Both Senate and House Republicans, as well as plenty of Wyoming politicians, are waiting to see if Rep. Liz Cheney runs to succeed retiring Sen. Mike Enzi, but she might not get a glide path through the GOP primary. Former Rep. Cynthia Lummis hasn’t said anything publicly about her plans, but her former chief of staff tells the Washington Examiner’s David Drucker that his old boss is interested in running for the Senate, and that Lummis won’t let Cheney’s decision deter her.
Lummis has eyed the Senate seat before. In 2007, after Sen. Craig Thomas died, state law required that the state Republican Central Committee send Democratic Gov. Dave Freudenthal the names of three possible replacements, and for the governor to appoint one. Then-state Treasurer Lummis, who had openly fought with Freudenthal throughout his tenure, was one of three finalists, but he went with then-state Sen. John Barrasso instead.
Lummis was elected to the state’s only House seat the following year, but she didn’t give up on her Senate dreams. In 2013, Lummis said she would back Enzi if he ran the following year, but that she would seek his Senate seat if he decided to retire instead. However, Enzi decided to pursue re-election in 2014, even after Cheney launched her abbreviated primary bid against him, and Lummis stayed in the House. In 2015, Lummis unexpectedly announced she would retire from Congress (her husband’s recent death may have played a role in her decision) and Cheney won the primary to succeed her.
There was plenty of chatter in early 2017 that the recently retired Lummis was interested in running for governor the following year to succeed termed-out incumbent Matt Mead, but she announced in July that she wouldn’t jump in. This was another surprise since, according to local political columnist Bill Sniffin, Lummis had been "lining up supporters earlier this year and looked like a shoo-in to me.” Lummis ended up backing businessman Sam Galeotos, who ended up taking a distant fourth place in the primary.
It’s unclear if any other prominent Cowboy State Republicans are willing to take on Cheney, who has plenty of connections both in Wyoming and nationally as the number three House Republican and the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney. The candidate filing deadline isn’t until May of next year, but Cheney is reportedly getting at least some pressure from her allies on Capitol Hill to decide what she’s doing soon.
Drucker writes that, while House Republicans expect her to run for the Senate, they want her to say if she’s seeking a promotion or staying in the lower chamber quickly “or risk squandering the goodwill and credibility she has amassed as a member of the House GOP leadership team.” Politico’s Melanie Zanona also writes that House Republicans are “pleading with her to stick around,” though Senate Republicans also want her to join their ranks.
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