New poll spells bad news for Liz Cheney’s primary in Wyoming

Liz Cheney may be earning plaudits for her work on the January 6 committee investigation, but her future in Congress appears precarious after two polls show her badly losing her WyomingGOP primary.

Ms Cheney trailed her Trump-endorsed challenger Harriet Hageman by 22 points in a Casper Star-Tribune poll released on Friday.

A separate poll for the Club for Growth conservative organisation obtained by NBC News showed likely primary voters favouring Ms Hageman by 59 per cent to 31 per cent.

As deputy chair of the January 6 House select committee, Ms Cheney has been lauded for her courage and prosecutorial prowess in laying out the case against Mr Trump over his responsibility for the attack on the Capitol.

But her open defiance of the former president has seen her alienated from the Republican Party and many of her supporters in a state where 70 per cent voted for Mr Trump in the 2020 presidential election.

Ms Cheney voted to impeach Donald Trump after the January 6 insurrection and was later stripped of her leadership role in the Republican House caucus over her unwavering criticism of the former president.

She does enjoy a strong financial advantage over Ms Hageman, amassing a $7m warchest in part from donations from her new legion of fans among Democrat voters, compared to her rival’s $1.4m.

Early voting has already begun in the Wyoming GOP primary, and the election will be held on 16 August.

Under Wyoming laws, Democrats can vote in Republican primaries, and Ms Cheney is likely to benefit from large numbers of crossover voters.

According to the Star-Tribune poll, 66 per cent of voters disapprove of her job performance, compared to just 27 per cent who approve.