Two months before the Republican primary election in Wyoming, GOP Rep. Liz Cheney is encouraging Democrats to re-register to be able to participate in the election that will likely determine the state's lone representative in Congress. The move comes after Donald Trump Jr. released a new advertisement last month urging Republicans to vote against her.
"Representative Liz Cheney, a Republican of Wyoming whose polling remains far behind her Trump-endorsed primary challenger as her House committee’s Jan. 6 hearings continue, is urging Democrats in her home state to switch parties to support her in the Aug. 16 primary," The New York Timesreported Thursday. "In the last week, Wyoming Democrats have received mail from Ms. Cheney's campaign with specific instructions on how to change their party affiliation to vote for her. Ms. Cheney’s campaign website now has a link to a form for changing parties."
More than 5,400 Democrats re-registered in North Carolina, presumably to vote against GOP Rep. Madison Cawthorn, who lost his primary by less than 1,500 votes.
"Joseph Barbuto, the chairman of the Wyoming Democratic Party, was among those who received Ms. Cheney’s instructions. Mr. Barbuto said that over the last week, his social media feeds have been flooded with Democrats — and only Democrats — posting about receiving mailers from the Cheney campaign," the newspaper reported, suggesting a target mail campaign.
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In February, Cheney dismissed the possibility of employing such a tactic.
"It is fairly typical for moderate Wyoming Republicans to recruit Democrats to switch parties ahead of primaries — it was key to Gov. Mark Gordon’s victory over a primary field that included Ms. Hageman in 2018. Democrats and independents can change their party affiliations by mail up to 14 days before the primary, or they can do so at the polls on Election Day," the newspaper reported. "Between January and June, the number of registered Republicans in Wyoming increased by 1,689, while the number of Democrats and unaffiliated voters dropped by a total of 1,303, according to data from the Wyoming secretary of state’s office. There are more than four times as many registered Republicans as there are Democrats in the state."
Democrat Dave Freudenthal also relied upon crossover support when he was elected governor in 2002 and 2006.
Cheney is being challenged by Republican Harriet Hageman, who was listed as "Harriett Hageman" in an ad featuring Trump Jr.
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