Democratic donors are helping Rep. Liz Cheney in her struggling reelection campaign, citing her as a Republican example of someone who has stood against former President Donald Trump.
Funders who fueled the presidential campaigns of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are now looking to help the Wyoming Republican, as she faces a likely ousting by a pro-Trump primary challenger.
“We agree on little, if anything. But she has done something very, very few people in history have done, which is put her country over party and politics to stand in defense of our Constitution,” film producer Jeffrey Katzenberg told The New York Times.
Along with Mr. Katzenberg, Citigroup chief executive and registered Democrat Jane Fraser, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, and billionaire hedge fund manager Seth Klarman have all given to Ms. Cheney, who is arguably the most aggressively anti-Trump Republican running for reelection.
Mr. Klarman, an independent who holds liberal views on social policies, said Ms. Cheney is the “strongest voice” in the GOP when it comes to upholding the Constitution.
Ms. Cheney has also been asking Wyoming Democrats to switch parties and vote for her in a state that Mr. Trump won by more than a 40-point margin in both 2016 and 2020.
Sen. John Barrasso, a fellow Wyoming Republican, threw cold water on that plan.
In an interview on Fox News Sunday, Mr. Barrasso said “there are not enough Democrats” to hand Ms. Cheney the win.
“Wyoming politics is very personal. It’s face to face, it’s town to town,” Mr. Barrasso said. “The travel that I have done around the state, I think she has a lot of work to do if she hopes to win the primary.”
Ms. Cheney, who is the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, has been ostracized from the Republican Party for her vote to impeach Mr. Trump and for taking a lead role in the House Jan. 6 committee’s investigation.
She regularly criticizes the GOP for what she describes as its cult-like loyalty to Mr. Trump.
Mr. Trump endorsed Harriet Hageman’s bid to oust the congresswoman from her from Wyoming single House district. The winner of the GOP primary is considered a shoo-in to win the general election in the solidly Republican state.
Polls indicate Ms. Cheney is badly trailing Hageman.
A Club for Growth poll, conducted May 24-25, had Ms. Hageman up 30 points ahead of Ms. Cheney.
In a recent debate among the GOP contenders, Ms. Hageman described the Jan. 6 committee as “totally unfair” and “contrary to everything that our country stands for.”
The candidate also accused Democrats and media pundits of using Jan. 6 to deflect from other domestic issues facing the nation.
“They talk about Jan. 6, but that’s not what the people of Wyoming are talking about,” Ms. Hageman said. “What they’re talking about is the gas prices, they’re talking about food prices, they’re talking about the fact that they can’t travel. In addition to that, we have serious questions about the 2020 election.”
Ms. Cheney defended her position on the committee and her stance against Mr. Trump, particularly around his claims that the 2020 election was stolen.
“I’m asking for your vote and I’m asking for you to understand that I will never violate my oath of office and if you’re looking for somebody who will, then you need to vote for somebody else on this stage because I won’t,” she said. “I will always put my oath first.”
The Wyoming primary is Aug. 16.
• Mica Soellner can be reached at msoellner@washingtontimes.com.
• Ramsey Touchberry can be reached at rtouchberry@washingtontimes.com.
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