Cheney breaks her quarterly fundraising record while facing Trump-backed primary challenge

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) on Monday announced she raked in $2.05 million in the fourth quarter of 2021, more than she has in any previous quarter.

Cheney began 2022 with $4.7 million in the bank. Her latest was the best quarter of her 2021, which included $1.5 million in the first quarter, $1.9 million in the second quarter and $1.7 million in the third quarter. The congresswoman raised a total of $7.22 million during 2021. 

The Wyoming-based Casper Star Tribune was the first outlet to report her latest fundraising total. 

Cheney, one of the most prominent GOP critics of former President Trump, is preparing to face a number of primary challengers, including Harriet Hageman, who is supported by Trump. Fox News reported on Monday that Hageman brought in around $745,000 between her campaign launch on Sept. 9 and the end of the year, including $443,000 raised during the fourth quarter. Hageman ended the year with $381,000 cash on hand.  

Cheney’s vote to impeach Trump last year after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol earned her the ire of the former president and his supporters. The congresswoman has further angered Trump and his base by being one of two Republicans serving on the House select committee investigating the attack and frequently calling out the former president on his unfounded claims of election fraud. 

On Monday, Cheney and Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), the other Republican on the select committee, criticized Trump for saying former Vice President Mike Pence could and should have overturned the 2020 election results. 

Cheney pointed to a series of Trump’s recent statements in a tweet on Monday, including his admission that “he was attempting to overturn the election,” before writing, “He’d do it all again if given the chance.”