Liz Cheney, the older daughter of former vice president Dick Cheney, is running for Congress, according to federal election documents filed on Friday. Cheney is seeking the only congressional seat in Wyoming once held by her father, following a failed attempt to win over voters in the state two years ago when she ran for the U.S. Senate.
Cheney's filing ends months of speculation about whether or not she would seek Wyoming's sole House seat, which will be vacated by Rep. Cynthia M. Lummis at the end of this congressional term. A formal announcement will come from Cheney about her plans for the race on Monday, the Associated Press reported.
"I can't say that I'm surprised," fellow candidate and State Rep. Tim Stubson said, according to TPM. "We know that she brings with her kind of a big Washington machine and lots of national money, which certainly changes the complexion of the race."
It is not immediately clear how Cheney will be received among voters in the state following her attempt at the Senate seat in 2014. She rubbed many Republicans the wrong way when she launched a challenge to GOP Sen. Mike Enzi, who was running for his fourth term. Enzi said at the time that Cheney assured him that she would not challenge him. "She said that if I ran, she wasn't going to run, but obviously that wasn't correct," Enzi said, according to USA Today. "I thought we were friends."
Cheney ultimately left the race in early 2014 citing family health issues, but she hinted at another future campaign: "At some point, I will be running for something else. This isn't the right time for my family," she said, Poltiico reported.
Cheney, a 49-year-old lawyer, is also an author, former State Department official and Fox News contributor.
