Still over a year out from the House 2022 primary in Wyoming, the attack ads are ramping up.
Club for Growth, a fiscal conservative political action committee, who has been working to find a candidate challenging Rep. Liz Cheney to endorse, released a 30-second ad branding Cheney as a “Clinton Republican.”
With a slideshow of photos of Hillary Clinton, the ad starts, “Remember? She benefited from a famous political last name. She sided with Nancy Pelosi and attacked President Trump when he was in office. She supported impeachment and she continues to attack President Trump today.”
“Hillary Clinton? No, Liz Cheney,” the voice-over says as a photo of Clinton morphs into Cheney.
The Cheney camp did not hold back.
People are also reading…
“Anyone who questions Liz Cheney’s conservative credentials is ignorant or lying,” a Cheney spokesperson told the Star-Tribune.
The ad is going to run on digital networks and NBC during primetime every night of the Olympics as well as during the opening and closing ceremonies in the designated market areas of Casper and Cheyenne.
Club for Growth spent $13,720 on TV ad slots, $18,000 on digital ads —like YouTube and Breitbart — and an estimated $9,000 on production costs, amounting to more than $40,000.
This ad does not endorse one candidate; it only strikes at Cheney and backs former President Trump.
“We’ve met with all the candidates and are currently assessing their viability,” said Joe Kildea, Vice President of communications. “We are working closely with Trump’s team to identify a candidate,”
That being said, Club for Growth is not going to be involved with the meetings Trump has coming up with at least two of the candidates, state Rep. Chuck Gray and Cheyenne businessman Darin Smith.
“President Trump will make up his own mind,” Kildea said. Interestingly, Club for Growth has not always supported Trump. In the Republican 2016 presidential primary, the organization endorsed Sen. Ted Cruz.
On Tuesday, Gray released a similar ad of his own, expressing his sustained support for Trump, while also swiping at Cheney.
“No good deed goes unpunished. President Trump gave us strong borders, energy independence and record income growth. But Liz Cheney voted to impeach him,” the ad’s voice-over began “Let’s thank President Trump, not impeach him.”
In February of this year, Club for Growth named Gray, among five other state lawmakers, as a “Wyoming Defender of Economic Freedom.”
On the Club for Growth Foundation Scorecard, which is based on voting records on issues of “economic liberty,” Liz Cheney has a 64% lifetime rating, which leaves her tied for 120th in the House.
After Club for Growth confirmed that they were shopping around Wyoming in late March for an endorsement in the race, releasing this ad is a sign that they are not backing down in their effort to unseat Liz Cheney.