Free Republic

Harriet Hageman, the Donald Trump-endorsed candidate seeking to unseat Rep. Liz Cheney, won big Saturday in a straw poll of House candidates held by the Wyoming Republican State Central Committee. The secret ballot of party activists awarded Hageman 59 votes, Cheney six, state Sen. Anthony Bouchard, R-Cheyenne, two and Denton Knapp one. The vote comes eight months before the GOP primary. “I think it’s a good sign. It’s not an endorsement, but these are the county activists” Hageman told the Star-Tribune after the vote. The state party itself is not statutorily allowed to endorse a candidate in the primary.

A Wyoming state legislator is no longer among the Republicans challenging Liz Cheney in 2022. Republicans should unite to defeat Cheney, state Rep. Chuck Gray, of Casper, said in a statement suspending his campaign Tuesday. Former President Donald Trump last week endorsed Cheyenne lawyer Harriet Hageman in the Republican U.S. House primary. Cheney reacted to the endorsement by saying, “Bring it.” Gray was among more than half a dozen Republicans to challenge Cheney for her vote to impeach Trump for the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Gray is the third candidate, after Cheyenne attorney Darin Smith and Sheridan...