Cheney challenger Hageman takes firm stance on 2020: ‘The election was rigged’

Harriet Hageman, the top primary challenger to Rep. Liz Cheney (R) for Wyoming’s lone House seat, said on Wednesday that the 2020 presidential election was “rigged” against former President Trump, her firmest public stance on the election yet. 

Hageman was asked at a candidate forum whether she believed the election was stolen, as Trump and his allies have falsely claimed.

“I think this question is so interesting because the press just absolutely cannot get over this. The election was rigged,” said Hageman, who has received Trump’s backing in the primary set for later this month. 

Hageman’s comments come after Cheney pressed her during a debate in late June to say that the election was not stolen from Trump, according to the Casper Star-Tribune. 

Cheney accused Hageman of avoiding the question because she is “completely beholden” to Trump, the Star-Tribune reported.

Hageman said at the debate that “we have serious questions” about the election, but stopped short of saying it was stolen or rigged.

Cheney released a campaign ad last month opening with those comments from Hageman. In the ad, Cheney says the country needs to elect “serious leaders” who will take their oath of office seriously and not just say what they think people want to hear.

Multiple audits of state results have found no evidence of widespread fraud that could have changed the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.

State Sen. Anthony Bouchard, another candidate in the House GOP primary, also said at Wednesday’s forum that the election was stolen, as he did during the June debate. Cheney was not present at the forum.

Cheney has doubled down on her criticism of Trump during the campaign, pointing to her work on the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

She appears to be facing an uphill battle for reelection, as a poll from last month showed her trailing Hageman by more than 20 points. Two-thirds of respondents in the poll said they did not approve of the job Cheney was doing.