Adam Kinzinger says Liz Cheney's election loss shows the rise of a new GOP generation in Congress who believe Trump's election lies
AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
- Adam Kinzinger warned of a "next generation" of GOP lawmakers who believe Trump's election lies.
- He said Liz Cheney's primary loss showed that this group was increasing its presence in Congress.
- Cheney lost the Wyoming primary on Tuesday to Harriet Hageman, a Trump-backed lawyer.
GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger said on Tuesday that his colleague Rep. Liz Cheney's loss in her Wyoming primary race shows the rise of a "next generation" of Republican lawmakers who, unlike their predecessors, believe in former President Donald Trump's baseless election fraud claims.
"The bottom line is, I think this is sending a very strong message that this isn't your dad's Republican party anymore. This isn't a party that's committed to truth," Kinzinger told MSNBC's Alex Wagner in an interview. "This is a party that's committed to conspiracy."
Kinzinger, who serves with Cheney on the House Select Committee investigating the Capitol riot, said many current members of Congress don't believe in Trump's election lies, such as his baseless claim that the 2020 election was stolen from him.
"What I worry about is the next generation of people that have just been elected. They're gonna be here next year," he said. "They do believe these conspiracies. That's very frightening."
—Alex Wagner Tonight (@WagnerTonight) August 17, 2022
On Tuesday, Cheney lost the Wyoming Republican primary to Harriet Hageman, a natural resources lawyer endorsed by Trump.
Hageman, who won with 65.98% of the votes, previously called Trump "racist and xenophobic" in 2016 but recently earned his support by joining the former president in promoting his baseless 2020 election claims.
Conversely, Cheney has been one of Trump's fiercest Republican critics and voted to impeach him over his role in the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021. Her actions have made her one of Trump's chief targets.
Repeating Trump's election lies has become a common strategy among Republican candidates seeking to gain his endorsement for a boost in the primaries.
Like Hageman, several of these candidates will be first-time lawmakers on the Hill if they defeat their Democratic counterparts in November. The list includes J.D. Vance, who won his primary race for senator in Ohio, Mehmet Oz, who narrowly clinched the Republican senate primary in Pennsylvania in June, and Bo Hines, who won the primary for North Carolina's 13th Congressional District in May.
Cheney, the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, held Wyoming's sole congressional seat for five years and has been part of a political dynasty in the state.
Some of her allies said that her loss wouldn't mark the end of her political career, adding that she might even run for president in 2024.
Kinzinger praised Cheney on Tuesday as a politician who's "very determined, very dogged" in her fight against Trump.
"She will chase Donald Trump to the gates of hell, that's for sure," he told Wagner.