggested to DailyMail.com.
Trump hosted a Save America rally for Hageman over Memorial Day weekend. His confidence in the lawyer’s candidacy was reflected by the litany of high-profile GOP guests the former president invited to speak before him.
Trump recruited attorney Harriet Hageman to challenge Cheney after the lawmaker angered him with her impeachment vote
House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy delivered taped remarks – though he was booed – as did Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz.
A video message also came from Stefanik, who touted her leadership victory over the Wyoming incumbent: ‘I know what it takes firsthand to beat Liz Cheney, and I’m telling you, Harriet has what it takes.’
Reps. Lauren Boebert and Andy Biggs spoke in person at the indoor venue, the Ford Wyoming Center.
Trump blasted Cheney as ‘a lapdog for Pelosi and a human sound bite machine’ during his own marquee speech.
‘Liz Cheney hates the voters of the Republican Party and she has for longer than you know,’ the ex-president said.
‘Wyoming deserves a congresswoman who stands up for you and your values not one who spends all of her time putting you down and going after you president in the most vicious way possible.’
Cheney has billed herself as an authentic Constitutional conservative, and has not hesitated to speak out against the pro-Trump faction that now dominates her party.
But her race is part of a wider battle for control over the future of the GOP between the establishment and the bombastic ‘Make America Great Again’ Republicans.
Cheney officially filed for re-election late last month. Her critics’ latest argument seeks to paint the lawmaker as part of the Washington, DC swamp and Virginian rather than a true Wyoming resident.
She defended herself against those attacks in a video released last week marking her 2022 campaign. Cheney touted her deep Wyoming roots – followed by another swipe at the fellow Republicans trying to unseat her.
‘When I know something is wrong, I say so. I won’t waver, I won’t back down, I won’t surrender to pressure or intimidation,’ Cheney said in the video.
‘I know where to draw the line and I know that some things aren’t for sale.’
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