Cheney draws primary challenge days after voting to impeach Trump

Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, a member of House Republican leadership, has drawn a primary challenge just one week after voting to impeach then-President Trump.

State GOP Sen. Anthony Bouchard announced his campaign against Cheney on Wednesday, pointing to Trump’s strong voter support in the state and Cheney's "long-time opposition" to Trump.

Bouchard also said the impeachment vote by Cheney, the House’s third-highest-ranking Republican, shows "just how out-of-touch she is with Wyoming."

"Wyoming taxpayers need a voice in Congress who will stand up to Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats, and not give them cover. That's why I'm running for Congress," Bouchard said in a widely reported statement announcing his campaign.

The state Republican Party also disagrees with the impeachment vote by Cheney, one of 10 House Republicans who cast a yes vote.

"The wind in Wyoming has been horrendous today – with gusts up to 65 miles per hour," the group said in a Jan. 13 statement. "That is nothing compared to the whirlwind created by Representative Cheney’s announcement that she would be voting to impeach President Trump, and her subsequent follow-through of doing just that." 

Cheney is the House Republican Conference chairwoman. Fellow House members have signed petitions calling on House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy to remove her from the post.