On Monday we addressed how the 2024 Republican presidential primary is almost certainly going to be between former and potentially future President Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), as well as how that plays out for the general election. DeSantis has yet to declare, though Vivek Ramaswamy and former Gov. Nikki Haley (R-SC) have and are polling with very little support. In fact, even candidates who have yet to declare, and who may not declare, are faring much better.
Back in January, I highlighted some of those candidates sparking a conversation at the time, including former Govs. Larry Hogan (R-MD) and Asa Hutchinson (R-AR). The former wisely decided not to run, though Hutchison is still causing chatter. A Wednesday headline from the Des Moines Register declared "Asa Hutchinson says he will 'bring out the best of America' ahead of likely presidential bid."
Then there is former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), who puts all other RINOs to shame, especially when it comes to potential 2024 primary candidates. Although she has yet to declare, and is currently a professor at the University of Virginia (UVA), Cheney has sparked conversation, especially since she has not ruled out a run. She's been asked about and had the chance to deny she was seeking the presidency, and has yet failed to do so. This has occurred both before and after she lost her primary last August by nearly 40 points to her successor, now Rep. Harriet Hageman.
Further, let's not forget how Cheney has made it her lifelong mission to go after Trump, to the point of becoming a distraction to the rest of the party and its priorities. And that is why she was removed in May 2021 from her role as chair of the House Republican Conference, as well as why she lost her primary.
I would *not* say she "has made absolutely zero signals" that she's running for POTUS, especially when she's made it her life mission to go after Trump. Further, when she lost her primary, she was confronted the very next morning about running and didn't rule it out. https://t.co/cqsuOoZWQf
— Rebecca Downs (@RebeccaRoseGold) March 30, 2023
"Liz Cheney" was trending over Twitter on Thursday, in part because of coverage from NBC News. "Liz Cheney on Nashville shooting: Focus on gun violence in schools, not banning books," the headline read, declaring a quote that sounds like it could have come from a Democrat. The report highlighted a Tuesday morning tweet from Cheney, who was echoing comments from Jenna Bush Hager on NBC's "TODAY" Show made with regards to the Monday shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville. Six people were killed, including three 9-year-old children.
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Thank you @JennaBushHager for making this point today - if we really want to keep our children safe, we need to spend less time banning books and more time stopping the horrific gun violence in our schools.
— Liz Cheney (@Liz_Cheney) March 28, 2023
"We are worried about giving our kids Judy Blume and other books that are important to the history, to the fabric of our country? And we aren’t worried about sending our kids to schools where they’re not safe?" Bush Hager said, mentioning a liberal talking point, especially when it comes to how Republicans want to actually help make it so that schoolchildren are not targets, while Democrats and RINOs want to take away guns. "Like I just don’t understand what has happened to a country that I know, you love, that I love."
Cheney, as NBC News also mentioned, was one of the 14 House Republicans who voted in favor of gun control legislation which President Joe Biden signed into law last year. Clearly, it did not prevent Monday's shooting. And now, the president, when he's not busy joking about ice cream and the tragedy overall, claims there needs to be a so-called assault weapons ban as a matter of how "it's about time that we began to make some progress."
The former congresswoman and potential presidential contender is not only similar to Democrats when it comes to her vote on gun control. This talk on "banning books" is a line of attack that the left likes to go for when it comes to targeting DeSantis, who again, is very likely to be a 2024 frontrunner. Showing that he is ready for primetime if and when he does announce, the governor has already steadfastly called out this charge for the "hoax" that it is. Guy and Mia have also done some fact-checking on their own.
Bringing it all back to 2024, Cheney was also trending due to her standing in the polls, which some particularly gung-ho supporters of Cheney think means something. The reason the primary will likely be a battle between Trump and DeSantis is because that's what the polls tell us. And yes, the polls do get it wrong, as they certainly did for the 2022 midterm elections. They're also the only two candidates who have double digit support in virtually any poll, though.
Heath Mayo, of Principles First, tweeted his excitement of a Fox News poll showing Cheney with 3 percent, up from 2 percent in February. Haley went from 7 percent in February to 3 percent in the most recent poll.
The poll was conducted May 24-27, with 1,007 registered voters and a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points, though this specific question was among Republican primary voters and had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points. Forty-one percent of respondents were solid or leaned Republican.
Note that Liz has actually *gained* 50% more support since February without doing anything, while Nikki’s support has more than halved since she announced her candidacy. Tough tea, but tasty!
— Heath Mayo (@HeathMayo) March 30, 2023
Another poll gaining attention is out of Georgia, now considered something of a battleground state after Biden narrowly won there in 2020. The state also has two Democratic senators, Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, with Warnock having won reelection in last December's runoff against Republican Herschel Walker.
According to the poll from WPA Intelligence, DeSantis has a 10-point lead on Trump in the Peach State, 48 percent to 38 percent. When the field opens up, though, DeSantis' lead is much narrow, at 37 percent to Trump's 36 percent. Cheney is in a very distant third place, at 8 percent.
The poll was conducted March 28-29, with 629 likely Republican voters and a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
If Cheney were smart, she'd retreat out of public life to continue her anti-Trump crusade in such a way that would leave the rest of us be. When the likes of so-called Republicans like Heath Mayo and the Bulwark's Amanda Carpenter are encouraging her, like any other politician, Cheney may very well let it all go to her head.
There is a dreamworld where there could be a Youngkin-Haley ticket but we don’t live in it. And if we are dreaming I’m holding out for Cheney-Hogan. My compromise would be Kemp. https://t.co/7tenaIrOGt
— Amanda Carpenter (@amandacarpenter) March 29, 2023
