Cheney Forms New PAC After Conceding to Hageman

Before all the votes had been counted, Wyoming Representative Liz Cheney did a 26-minute Facebook live video to announce that she has conceded to her primary opponent, Harriet Hageman.

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Cheney spent much of the concession speech talking about the threat posed by former President Donald Trump, and also spoke about Abraham Lincoln.

"The great original champion of our party Abraham Lincoln was defeated in the Senate and the House before he won the most important election of all. Lincoln ultimately prevailed, he saved our union, and he defined our obligations as Americans for all of history," Cheney said. "Speaking at Gettysburg of the great task that remained before us, Lincoln said that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that a government by the people, for the people, and of the people shall not perish from this earth. As we meet here tonight, that remains our greatest and most important task."

All told, Cheney raised $15,078,791 and spent $7,758,389 on her campaign, leaving her with $7,473,939 cash on hand, which is greater than the total amount that Hageman raised $4,411,364.

While it is unclear exactly what Cheney will do with the extra money, it's possible it may have been transferred to a new leadership PAC that Cheney formed early Wednesday morning, called The Great Task.

Jeremy Adler, Cheney's campaign spokesperson, said to POLITICO about the PAC:

“In coming weeks, Liz will be launching an organization to educate the American people about the ongoing threat to our Republic, and to mobilize a unified effort to oppose any Donald Trump campaign for president."

Beverly Shea, who is listed as the PAC treasurer, did not respond to a request for comment.

Shea is listed as the treasurer for the PAC Cheney used in the primary, Liz Cheney For Wyoming, and the PAC Cheney-Gonzalez 2022.

Anthony Gonzalez, who voted to impeach Trump, is retiring at the end of his term, and so did not face a primary challenge when Ohio held its primary in May.

Since Hageman's victory, Wyoming Senator John Barrasso has issued a statement supporting her, and Wyoming's other Senator Cynthia Lummis put out a tweet in support.

"Congratulations to my friend Harriet @HagemanforWY on her success in today’s primary. After holding that seat for eight years, I know what an honor it is to represent the people of Wyoming in the U.S. House of Representatives. Harriet is a tireless fighter for Wyoming, and I look forward to her joining Senator John Barrasso and me here in Washington to represent the Equality State."

According to the final unofficial tally, Hageman won with 113,025 votes, or 66.3%, compared to Cheney winning 49,316, or 28.9%.

State Senator Anthony Bouchard came in a distant third with 4,505 votes, or 2.6%, while Denton Knapp came in fourth with 2,258 votes or 1.3%.

Bouchard has since congratulated Hageman on her victory in a Facebook post.