The concession call is a hallmark of our elections process— a demonstration of our political leaders’ commitment to peaceful transitions of power; something former President Trump refused to do and something Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) made it a point to do.
Cheney, vice chair of the Jan. 6th Committee as well as one of only ten Republican members who voted to impeach Trump, lost the Wyoming GOP primary in a landslide to Trump-endorsed Harriet Hageman. Although some may not agree with her politics, her concession speech was a powerful display of the pillars our democracy was originally built upon.
In it, Cheney says, “A few years ago, I won this primary with 73 percent of the vote. I could easily have done the same again. The path was clear, but it would have required that I go along with President Trump’s lie about the 2020 election. It would have required that I enable his ongoing efforts to unravel our democratic system and attack the foundations of our republic. That was a path I could not and would not take.”
She goes on to say, “No House seat, no office in this land is more important than the principles that we are all sworn to protect, and I well understood the potential political consequences of abiding by my duty. Our republic relies upon the goodwill of all candidates for office to accept honorably the outcome of elections. And tonight, Harriet Hageman has received the most votes in this primary. She won. I called her to concede the race. This primary election is over but now the real work begins.”
That “real work” she mentioned is a quest to defeat Donald Trump, which will likely be anything but simple. If anything, this primary season has reinforced Trump’s control over the Republican Party. As Cheney will continue with the Jan. 6th hearings this fall, she will also use The Great Task, a PAC formed immediately following her loss, to educate the American people about the ongoing threat to our Republic, and to mobilize a unified effort to oppose any Donald Trump campaign for president. Speaking of a campaign for president, rumors have surfaced that Cheney may even be considering a run in 2024.
This blog post is part of the CIMA Law Group blog. If you are located in Arizona and are seeking legal services, CIMA Law Group specializes in Immigration Law, Criminal Defense, Personal Injury, and Government Relations.
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