Liz Cheney, daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, won the Republican primary for Wyoming’s only House seat Tuesday, meaning one of the most famous names in Republican politics will likely return to Washington.
Cheney, a former State department official who was a commonly heard pundit along with her father on conservative airwaves, bested seven rivals for the open House seat vacated by Rep. Cynthia Lummis, a Republican. The primary win in reliably red Wyoming means that the Cheney family name is expected to return to Congress.
Dick Cheney held Wyoming’s House seat from 1979 until 1989, when he resigned to become secretary of defense.
Liz Cheney pledged in statement after her win to “defend our constitutional rights and our way of life.”
“Our freedom is under assault from an out-of-control federal government and our security is under threat from radical Islamic terrorism,” she said.
Cheney will face off against Democrat Ryan Greene, an energy industry businessman from Rock Springs, in the general election.
Cheney ruffled feathers when she ran for the Senate in Wyoming in 2014 against incumbent Republican Sen. Mike Enzi. She ultimately withdrew from the race, citing “serious health issues” in her family.