(Washington) US lawmaker Liz Cheney, spokesperson for anti-Trump Republicans, on Tuesday pledged her support for two Democratic candidates in the looming midterm elections, an unusual move that illustrates her special place in a party that seems aligned behind the ex-president.
Posted at 9:11 p.m.
The daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney had defied Donald Trump by joining a commission investigating his responsibility for the Capitol storming, a decision that had isolated her among Republicans.
She lost her primary this summer against a protege of the real estate magnate, and will therefore have to leave her seat as representative of Wyoming.
Although her very conservative positions, particularly on abortion or weapons, do not make her an obvious ally of the Democrats, Liz Cheney said on Tuesday that she preferred the candidate of this party to Trumpist JD Vance in the race for a seat of senator in Ohio.
“I don’t think I’ve ever voted for a Democrat, and for sure I’ve never campaigned for a Democrat, but right now my party has really gone astray,” she said. said at a conference.
Recalling her many doubts about President Joe Biden’s economic policy, she said that “we won’t even be able to have these debates if we elect Donald Trump again” or if the candidates loyal to him win.
Liz Cheney then traveled to Michigan to attend a campaign event with Democratic candidate Elissa Slotkin, whom she had officially endorsed a few days earlier.
Mme Slotkin, hailing the “courage” of the Republican, told CNN that despite their many disagreements, the two women agreed on the importance of respecting the “democratic system”.
Last weekend, Liz Cheney indicated that if she lived in Arizona, she would vote Democrat, in a political advertisement broadcast on television.
It remains to be seen what effect his support will have.
“Thank you, Liz Cheney,” replied one of the Republican candidates criticized in the clip, Kari Lake, on Twitter, saying she had seen an “explosion” in donations and expected a jump in the polls.
She rejoiced again on the Fox News channel a few days later, assuring that Liz Cheney was “hated by both camps”.