Cheney encourages Wyoming Democrats to switch parties and vote for her

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) is urging Wyoming Democrats to switch parties to vote for her during the state's upcoming Republican primary, the New York Times reports.

Why it matters: Cheney, who serves as vice chair of the select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, is significantly polling behind her Trump-endorsed primary opponent for the state's at-large House seat.

• Cheney, who voted to impeach Trump for inciting the insurrection at the Capitol, has repeatedly said that she believes that the former president's baseless election fraud claims and the "cult of personality" around him are threats to U.S. democracy.
• Trump in turn criticized Cheney and endorsed and fundraised for Wyoming Republican Harriet Hageman in an effort to oust Cheney from the House.

The big picture: Democrats in the state have recently received mail from Cheney's campaign that included instructions on how to change their party affiliation so they would be able to vote for her in the upcoming Republican primary, according to the Times.

• Her website also now includes instructions and a link to a form for changing parties in the state. It also informs voters that they can change their party affiliation when requesting an absentee ballot or at their polling place on the day of the primary or general election.

What they're saying: “Liz is proud to represent all Wyomingites and is working hard to earn every vote," said Jeremy Adler, a spokesperson for Cheney, in a statement Thursday.

The other side: “Liz Cheney told the New York Times that she wouldn’t be encouraging Democrats to raid the Republican primary, but I guess the drive to hold onto power is just too strong for her to keep her word," Hageman's campaign manager Carly Miller said in a statement Thursday.

• Miller referred to an interview Cheney gave with the Times in February in which she said would not organize or promote groups that encouraged Democrats to vote in the Republican primary.
• "What Cheney doesn’t understand is that Democrats will drop her like a bad habit after she’s no longer useful to them on the January 6th Committee. She’s in No Man’s Land — Democrats just see her as a temporary tool, while Republicans are fed up with her completely," Miller added.

Go deeper: Here's who's testifying at the fifth Jan. 6 committee hearing

Editor's note: This post was updated with comment from a spokesperson for Cheney.