Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) backed another Democratic candidate on Tuesday, telling a journalist in Ohio that she would not vote for GOP Senate candidate J.D. Vance.
Cheney shared the comment during a conversation with journalist Judy Woodruff in Cleveland, Ohio, on Tuesday.
“I would not vote for J.D. Vance,” Cheney said.
When asked if she would vote for Ryan if she was a resident in Ohio, she responded, “I would.”
Vance and Ryan are competing to become the state’s next senator following Republican Sen. Rob Portman’s decision not to seek re-election.
Cheney’s remarks come after she has expressed support for a growing list of Democratic candidates in the final days ahead of the midterm election. The GOP congresswoman previously expressed her public endorsement of Michigan Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin in her re-election campaign against a Republican opponent.
“I’m proud to endorse Elissa Slotkin. Serving together on the Armed Services Committee, I have come to know Elissa as a good and honorable public servant who works hard for the people she represents, wants what’s best for the country, and is in this for the right reasons,” Cheney said in a statement released by Slotkin’s campaign website.
“While Elissa and I have our policy disagreements, at a time when our nation is facing threats at home and abroad, we need serious, responsible, substantive members like Elissa in Congress. I encourage all voters in the 7th district – Republicans, Democrats, and Independents – to support her in this election,” she added.
Cheney’s political action group, The Great Task, also recently announced that it is spending $500,000 on airtime to urge Arizona voters to oppose GOP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake and Secretary of State candidate Mark Finchem.
“You have a candidate for governor, Kari Lake, you have a candidate for secretary of state, Mark Finchem, both of whom have said that they will only honor the results of an election if they agree with it,” Cheney says in the ad. “And if you care about the survival of our republic, we cannot give people power who will not honor elections.”
Lake has previously responded to Cheney’s vow to campaign against her, calling it a gift.
“That might be the biggest, best gift I’ve ever received,” Lake said during an interview on Fox’s “Sunday Morning Futures” with host Maria Bartiromo in September. “I mean, the people of Wyoming can’t stand her, I’m pretty much sure that the people of Arizona don’t like Liz Cheney.”
Cheney announced her plans to campaign against members of her own party in September during a Texas Tribune interview.
“I’m going to do everything I can to make sure Kari Lake is not elected.”
When asked if that included campaigning for Democrats, the congresswoman replied, “Yes.”
.@Liz_Cheney: “I’m going to do everything I can to make sure Kari Lake is not elected.”
Does that include campaigning for Democrats?
“Yes.” #TribFest22 pic.twitter.com/nWkdWVcWC6
— Texas Tribune (@TexasTribune) September 25, 2022
Cheney lost her own state’s primary in August to Republican Harriet Hageman. The congresswoman had been censured by the Wyoming Republican Party and had fallen out of favor with the state’s conservatives after voting to impeach Trump after January 6, 2021, and joining the House committee to investigate the events of the Capitol riot.
