For the First Time, Liz Cheney Endorses a Democrat

She’ll also campaign for Elissa Slotkin, who is fighting for reelection in one of the country’s most competitive races.

Tom Williams/ZUMA

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.

Liz Cheney’s mission to keep Donald Trump out of the White House hasn’t gone over well with her fellow Republicans. But the one-time GOP firebrand has opened a new chapter of her political career, and it involves formally endorsing Democrats.

The Wyoming congresswoman on Thursday announced her support for incumbent Democrat Elissa Slotkin in her highly competitive race against Republican state Sen. Tom Barrett in Michigan’s 7th Congressional District. 

As the Associated Press reports, Cheney and Slotkin’s relationship goes way back: They both serve on the House Armed Services Committee and worked in the State Department before entering electoral politics. Meanwhile, Barrett, who has alarmed national Democrats by turning the race into a toss-up, has long pushed baseless election fraud claims, even authoring an unpublished letter asking Congress to delay certifying Biden’s election win. 

“I’m proud to endorse Elissa Slotkin,” Cheney said in a statement. “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.”

This is both Cheney’s first public support for a Democrat and her first political endorsement since her primary defeat this summer—a landslide loss largely rooted in outrage over Cheney’s fierce condemnation of Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election. But while her career in Congress may be done, Cheney has signaled that her efforts to prevent another Trump presidency are far from over—even if that means quitting the GOP.

“I’m going to do everything I can to make sure he is not the nominee,” Cheney said last month. “And if he is the nominee, I won’t be a Republican.”

Fact:

Mother Jones was founded as a nonprofit in 1976 because we knew corporations and billionaires wouldn't fund the type of hard-hitting journalism we set out to do.

Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation today so we can keep on doing the type of journalism 2024 demands.

payment methods

Fact:

Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation today so we can keep on doing the type of journalism 2024 demands.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate