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Rep. Liz Cheney lost Tuesday’s Republican congressional primary in Wyoming.
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In her speech, she criticized the “lies” of Donald Trump’s election.
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She presented her loss as the price she paid for being one of the few Republicans to oppose Trump.
Rep. Liz Cheney said Tuesday she could have won re-election in Wyoming if she had sided with former President Donald Trump’s false allegations of election fraud.
But that wasn’t a price she was willing to pay, she said.
Cheney spoke out in a defiant concession speech after losing to Republican supporter and Trump-backed Harriet Hedgeman in her fight against Cheney.
“Two years ago I won this primary with 73% of the vote. I could have easily done the same thing again. I would have had to agree with you,” Cheney in his concession speech.
“It would have been necessary to unravel our democratic system and enable his continued efforts to attack the foundations of our republic.
Cheney continued: “There is no seat or office in this country more important than the principles we have all sworn to uphold. I was well aware of the potential political consequences of following my duties.
“Our Republic relies on the goodwill of all candidates to honorably accept the outcome of the election, and tonight Harriet Hedgeman received the most votes in this primary. won.I called her and got her to admit the race.This primary is over.But now the real work begins.”
Hageman, like all candidates who win Trump’s endorsement, has enthusiastically backed his ranting allegations that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him by election fraud.
Insider Election Partners, Decision Desk HQ, Predicted Hageman would beat Cheney on Tuesday nightNearly all the votes were tallied, with Hageman being the decisive winner with 66.3% of the votes to Cheney’s 28.9% of the votes.
Cheney has long been an enemy of Trump. She is one of her two anti-Trump Republicans on a House committee to vote for his impeachment and to investigate the day’s events following the Jan. 6 riots at the Capitol. .
Trump has poured resources into ousting Cheney from congressional seats that cover the entire state of Wyoming, the least populous state in the United States. She has held her seat since 2017.
Cheney’s loss is Trump’s biggest win yet in his efforts to purge the party of those who oppose him personally or against his election fraud conspiracy theories.
Trump lauded Cheney’s defeatposted a series of jubilant messages on his Truth Social website, including predictions that Cheney would “disappear into the depths of political oblivion.”
In his speech, Cheney warned of the impact of Trump’s divisive rhetoric on America and said he would continue to speak out against his absence.
“Our country is once again heading towards crisis, lawlessness and violence,” she said. “No American, in any position of real responsibility, should support those who deny elections.”
Cheney said, “I will do whatever it takes to ensure Trump is never near the Oval Office again. And I mean it.”
Read the original article at business insider