'National' figure Cheney 'feels bigger' than 'small' Wyoming election, says ally of lawmaker

Foreshadowing a larger, national career for Rep. Liz Cheney ahead of her widely predicted primary defeat on Tuesday, a Cheney ally says the Wyoming Republican running to hold on to her House seat "feels bigger" than the "small" Wyoming election.

“What's remarkable is that in the face of almost certain defeat she's never once wavered," Republican Accountability Project Executive Director Sarah Longwell told RealClearPolitics. "We've been watching a national American figure be forged. It's funny how small the election feels — the Wyoming election — because she feels bigger than it now."

Cheney, formerly the Republican conference chair, lost favor with both the party's voters and its leadership following her vote to impeach former President Donald Trump following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. She then went on to participate in the Democrat-led committee investigating the episode, leading to her censure by the Republican National Committee.

The heavily Republican state of Wyoming was firm in its support of Trump in both 2016 and 2020. As polling has consistently shown Cheney down by a significant margin against her Trump-endorsed challenger, Harriet Hageman, she has reached out to Democrats in the state, encouraging them to switch parties and vote for her.

Subsequent polling showed that appeal has largely fallen on deaf ears, as Cheney was down 28 points in a University of Wyoming poll released last week that included likely Democrat crossover voters.

Despite her likely defeat, other Democrats have flocked to Cheney's banner, while some even predicted a presidential future for the outcast Republican. Former Minnesota Democratic Sen. Al Franken endorsed her on Sunday while earlier this month, Harvard Law Professor Emeritus Alan Dershowitz predicted she would become a Democrat to run against Trump.