This Wyoming Senate primary is going to be a lot of fun to watch. Here’s Liz Cheney reacting to Mike Enzi’s claim that he called and said she wouldn’t run. She calls Mike Enzi “confused” and speculates that he might have mixed her up with Cynthia Lummis, Wyoming’s Congresswoman.
I talked to one of my family members who lives in Wyoming last night, and there’s a rumor going around that Enzi’s health isn’t good, so this is probably one of the ways that Liz is going to not-so-subtly bring that up. That might work, but I think she’s underestimated her opponent and Wyoming voters. They’re a nativist bunch, and she’s a carpetbagger. Enzi, who’s probably more of a reliable conservative than reliable corporatist Liz Cheney, can win on nativism alone. So, five points to Hufflepuff for his first response to the news:
Enzi avoided directly commenting on Cheney during his exchange with reporters, but closed with this thought: “Nobody in Wyoming likes a long campaign – anybody from Wyoming would know that. They’ll be able to make up their mind in a lot less time than from right now until next August, which is when the primary is. You can’t even file in Wyoming until May.”
The rest of the delegation, talking points blatherer John Barasso and dummy Cynthia Lummis (my relative calls her “Lummox”) came out immediately for Enzi. Lummis called her “the shiny new pony”.
As Enzi pointed out, the filing deadline in Wyoming is a many months away. According to my in-state expert, the only way this thing could go south for Republicans is if Cheney wins the primary and former Governor Dave Freudenthal challenges her. Freudenthal is apparently enjoying his retirement and Cheney isn’t going to win, so that’s a moot point.