Why Wyoming's dedication to Donald Trump likely means the end of the road for Liz Cheney
CBC
To get a sense of just how committed the voters of Wyoming are to former U.S. president Donald Trump, look no further than the Laramie County Fair.
Inside a large metal barn complex on the outskirts of the state capital of Cheyenne, hundreds of young ranchers have brought their cows, sheep, pigs and chickens to be sold at the fair's youth livestock auction.
And in a quiet part of the facility, 13-year-old Jayden Ocheskey sits with her parents, waiting for her turn to showcase two of her family's steers.
One is named Donald, the other is named Trump.
While Ocheskey is too young to vote, her mom, Jennifer, is giddy about Tuesday's Republican House primary — and the very likely prospect that one of Trump's loudest critics is poised to lose her job.
"I'm extremely excited, like a kid waiting for Christmas," said Jennifer Ocheskey, describing Rep. Liz Cheney as "a traitor to the people of Wyoming."
"All she cares about is Jan. 6.… We want somebody who really cares about Wyoming."
Ocheskey then walked over to stand next to Trump (the steer) in its holding pen. And as the conversation continued, the animal very noticeably defecated. Chuckling, she turned to look at the pile of fresh feces, saying: "That's what he thinks of Liz Cheney."
Despite being the incumbent candidate, a staunch conservative and a member of a political dynasty, Trump supporters are widely expected to deliver a final punishment to Cheney during Tuesday's Republican primary in Wyoming — a state where nearly 70 per cent of voters cast a ballot for Trump in 2020, his strongest victory in his failed re-election bid.
According to a poll from the University of Wyoming taken 10 days ago, Cheney is trailing her opponent by nearly 30 points.
Cheney has become the face of Republican defiance — first for voting to impeach the former president in the wake of the deadly Jan. 6 attack, and then for serving as the co-chair of the congressional committee investigating efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
She's already been stripped of her formal duties in the House by Republican Party leadership and censured by her colleagues at the state level.
The candidate expected to defeat Cheney is Harriet Hageman, a Trump-endorsed lawyer and former Republican National Committee member who has repeated the lie that the 2020 election was stolen.
Initially a critic of Trump, Hageman didn't support his 2016 campaign to be the Republican presidential nominee, describing him as the "weakest candidate" and "somebody who is racist and xenophobic."
