Liz Cheney in Final Ad: Donald Trump’s Election Claims ‘Insidious,’ He Is Aiming to ‘Manipulate Americans’

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) speaks before the Committee on Rules on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, De
Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Wendell Husebo

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) on Thursday released her closing ad of the GOP primary, again attacking former President Donald Trump, who won Wyoming with nearly 70 percent of the vote in 2020.

Only mentioning her Wyoming opponents once and not by name, Cheney recited for two minutes and 21 seconds a diatribe focusing mostly on Trump instead of the needs of Wyoming voters. Nothing in her ad mentions priorities of Wyoming citizens such as deregulating the administrative state, fighting for federal land management reform, or securing the southern border.

In part, Cheney says in her ad:

The lie that the 2020 presidential election was stolen is insidious. It preys on those who love their country. It is a door Donald Trump opened to manipulate Americans to abandon their principles, to sacrifice their freedom, to justify violence, to ignore the rulings of our courts and the rule of law.

Nothing in our public life is more important than the preservation of the miracle given to us by God and our founding fathers. Nothing.

The ad’s release comes nearly a week after her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, cut an ad for his daughter’s campaign. The ad, which did not mention Wyoming once, also slammed Trump for being a “coward:”

Lynne and I are so proud of Liz for standing up for the truth, doing what’s right, honoring her oath to the Constitution when so many in our party are too scared to do so. Liz is fearless. She never backs down from a fight. There is nothing more important she will ever do than lead the effort to make sure Donald Trump is never again near the Oval Office, and she will succeed. I am Dick Cheney. I proudly voted for my daughter, and I hope you will too.

Representative Liz Cheney, a Republican from Wyoming, right, and former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney exit on the first anniversary of the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022. President Biden blamed Donald Trump directly for the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol a year ago, saying the former president turned to violence to try to overturn the election he lost. Photographer: Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Rep. Liz Cheney, a Republican from Wyoming, right, and her father, former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, exit the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, on Thursday, January 6, 2022. (Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg)

The Cheney campaign tactic of focusing on Trump instead of on Harriet Hageman or the needs of Wyoming voters may backfire. Polling of likely Republican voters shows that Cheney is losing to Hageman by 57 points. Previous polling has shown Cheney losing by 30 points, 28 points, and 22 points.

Wyoming Republican congressional candidate Harriet Hageman speaks at a rally at the Teton County Fair & Rodeo Grounds on June 14, 2022, in Jackson, Wyoming. (Natalie Behring/Getty Images)

Hageman has published her own ads slamming Cheney for being selfish. Hageman’s latest ad, titled “Desperate For Attention,” highlights Cheney’s desire to remain in Congress to continue fighting Trump:

There’s been an awful lot of noise this election — candidates attacking each other, making things up, desperate for attention. Liz Cheney — she’s made her time in Congress and this election all about her. Well, it’s not about her. It’s about you. Wyoming deserves a voice in Congress to fight for our values, our way of life. I’m Harriet Hageman. I approve this message because I want to fight for you.
While Cheney has financed her ad campaign with donors who have supported Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, along with Hollywood celebrities and the establishment uniparty, Hageman has done very well with Wyoming voters. Wyoming voters have donated more than $1.2 million — more than four times as much as Wyoming voters have donated to Cheney, FEC data shows. Overall, Cheney has outraised Hageman by nearly three to one.

Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality. 

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