Trump rival Liz Cheney loses Wyoming primary

Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, Donald Trump’s biggest opponent among congressional Republicans, was defeated Tuesday in a party primary by a candidate supported by the former president. The result tightened Trump’s grip on the party’s rank and file.

The congresswoman, who was in her third term in Congress, and her allies faced the day with pessimism, aware that Trump’s support had given a considerable boost to Harriet Hageman in the state where the former president won by a wider margin in 2020. Cheney was already thinking about his political future beyond the Capitol and could consider a presidential candidacy in 2024, which would once again put him at odds with Trump.

Before a small group of supporters, including his father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, Cheney described his loss as the start of a new chapter in his career.

“Our path is far from over,” he said Tuesday night, paraphrasing Abraham Lincoln, who also lost congressional elections before becoming president and preserving the country.

The results, and the margin of some 30 points, were a stark reminder of the game’s rapid shift to the right. Once dominated by conservatives focused on national security and business facilitation, the party now belongs to Trump, buoyed by his populist appeal and, above all, his denial of defeat in the 2020 election.

Those lies, roundly rejected by federal and state election officials, as well as Trump’s own attorney general and judges appointed by him, made Cheney go from being an occasional critic of the former president to the clearest voice in the party warning of that the former president poses a threat to democratic norms. She is the ranking Republican on the House committee investigating the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the US Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters. Cheney made reference to the attack when she spoke about her political future.

“Since January 6, I have said that I will do whatever it takes to ensure that Donald Trump never comes near the Oval Office again, and I mean that,” he said.

Senator Murkowski Wins Alaska Primary

But Sen. Lisa Murkowski, another Republican who has challenged the former president, jumped a hurdle in Alaska. She was set to face Trump-backed challenger Kelly Tshibaka in the Nov. 8 congressional election as the two candidates advanced in that state’s nonpartisan primary.

With 72% of the expected votes counted, Murkowski narrowly led with 42.7% of the vote, followed by Tshibaka with 41.4% and Democrat Patricia Chesbro with 6.2%, according to Edison. The nonpartisan primary format in that state eliminates all but the top four vote-getters.

Murkowski, a moderate who is one of the most independent voices in the Senate, has held the seat since 2003.

Also in Alaska, Edison predicted that no candidate would emerge as a clear winner in the three-way race to complete the term of Rep. Don Young, who died in March.

That contest pits Sarah Palin, a former governor and 2008 vice-presidential candidate who has been endorsed by Trump, against fellow Republican Nick Begich III and Democrat Mary Peltola. The winner will be announced on August 31.

[Con información de The Associated Press y Reuters]

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