Harriet Hageman has defeated Democrat Lynette Grey Bull in the race for Wyoming’s lone U.S. House seat.
Hageman’s win doesn’t come as a surprise, as a recent University of Wyoming poll showed her carrying a 36% lead into election night.
Hageman beat U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney in the primary election by 38% of the vote. This race drew national attention, as Cheney has been one of former President Donald Trump’s most ardent critics within the Republican Party.
Hageman, on the other hand, has been endorsed by Trump and espoused his disproven allegations that the 2020 presidential election was fraudulent. Hagmean called that election “rigged” and a “travesty.”
She has run a relatively quiet general election campaign, declining to participate in a Wyoming PBS debate against Grey Bull and other opponents in early October. Hageman did not respond to Grey Bull’s comments made on Facebook on Tuesday morning, indirectly calling the Republican candidate a “coward.”
Hageman, a land and water attorney who grew up in Fort Laramie, made a name for herself in the state over the last 20 years from her fights against the federal government. She won many of those cases, becoming a leading figure within the states’ rights movement.
In 2016, she became more active in politics, serving as a delegate for Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, in his presidential run that year. Although Hageman initially opposed Trump, she said she was misled by the rhetoric being promoted by the media at the time against the former president, and was quickly won over by his presidential policies.
Hageman was criticized by more than 50 Wyoming attorneys in September for not denouncing Trump’s claims about the election.
Beyond the topic of Trump and the 2020 election, there are few significant differences in the policies held by Cheney and Hageman.
Another prominent difference between the two is their stance on foreign policy, as Cheney is fiercly hawkish, while Hageman takes a more isolationist approach.
Hageman has offered similar platform stances to U.S. Sens. John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis, both Wyoming Republicans, advocating for Wyoming’s oil, gas and coal industries, and generally opposing federal regulation.
