Liz Cheney Crosses the Rubicon: Endorses and Will Campaign for Democrat
Republican Rep. Liz Cheney on Thursday endorsed and plans to campaign for Rep. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, the first time that the critic of former President Donald Trump who lost her GOP primary has crossed party lines to formally support a Democrat.
Cheney, of Wyoming, announced her support for the two-term House member from Holly, Michigan, in a statement by the Slotkin campaign that noted she plans to headline a campaign event with Slotkin in the Lansing-area district next Tuesday.
Slotkin is competing against Republican state Sen. Tom Barrett in Michigan’s 7th Congressional District. Their race is considered a toss-up by both sides and one of the Republicans’ chief targets in their campaign to win the House majority on Nov. 8.
Cheney and Slotkin serve on the House Armed Services Committee, but their shared background in the federal government goes back further. Cheney worked in the State Department before launching her political career, as did Slotkin, who worked in the CIA and the Defense Department as well.
Cheney is vice chair of the House Jan. 6 committee, which recently issued a subpoena for Trump to testify.
“I have come to know Elissa as a good and honorable public servant,” Cheney said in a statement included in the Slotkin campaign’s announcement. “While Elissa and I have our policy disagreements, at a time when our nation is facing threats at home and abroad, we need serious, responsible, substantive members like Elissa in Congress.”
For her part, Slotkin was an early and vocal proponent of the select committee’s formation.
Cheney’s role in the investigation into the incursion of the Capitol and her unsparing criticism of Trump, a fellow Republican whom she described as “clearly unfit for future office,” cost her re-election to Wyoming’s at-large House seat. After her defeat in the August primary, she said she was considering a 2024 presidential campaign, which Trump is also expected to wage.
Though it’s unclear how the Jan. 6 investigation will be reflected in the midterm voting, an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll this month found only nine percent of U.S. adults think democracy is working “extremely” well or “very well” while 52 percent say it’s not working well.
“At a moment when the very heart of our democracy is being challenged, Rep. Cheney’s voice has been critical,” Slotkin said in the campaign press release. “Rep. Cheney has shown tremendous leadership over the last two years, and while we certainly don’t agree on every issue, I look forward to welcoming her to Michigan’s 7th district next week.”
As of two weeks ago, Michigan’s 7th District was the most expensive House race in the country, according to AdImpact, a nonpartisan political media tracking company. The two campaigns and outside groups had combined to spend $27 million.
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.
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