Cheney again breaks fundraising record in Wyoming House race

Congresswoman Liz Cheney raised almost $3 million in campaign contributions over the first three months of the midterm election year, continuing her record-breaking fundraising streak as she attempts to defend her seat against a Trump-backed challenger.

The third-term Wyoming Republican began April with $6.8 million cash on-hand, while her opponent Harriet Hageman began the final four-month stretch leading up to Wyoming's Aug. 16 Republican primary with more than $1 million in her campaign coffers.

Though deep-red Wyoming traditionally draws significantly less in campaign contributions than more populous battleground states, Cheney's unrelenting criticism of former President Donald Trump and statements blaming him for the violence at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 have transformed the race for the state's lone U.S. House seat into one of the most closely watched contests of the 2022 midterms.

Cheney, who chaired the Republican House Conference before being ousted from her post last year, has broken her personal fundraising records in five consecutive quarters and has raised more than $10 million throughout the election cycle, her campaign said in a statement.

Cheney's criticisms of Trump have alienated her from many of her colleagues in the U.S. House and the Wyoming Republican Party and made her among the most endangered Republican incumbents facing reelection this year. But they've also expanded her profile and allowed her to build a nationwide fundraising network.

Given her vote to impeach him and her position on the Jan. 6 House Select Committee, Cheney’s seat is among Trump’s top 2022 targets. Hageman has received endorsements from Trump, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Rep. Elise Stefanik, Cheney’s replacement as House Republican Conference Chair.

Hageman,...