Former President Donald Trump is leaning on the Wyoming legislature to curb crossover voting in party primary elections, potentially dealing blow to GOP Rep. Liz Cheney’s reelection bid.
The legislation would stop Democrats from participating in Republican primaries by doing away with the state’s same-day party affiliation changes.
“This critically important bill ensures that the voters in each party will separately choose their nominees for the General Election, which is how it should be!” Mr. Trump said in a statement. “It makes total sense that only Democrats vote in the Democrat primary and only Republicans vote in the Republican primary.”
The proposal could change the contours of the political landscape heading into the August primary where Mr. Trump and his allies are fighting to send Ms. Cheney packing. She is one of Mr. Trump’s most outspoken Republican critics in Congress and her anti-Trump stance has alienated her within the Republican Party.
State Sen. Bo Biteman, a Republican, introduced the “Change in party affiliation” proposal this week, saying the practice has been going on too long in the state.
“It is not fair, it is not right, and it is harming the integrity of our party nomination process,” Mr. Biteman said in a statement, according to news reports. “This bill will go a long way toward ending this up to now legal, but unethical behavior, and restore confidence in our party nominating process.”
“Party switching cancels out the vote of actual party members by those who wish to game the system and influence the outcome of their competing party’s nominating election,” he said.
Mr. Biteman was among the Republicans that Mr. Trump met with last year before he endorsed Harriet Hageman’s bid to unseat Ms. Cheney in the primary election.
The proposal reflects a long-held frustration among some Republicans that the primary system needed to be changed, and will serve as a barometer for the level of anti-Cheney sentiment in the state legislature.
A spokesperson for the Cheney campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
Ms. Cheney is facing stiff headwinds in her political backyard.
The Wyoming GOP passed a resolution last year that said it no longer recognized her as a member of the party.
The resolution cited her vote, along with nine other House Republicans, to impeach Mr. Trump for inciting the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and her refusal to back off her criticism of the former president.
The resolution said Ms. Cheney is on a “personally motivated witch hunt.”
Joseph McGinley, a member of the Wyoming GOP who is leaning toward backing Ms. Cheney, said the calls to change the state’s primary voting rules picked up speed after the election of Gov. Mark Gordon in 2018, which some grassroots activists blamed on crossover voters.
Mr. McGinley said there is always some level of crossover voting, but said it appears Mr. Trump and his allies are trying to plant seeds of doubt about the primary results if things don’t go according to plan.
“Obviously they are concerned that Rep. Cheney is still going to win this primary and they are looking at ways to minimize that risk,” Mr. McGinley said. “I think they are looking more for excuses than anything else.”
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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