After a hotly-contested primary, Liz Cheney secured the Republican nomination for Wyoming’s lone U.S. House seat by a landslide.
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Ms. Cheney, a former State Department official under George W. Bush and Fox News commentator, captured 40% of the vote when the Associated Press called the race late Tuesday night with 73% of precincts reporting.
Her campaign focused on President Obama’s national security and energy policies, promising to work for the state’s struggling coal industry. She’s raised $1.5 million, almost seven times more than the second-highest fundraiser, Stubson.
Republican voters waited Tuesday night for poll results in the most competitive US primary contest in Wyoming in over 100 years – a race that is a test of the Cheney family brand in the state.
State Sen. Leland Christensen had 19,085 votes, or about 22 percent; State Rep. Tim Stubson had 14,380 votes, or about 17 percent; and Cheyenne resident Darin Smith had 13,406 votes, or about 16 percent.
U.S. Rep. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyoming, is not seeking re-election to Congress, opting instead to return to Wyoming.
She’ll face Democrat Ryan Greene in the general election.
Meanwhile, Greene beat retired Roman Catholic priest Charlie Hardy on the Democratic side. He is a political newcomer but said that he’s held a variety of jobs in the oil patch.
Many prominent Wyoming Republicans accused Liz Cheney two years ago of being a “carpetbagger” and criticized her for challenging GOP incumbent Enzi when she had only recently moved to Wyoming from Virginia. He also posted a video to his social media accounts urging people to vote for Christensen. The Wall Street Journal suggests that her likely victory in the general elections will revive the Cheney family’s “presence” in Washington. Thanks to their hard work, tonight we are one step closer to achieving renewed leadership on behalf of our state in Congress.
U.S. Senate candidate Liz Cheney speaks with voters during a Republican and Tea Party gathering in Emblem, Wyoming in this August 24, 2013, file photo. We share an abiding love for Wyoming, its traditions and our western values.
“You know, a Liz Cheney Republican is somebody who is a strong constitutional conservative, believes in limited government”, she said, noting to Kane that she disagrees with some of Trump’s foreign policy positions. I will be that voice.
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Christensen will continue to serve as a senator in the Wyoming Legislature.
