(Headline USA) Former President Donald Trump has chosen a favored candidate in his bid to unseat Rep. Liz Cheney, one of his most vocal Republican critics.
Trump is planning to endorse Wyoming attorney Harriet Hageman, who is preparing to launch a primary campaign against Cheney, the most prominent member of Congress to vote for Trump’s second impeachment, according to a person familiar with his decision.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of a formal announcement.
The move marks Trump’s most significant endorsement to date as he works to maintain his status as GOP kingmaker.
Trump has already endorsed a number of Republican challengers including Kelly Tshibaka, who is running against Sen. Lisa Murkowski in Alaska; Michigan State Rep. Steve Carra, who is trying to unseat longtime Rep. Fred Upton; former White House aide Max Miller, who is running against Rep. Anthony Gonzalez in Ohio; and Joe Kent, who is challenging Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler in Washington.
All voted in favor of impeaching Trump for his alleged role in “inciting” the Jan. 6 siege at the Capitol building.
Trump met with Hageman last month as he assessed the potential candidate pool, hoping an early endorsement would help clear the field and prevent a crowded primary that might be advantageous to Cheney’s chances.
At least half-a-dozen other Republicans have already announced their intentions to run and it wasn’t immediately clear whether the news of Trump’s decision — which was first reported by Politico — would succeed in pushing them out.
They include state Sen. Anthony Bouchard, whose campaign was disrupted in May by the revelation that he impregnated a 14-year-old girl when he was 18; state Rep. Chuck Gray, a political radio commentator; and Darin Smith, an attorney with ties to the Christian Broadcasting Network and the conservative Family Research Council.
Hageman was an early supporter of Cheney’s unsuccessful attempt in 2013 and 2014 to oust popular U.S. Sen. Mike Enzi, and the two have remained in touch, though it is unclear how close they are personally.
She finished third in a six-way Republican gubernatorial primary in 2018, getting 21% of the vote.
Former State Treasurer Mark Gordon won, followed by investor and Republican megadonor Foster Friess, whom had Trump endorsed.
Hageman grew up on a ranch near Fort Laramie in southeastern Wyoming. She holds undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Wyoming.
She’s listed as a senior attorney with the New Civil Liberties Alliance, a Washington, D.C.-based law firm that aims to protect “constitutional freedoms from violations by the administrative state,” according to its mission statement.
Her Cheyenne law firm touts its ties to Wyoming’s ranching industry and Hageman’s involvement in lawsuits over wolves reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park, grazing on U.S. Bureau of Land Management land and water rights, among other issues.
She recently expressed support on Facebook for a new Texas law banning most abortions and has been a longtime cheerleader for the state’s coal mining industry.
Possibly foreshadowing the congressional race ahead, Hageman was the first in her 2018 campaign to go negative, criticizing one opponent as “anti-coal” and “obsessed with so-called green energy.”
Trump’s allies in Wyoming have been trying — unsuccessfully so far — to change state election law to allow for a runoff or ranked-choice voting system starting with next year’s primary. Such a big change would be costly and difficult to pull off by then, opponents of the changes say.
Hageman didn’t return phone and social media messages seeking comment.
Adapted from reporting by Associated Press.
