In voting to impeach Donald Trump in January, representatives Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger threw their political futures into disarray—the two could end up losing their seats to pro-Trump primary opponents—but their stand against the former president has paid off in other ways. Cheney, who was purged from the GOP’s House leadership in May, hauled in a record-setting $1.88 million from April to June. Cheney’s 2022 reelection war chest has now exploded, totaling nearly $3.5 million for the year, according to Politico. Kinzinger, a Chicago-area representative who joined Cheney in becoming the face of anti-Trump Republicans, received a fundraising boon of his own this year. He netted $1.1 million in the first quarter to spend on his reelection efforts, despite not receiving more than $350,000 in one quarter during his last reelection cycle.
For Cheney the fundraising victory is a hopeful development. “Liz is demonstrating the type of effective, principled leadership that Wyoming deserves from its representative,” Cheney adviser Kevin Seifert said in a statement to Fox News. “She will continue to fight the Biden administration’s overreach and articulate how Republicans can offer a better way forward for the nation. It’s encouraging to have so many join her effort.” Denver Riggleman, an anti-Trump Republican and former representative who is friends with Cheney and Kinzinger, suggested to Politico that the pair’s fundraising wins could lead quietly like-minded GOP members to resist Trump’s iron grip on the party. “They’re very encouraged by what they see in fundraising and by what they’re starting to hear on the ground,” Riggleman said. “Nobody thinks of cascading effects…The fact is, there’s a significant portion of Republicans who do not support Donald Trump anyway, who’re looking at Adam and Liz to sort of carry that conservative banner nationally.”
But other Republicans are not convinced. “Anyone who thinks there’s a different path for higher office in a Republican primary other than the Trump platform is delusional,” noted Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, questioning the idea that Cheney and Kinzinger might use their funds to pursue higher office in the future. “I have not spoken with Liz or Adam about their long-term goals. However, maybe looking at the battle they face in a primary, they think higher office is an easier path.” And as of now, Cheney and Kinzinger are clearly unwelcome in MAGAland. Trump included both on his list of “losers” who represent “what’s really wrong with the Republican Party” in a statement last month.
In a more personal condemnation, Trump said of Cheney, “Heartwarming to read new polls on big-shot warmonger Liz Cheney of the great state of Wyoming. She is so low that her only chance would be if vast numbers of people run against her which, hopefully, won’t happen. They never liked her much, but I say she’ll never run in a Wyoming election again.” As for Cheney’s Republican challengers, none of them have been granted Trump’s coveted endorsement just yet. But he’ll have no shortage of options, as at least half a dozen Republicans plan to run against her, including Wyoming state senator Anthony Bouchard and state rep. Chuck Gray, who have already hauled in $334,000 and $173,000, respectively.
The primary threat hasn’t prevented Cheney from again calling out those in her party who have refused to accept Joe Biden’s decisive victory or are attempting to whitewash the January 6 insurrection. “I will absolutely stand for the truth and I will reject partisanship—wherever it comes in,” Cheney, the only Republican on the select committee investigating the attack, told CNN on Wednesday. “And I think that’s been very clear from the beginning of this: My obligation is to the Constitution.”
Cheney and Kinzinger’s intraparty rivals have also been raking in donations. Rep. Elise Stefanik, who took over Cheney’s leadership position upon her ousting, earned $1.5 million in donations over this year’s second quarter, according to Politico. After raising a fist in support of the pro-Trump rioters who broke into the U.S. Capitol, Senator Josh Hawley raised more than $3 million in the first quarter of 2021. (Hawley threw in against Cheney during the push to remove her, saying that she was “spiraling” and “out of step with Republican voters” for opposing Trump.) And Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the far-right and QAnon-affiliated lawmaker who personally helped spearhead the attack against Cheney, raised more than $3.2 million of her own in the first three months of this year.
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