Coverage of Representative Liz Cheney’s defeat in Tuesday’s primary has understandably focused on her participation in the Democratic-run January 6 Committee. But it’s worth noting that Cheney was already in danger of losing before joining the committee.
Just looking at the timeline, Cheney joined the committee in early July 2021. But five months earlier, in February, she was censured by the Wyoming GOP for her impeachment vote. She was ousted from House leadership in May.
The way she could have survived as a Republican clearly would have been to take the hint that it was not safe to be critical of Donald Trump’s actions beyond a brief period around January 6. Had she kept her head down and deflected all questions about Trump by saying something to the effect of “what Americans really care about is inflation,” she likely would have coasted to reelection.
Her participation in the committee may have sealed her fate and made the result as lopsided as it was. But the root of the problem was that she was consistently taking the position that Trump lied about the 2020 election being stolen and was responsible for inspiring the Capitol riot. Even if she had not joined the committee, however, she would have been asked regularly about her views on Trump, and as long as she stated what she really believed, she was going to face an uphill battle.