Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) received the second-highest amount in donations from PACs through the first two months of 2021, preparing the Congresswoman for a well-positioned reelection battle against Trump-supported primary opposition.
The donations contrasts the 2020 election cycle, when 39 House members raised more funding than Cheney, and stood second only to Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY).
The Congresswoman received $1.2 million in donations in 2020.
The report comes as former President Donald Trump has pledged to support a Republican primary challenger against Cheney.
In last month’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) speech, Trump opposed Cheney by name: “The good news is in her state, she’s been censured and in her state her poll numbers have dropped faster than any human being I’ve ever seen. So hopefully they’ll get rid of her with the next election. Get rid of them all!”
In February, the Wyoming Republican Party voted overwhelmingly to censure Cheney for her vote to impeach Trump in the House.
Just eight of the state’s Republican committee members opposed the censure measure.
Cheney, the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, blasted her state party for the action.
“People have been lied to,” Cheney said following her censure.
“The extent to which the president, President Trump, for months leading up to Jan. 6 spread the notion that the election had been stolen or that the election was rigged was a lie,” Cheney added.
The Wyoming House member is not alone in receiving donations from never-Trumper sources.
The same report noted that a leadership PAC controlled by Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) also received significant funding to begin 2021.
Cheney and other establishment Republicans will likely continue to benefit from anti-Trump support as the 2022 midterm elections approach.
Cheney received donations from PACs led by Rep. Tom Rice (R-SC) and Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who both voted to impeach Trump.
Former GOP House Speaker Paul Ryan is also reportedly fundraising for Cheney’s reelection campaign, according to a report by Politico.
