• Rep. Liz Cheney's primary loss in Wyoming is Trump's biggest midterm victory yet.
  • Trump had endorsed challenger Harriet Hageman, who defeated Cheney on Tuesday evening.
  • Cheney joins three other House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump and lost their primary bids.

Former President Donald Trump strengthened his grip over the Republican Party on Tuesday evening with Rep. Liz Cheney's primary loss in Wyoming.

Harriet Hageman, a Trump-endorsed lawyer, defeated Cheney, according to projections by Decision Desk HQ and Insider. 

 

Cheney, who's held Wyoming's sole congressional seat for five years, had been Trump's main target in his revenge plot to purge the Republican Party of members he deems disloyal to him. She was the highest-ranking Republican to vote to impeach him over the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot and she's been one of his loudest critics since. As vice chair on the House committee investigating the Capitol attack, Cheney has pushed back on Trump's 2020 election lies and sought to cast him as a threat to the country. Her defeat in Wyoming delivers Trump his biggest primary victory this year.

Cheney had faced an uphill battle to hold on to her seat amid Trump's campaign to oust her from office and her lack of widespread support from Republicans in Wyoming and those in Congress. Polls found Hageman with a double-digit lead over Cheney ahead of the race. 

Cheney joins three other House Republicans who voted to impeach the former president and lost their primary bids against Trump-backed challengers in recent weeks.

A member of a political dynasty as the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, the congresswoman's defeat also marks the end of a long-running winning streak for the Cheneys in Wyoming. Still, Cheney allies believe she still has a future in politics, representing the anti-Trump voice.

This story is developing. Please check back for updates.

Read the original article on Business Insider