Rand Paul backs Liz Cheney’s primary opponent in Wyoming congressional race

Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky is urging Wyoming voters to support Leland Christiansen, who squares off against Liz Cheney in a GOP congressional primary in Wyoming Tuesday, taking some indirect shots at former Vice President Dick Cheney, Ms. Cheney’s father, in the process.

“We need good, solid conservative Republicans like Leland Christiansen who will come to Washington and say you know what? The presidency has to obey the Constitution the same way the people do,” Mr. Paul said in a video message Monday.

“I think Leland Christiansen [would] make a great choice and I hope you’ll vote for him on Tuesday,” he said.

As a 2016 Republican candidate for president, Mr. Paul was one of the sharpest critics of former President George W. Bush’s military adventurism in the Middle East, and indirectly criticized Mr. Cheney - Mr. Bush’s vice president - in his comments urging people to support Mr. Christiansen.

“I think all of us know that we’re fighting the establishment - sometimes of both parties,” he said. “In Washington, they’re borrowing a million dollars a minute. We can’t have a big government Republican, and Wyoming shouldn’t send us a big-government Republican who says that deficits don’t matter, who says that we should police the world or who believes in unlimited presidential power.”

“That’s what we’ve got now with a Democrat president,” he said.

Mr. Christiansen and Ms. Cheney are two candidates in a crowded GOP field who are vying for the seat of retiring Rep. Cynthia Lummis in the red state.

Ms. Cheney had challenged Sen. Mike Enzi in a 2014 GOP primary in Wyoming, but ultimately dropped out of that race. Mr. Cheney is a former congressman from the state.