Liz Cheney news – live: GOP rep, Palin and Murkowski to learn their fate as Trump gloats

Voters will decide the fates of two high-profile Republicans on Tuesday as primary elections occur in Alaska and Wyoming, two of the reddest states in the country.

In Wyoming, the vice chair of the House select committee investigating January 6, Liz Cheney, faces an effort by Donald Trump to punish her for disloyalty in the form of Harriet Hageman, her former staffer and current top rival.

Ms Cheney is deep underwater in the polls, and could lose tomorrow by more than 20 points by most indications. However, she has one trick up her sleeve: Democrats, who are rallying behind her in an attempt to block another 2020 electon conspiracist from office. Wyoming has closed primaries, but voters can change their registration on the day of voting.

Meanwhile in Alaska, the state’s former governor and right-wing provocateur Sarah Palin is seeking to make a political comeback after resigning her previous office under a cloud of ethics investigations. She trailed a fellow Republican, as well as one Democrat in the race, in a poll measuring her support levels last month. Alaska has ranked-choice voting, meaning that the candidates will have to contend with both Democratic and Republican voters deciding the outcome.

Key Points

• Voters head to polls in Alaska, Wyoming

• Liz Cheney faces greatest test of her political career

• Trump gloats over Liz Cheney loss before primary polls even open: ‘You’re fired’

• Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski hoping for easy path to reelection

Trump gloats over Liz Cheney loss before primary polls even open: ‘You’re fired’

11:45 , Johanna Chisholm

As polls indicate a heavy defeat is on the horizon for Liz Cheney in Wyoming, former president Donald Trump took a dig at the Republican representative and used his trademark phrase – “You’re fired” – to attack her.

Voters will decide the fate of the high-profile Republican on Tuesday as primary elections occur in Wyoming, one of the reddest states in the country.

“This is your chance to send a message to the RINOs (Republican in Name Only) and the fake news media, the radical left lunatics, that we have unfortunately too many in our country, and you’re going to elect Harriet, and you’re going to tell warmonger Liz Cheney – so bad, so negative – Liz, you’re fired,” Mr Trump told viewers at a tele-rally for Harriet Hageman on Monday.

Read the full report from my colleague Maroosha Muzaffar:

Trump gloats over Liz Cheney loss before primary polls even open: ‘You’re fired’

Speculation grows whether a loss for Cheney could set up a presidential run in 2024

11:33 , Johanna Chisholm

Speculation about whether Rep Liz Cheney, an avid anti-Trump Republican whose spectre has been raised in recent months through the televised Jan 6 hearings - where she sits as the vice chair on the House committee - could make a run for the nation’s highest office in 2024.

CBS’s Robert Costa, the network’s chief election and campaign correspondent, had this to say last night about the impact of the anti-Trump Republican’s potential loss in Wyoming and what it could mean for a presidential bid:

“This is a moment that’s a reckoning for the Republican Party,” Mr Costa began. “Her political future is on the line. She faces a crucible politically.”

“But it could set her up, if she loses, for something that doesn’t usually happen to a candidate when they’re defeated in a House race, which is a national run, a presidential run.”

“She has a lot of money in the bank ... she’s raised over $13m at least, and that leaves her in a position with a national fundraising base and national support from the anti-Trump wing of the Republican party.”

“Would it be enough to win the nomination? Who knows at this point. It’d be an uphill climb there as well. But that’s the kind of thing she’s looking at.”

Watch the full clip below:

Peter Navarro claims he has ‘circumstantial evidence’ that Cheney will try and steal election absentee ballots

10:55 , Johanna Chisholm

Peter Navarro, a former White House aide in the Trump administration and a top trade advisor, claimed during an appearance on Monday night ahead of Wyoming’s primary that he believes he has “circumstantial evidence” that shows that Liz Cheney will try and “steal” the election in her state through what he describes as fraudulent absentee ballots.

“It would be ironic if Liz Cheney were found guilty tomorrow of trying to steal that election but here’s the evidence and I think there’s a pretty good circumstantial evidence,” said Mr Navarro, who has been ordered to stand trial on criminal contempt of Congress charges after he refused to cooperate with the 6 January committee, which Ms Cheney is the vice chair of.

Mr Navarro then proceeded to showcase mailers that were sent by the Cheney campaign in Wyoming in recent weeks, which detail how to request an absentee ballot.

At no point in the form does it ask for anyone to vote for Ms Cheney, though the Wyoming Secretary of State did caution the Cheney campaign against using “official election” language on campaign literature after the mailers were sent out.

FBI and Homeland Security release joint warning of potential violent extremist attacks

10:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Two US federal agencies are warning of the potential for more attacks inspired by the anger of Donald Trump’s fans in response to the FBI raid of Mar-a-Lago.

The FBI and Department of Homeland Security jointly issued a memo to officials in both agencies warning that the likelihood of domestic extremist attacks on US soil has risen dramatically since last Monday’s raid. The former president is being investigated for illegal retention of classified materials.

John Bowden reports.

Agencies warn of potential violent extremist attacks in response to Trump raid

Voters shouldn’t decide abortion access issue, says West Virginia governor

08:30 , Oliver O'Connell

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice scoffed Monday at a suggestion by Democratic lawmakers to let voters decide whether abortion should continue to be allowed in the state.

The Republican governor said the state’s abortion law falls under the scrutiny of the Legislature and the attorney general.

During a legislative special session initiated by Justice last month, majority Republicans failed to pass legislation criminalizing abortion.

WVa governor: Voters shouldn't decide abortion access issue

Ex-Indiana AG joins GOP race for Walorski seat

06:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Former Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill, whose time in office was marred by allegations that he drunkenly groped four women during a party, filed Monday to seek the Republican nomination to replace US Rep Jackie Walorski following her death in a highway crash.

Ex-Indiana attorney general joins GOP race for Walorski seat

Joe Biden is planning his reelection campaign

04:30 , Oliver O'Connell

One question that has cropped up, again and again, this election season revolves around someone who isn’t even running: Joe Biden.

Will the 79-year-old Biden run again in 2024? The answer appears to be yes, despite very embarrassing comments suggesting the opposite from prominent congressional Democrats like Sean Patrick Maloney and Jerrold Nadler.

The Independent’s Eric Garcia looks at the latest reporting on Joe Biden’s plans for his next political campaign, which is reportedly set to kick off right after the midterms.

Biden expected to announce re-election campaign shortly after midterms

Liz Cheney and Lisa Murkowski: Two Trump foes with wildly different fortunes

02:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Two women who have stood up against Donald Trump while the vast majority of their party still bends the knee are facing primary challenges on Tuesday. They are likely to see wildly different outcomes.

Liz Cheney is running in Wyoming, one of the reddest states in the country, against Harriet Hageman, who is poised (according to polling) to beat the incumbent congresswoman by as many as 20 points or more.

In Alaska, meanwhile, a popular Lisa Murkowski is poised to coast to another victory in November, putting her back in the US Senate for six years.

Let’s take a look at why these two politicians are on such divergent paths despite their similarities:

Cheney and Murkowski: Trump critics facing divergent futures

Murkowski faces more than a dozen challengers in Alaska

Tuesday 16 August 2022 00:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Sen Lisa Murkowski is heading in to a gauntlet of primary challengers on Tuesday as voters will decide if she is to be re-nominated to the US Senate. Alaska has a ranked-choice voting system, meaning she will likely face three of her top rivals in November.

Ms Murkowski is a vocal critic of Donald Trump, a rarity in her party, and thus faces a Trump-backed challenger in the form of Kelly Tshibaka, as well as 17 other eager would-be senators.

She is strongly favoured to win reelection, however, due to her continued popularity in the state and the sheer number of competitors who will make it hard for Ms Tshibaka or others to stand out.

Read more in The Independent:

What to watch: Cheney in trouble while Palin eyes comeback

Monday 15 August 2022 23:33 , Phil Thomas

‘Was there an actual sentence in there somewhere?’

Liz Cheney’s campaign has mocked the leader of House Republicans after he came up with a jumbled explanation of why he wanted to see the back of his party colleague.

Kevin McCarthy, a staunch Trump loyalist, spoke to Fox News ahead of a primary in Wyoming that Cheney is expected to lose. While they have been close allies for years, the pair fell out when Cheney – formerly the third most senior Republican in the House – sought to hold Trump responsible for his actions in instigating the riot on January 6.

While McCarthy begged Trump to call off his supporters while they stormed the Capitol that day, he has since come back into the former president’s good graces by opposing any investigation into what happened and making a pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago.

Interviewed in Wyoming, McCarthy said: “The principle philosophy is less government, an idea of freedom and the aspect – just the concepts of a country that’s conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that we’re all ...”

Fox correspondent Rich Edson interrupts to say: “But hasn’t she fit that bill over the last several years?”

McCarthy responds: “I think her whole focus has been different. Her whole focus has been against one individual, whether she has information or not, instead of focusing on her district itself.”

Cheney’s campaign was unimpressed, issuing a statement saying: “It’s really difficult to understand that word salad,. Was there an actual sentence in there somewhere?”

Conspiracies complicate voting machine debate in Louisiana

Monday 15 August 2022 23:30 , Oliver O'Connell

The need for Louisiana to replace its voting machines is not in dispute.

They are badly outdated — deployed in 2006, the year after Hurricane Katrina struck — and do not produce paper ballots that are critical to ensuring election results are accurate.

What to do about them is another story.

Read more:

Conspiracies complicate voting machine debate in Louisiana

Vote ‘one, two, three times, whatever’

Monday 15 August 2022 22:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene encouraged supporters to get out to the polls during the November midterms and went one step further during a video address to advocate that they exercise their right to vote “one, two, three times”.

In the video clip, shared online by the left-wing Twitter account PatriotTakes, an account with more than 450,000 followers, the Georgia Republican is seen standing alongside Mallory Staples, who ran to represent Georgia’s 6th Congressional District in the spring but lost in the Republican primary to Rich McCormick.

Marjorie Taylor Greene tells supporters to vote ‘one, two, three times, whatever’

Dr Oz mocked for ‘grocery shopping’ campaign ad

Monday 15 August 2022 21:45 , Oliver O'Connell

A recent attempt by Dr Mehmet Oz to appeal to the average Joe voter is having a second life on social media and the response is likely not going to bolster his likeability in his campaign for Pennsylvania Senate.

In the brief campaign video, shared by the Republican candidate in April before he won the GOP primary, Dr Oz is seen shopping in a Pennsylvania store for a list of grocery items to help his wife, Lisa Oz, make crudité for the evening.

Joanna Chisholm reports.

Dr Oz mocked for ‘grocery shopping’ for wife and expressing shock over prices

What to watch in Tuesday’s primaries

Monday 15 August 2022 21:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Elections in Wyoming and Alaska on Tuesday could relaunch the political career of a former Republican star and effectively end the career of another — at least for now.

Here’s what to look out for:

What to watch: Cheney in trouble while Palin eyes comeback

Judge says Lindsey Graham must testify in Georgia election probe

Monday 15 August 2022 20:00 , Oliver O'Connell

A federal judge in South Carolina has ordered Republican Senator Lindsey Graham to testify in the Fulton County, Georgia, probe into the push to overturn former president Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss.

In a 22-page order, US District Judge Leigh Martin May rejected Mr Graham’s motion to quash a subpoena ordering him to give evidence before a special grand jury under the supervision of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.

Andrew Feinberg reports.

Lindsey Graham must testify in Georgia election probe, judge says

Pelosi sparks laughter with response to ‘is Trump a crook’

Monday 15 August 2022 19:00 , Oliver O'Connell

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s response when asked if former President Donald Trump is a crook got the room of reporters laughing during her weekly press conference.

On Friday, Ms Pelosi fielded questions concerning the FBI raid at Mr Trump’s southern Florida estate.

Gustaf Kilander reports on what the speaker of the House said.

Nancy Pelosi sparks laughter with response to ‘is Trump a crook’

Joe Biden is planning his reelection campaign

Monday 15 August 2022 18:15 , John Bowden

One question that has cropped up again and again this election season revolves around someone who isn’t even running: Joe Biden.

Will the 79-year-old Biden run again in 2024? The answer appears to be yes, despite very embarrassing comments suggesting the opposite from prominent congressional Democrats like Sean Patrick Maloney and Jerrold Nadler.

The Independent’s Eric Garcia looks at the latest reporting on Joe Biden’s plans for his next political campaign, which is reportedly set to kick off right after the midterms.

Biden expected to announce re-election campaign shortly after midterms

Liz Cheney and Lisa Murkowski: Two Trump foes with wildly different fortunes

Monday 15 August 2022 17:40 , Oliver O'Connell

Two women who have stood up against Donald Trump while the vast majority of their party still bends the knee are facing primary challenges on Tuesday. They are likely to see wildly different outcomes.

Liz Cheney is running in Wyoming, one of the reddest states in the country, against Harriet Hageman, who is poised (according to polling) to beat the incumbent congresswoman by as many as 20 points or more.

In Alaska, meanwhile, a popular Lisa Murkowski is poised to coast to another victory in November, putting her back in the US Senate for six years.

Let’s take a look at why these two politicians are on such divergent paths despite their similarities:

Cheney and Murkowski: Trump critics facing divergent futures

Marjorie Taylor Greene tells fans ‘vote 1, 2, 3, times'

Monday 15 August 2022 17:27 , Oliver O'Connell

Murkowski faces more than a dozen challengers in Alaska

Monday 15 August 2022 16:49 , John Bowden

Sen Lisa Murkowski is heading in to a gauntlet of primary challengers on Tuesday as voters will decide if she is to be re-nominated to the US Senate. Alaska has a ranked-choice voting system, meaning she will likely face three of her top rivals in November.

Ms Murkowski is a vocal critic of Donald Trump, a rarity in her party, and thus faces a Trump-backed challenger in the form of Kelly Tshibaka, as well as 17 other eager would-be senators.

She is strongly favoured to win reelection, however, due to her continued popularity in the state and the sheer number of competitors who will make it hard for Ms Tshibaka or others to stand out.

Read more in The Independent:

What to watch: Cheney in trouble while Palin eyes comeback

Sarah Palin leans in to Trump support ahead of primary

Monday 15 August 2022 15:50 , John Bowden

As former Gov Sarah Palin tries to reignite her political career with a victory in Tuesday’s US House primary election, the ex-VP candidate is leaning in to her support of Donald Trump, the man who has long attacked her former running mate, John McCain.

Last week, Ms Palin responded to the FBI’s raid of Mr Trump’s home at Mar-a-Lago, baselessly accusing Democrats of weaponising the agency to go after their political enemies. Many Republicans have argued as such as they dodge questions about why Mr Trump was apparently storing classified material at a resort in Florida despite no longer being president.

Dr Oz mocked over bizarre supermarket video

Monday 15 August 2022 15:14 , John Bowden

Mehmet Oz, better known as TV’s Dr Oz, came off looking like an out-of-touch celebrity or a member of Arrested Development’s Bluth family over the weekend after he posted a video in which he attacks his Democratic rival in Pennsylvania’s US Senate election for prices at the grocery store.

In the extremely odd video, a cartless and basketless Dr Oz hugs a stack of various produce to his chest as he misreads price labels and appears to experience the task of grocery shopping for the very first time. At least once in the video he appears to not understand that the prices displayed are by the pound, instead mistaking them for the costs of individual pieces of produce. He also appears to mispronounce the name of the store.

The video circulated on Twitter over the weekend after it was reposted by Ron Filipowski, a left-leaning activist.

Cheney trails challenger by nearly 30 points

Monday 15 August 2022 14:43 , John Bowden

A brutal poll out last week surveying the Wyoming GOP primary field found incumbent Liz Cheney, who faces blowback for her participation on the January 6 committee, down by 29 points to her rival Harriet Hageman.

On Tuesday, she could become the highest-profile Republican and only (former) member of the House GOP leadership to fall to Donald Trump’s vendetta against GOPers he sees as disloyal.

Many speculate that Ms Cheney is preparing for a future presidential run, or harbours other political ambitions. She hasn’t ruled out running for office in 2024.