Trump Endorses Hageman for Cheney’s Seat, Other Candidates Stay In
Following the announcement by Cheyenne attorney Harriet Hageman that she is running to unseat Representative Liz Cheney in the Republican primary in August 2022, former President Donald Trump announced his endorsement of Hageman.
Cheney responded to Trump's endorsement by tweeting, "Here's a soundbite for you: Bring it.", along with putting out a longer statement on the endorsement.
Hageman recently resigned from her position as Wyoming's national GOP committeewoman on the Republican National Committee, and had previously run in the 2018 Republican primary for governor, coming in third place behind Foster Friess, who was endorsed by Trump, and current governor Mark Gordon.
As far as the other candidates in the field are concerned, several seem determined to continue on, such as state Senator Anthony Bouchard and veteran Denton Knapp.
State Representative Chuck Gray, who is just behind Bouchard in terms of money raised and who met with Trump to seek his endorsement, and Darin Smith, who ran against Cheney in 2016, have not yet announced what they plan on doing following Trump's endorsement.
When it was reported by Politico that Trump was going to endorse Hageman, Bouchard tweeted out a photo of Cheney and Hageman together and said:
"Liz Cheney succeeded getting Trump to pick Cheney’s BFF for her replacement. Hageman was in Cheney's Campaign both initial and re-elections. (Liz Cheney’s Campaign Photos ‘scrubbed’ from the Internet by Hageman)"
While Bouchard so far has raised the most of any of Cheney's challengers at $547,868.35 according to the Federal Election Commission, there has also been controversy when it was revealed that he'd impregnated a 14 year-old when he was 18.
Knapp said that at this point in the primary process, it is premature for Trump to endorse a candidate, though he does still plan on dropping out when the time comes if the voters have decided on someone else.
"I am a man of honor, I honor my word. I said I'd drop out once that candidate was selected by May 2022, all of us I'm sure would do that...Is that who I want to go to D.C. as a Wyoming voter, and the candidate that may have to drop out when I think I'm the best person to go forward...[the endorsement] is premature, 11 months out from a primary, for a former president to select who he wants to be our state representative, I'm not sure Wyoming wants. If they do, we'll find out."