Will Rand Paul's Endorsement Cost Cheney Wyoming's House Seat?

Liz Cheney 2

Less than two days before the polls open in today’s Wyoming’s primary election for the state’s only House seat, Sen. Rand Paul endorsed state Sen. Leland Christensen over front runner Liz Cheney. Politico reports that Paul has a long-standing feud with Cheney’s father, former Vice President Dick Cheney. Paul used his endorsement to take several shots at Dick Cheney’s record.

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A July poll by the Casper Star-Tribune and Wyoming PBS, the only public poll of the race, found Cheney leading with 21 percent. Tim Stubson, the third-ranking Republican in the Wyoming House, followed with 8.7 percent, Leland Christensen, Paul’s pick, had 4.1 percent and Darin Smith had 2.5 percent.  None of the other five Republican candidates had more than 2 percent. But 52 percent of registered Republicans were undecided in the poll. The poll’s margin of error was plus or minus 5.65 percent.

Cheney’s has raised $1.2 million, more than 10 times as much as any of her competitors.  According to the Associated Press, Cheney is in the driver’s seat:

“With an eight-way split in the vote, I think she pretty much is in the driver’s seat,” said Jim King, a University of Wyoming political science professor.

Liz Cheney has kept tightly focused on national security, saying federal regulations distract the government from protecting the U.S. from threats from abroad.

“The federal government is involved in so many things it shouldn’t be involved in,” she said. “It’s unable and unwilling to do the things we need it to do.”

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So it doesn’t look like Paul’s last minute endorsement will cost Cheney the race. It was just an opportunity for Paul to take another shot at the Cheneys.

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