Republican who voted to impeach Trump is defeated in primary

Wyoming Representative Liz Cheney, the most ardent Republican critic of Donald Trump in Congress, vowed to continue her fight against the former president and the election attack movement he leads in a speech Tuesday night. (17), after admitting defeat in the primary election in his state.

Heney was defeated by Trump-backed lawyer Harriet Hageman, indicates projection of the CNN .

“This primary election is over,” Cheney said in his concession speech. “But now the real work begins.”

The last of 10 House Republicans who voted in favor of Trump’s second impeachment to face voters, Cheney now becomes the eighth not to return to the House next year. Cheney’s defeat, while widely anticipated, marks a significant milestone in the broader struggle for the leadership of the Republican Party.

Already regarded as promising, she was ousted from the House Party leadership last year for her opposition to the former president and fell behind in polls this year as she helped lead the House select committee investigating the January 6 attack. 2021 to the United States Capitol.

While he didn’t make any announcements about his future plans, Cheney hinted at a future in politics.

“The great and original leader of our party, Abraham Lincoln, was defeated in the Senate and House elections before winning the most important election of all,” she said. “Lincoln finally prevailed, saved our union and defined our obligation as Americans throughout history.”

With his future undefined, Cheney’s attempt to project dignity into defeat was itself a clear replica of Trump’s behavior since he lost the 2020 election.

“No seat in the House, no office on this earth is more important than the principles we are all sworn to uphold. I understood well the possible political consequences of doing my duty,” Cheney said. “Our Republic counts on the good will of all candidates to honorably accept the result of the elections. Tonight, Harriet Hageman received the most votes in this primary. She won.”

Despite her conservative credentials and partisan experience, her role as Trump’s top Republican critic on Capitol Hill has made her vulnerable in a state the former president won with nearly 70% of the vote in 2020.

Trump’s enduring popularity in Wyoming, along with Cheney’s role as vice chairman of the House committee on the Capitol Hill attack, have made the congresswoman, daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, a top target for Trump allies.

Cheney said American democracy faces an existential threat — that “our survival is not guaranteed” — criticizing state-level Republican efforts to cancel the 2020 election results and GOP candidates who have already begun to doubt future votes.

“If we don’t condemn the conspiracies and the lies, if we don’t hold those responsible to account, then we are condoning that conduct and it will become a feature of every election,” Cheney said. “America will never be the same again.”

Trump’s control over the Republican Party has been proven time and time again since he left Washington. With Wyoming’s vote, Cheney becomes the fourth House Republican who voted to impeach Trump to lose her primaries.

The two survivors so far, in California and Washington, have benefited from their states’ non-partisan primary system.

Top Republicans on Capitol Hill rallied around Hageman, who has embraced Trump’s false allegations of election fraud and called the 2020 race “fraud.” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, another Hageman supporter, said Monday that the Wyoming election “would be a January 6 committee referendum.”

On Tuesday, Cheney also addressed the recent search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago, Florida home, denouncing the former president’s efforts to sow anger among his supporters and potentially endanger the FBI agents involved in the investigation. operation by disclosing some of their names.

“That was purposeful and malicious. No patriotic American should condone these threats or be intimidated by them,” Cheney said. “Our great nation should not be ruled by a mob provoked by social media.”

Hageman, at his victory rally, thanked Trump and congressional Republicans for their support. “Wyoming showed today that while it may not be easy, we can pull out politicians who believe they have outgrown the people they are supposed to represent and serve,” Hageman said.

In a post on his own social media, Trump praised Cheney’s defeat, calling it “a wonderful result for America”, before denouncing it as “evil”.

“Now she can finally disappear into the depths of political oblivion, where I’m sure she will be much happier than she is now,” Trump wrote.