GOP Voters Break From Party Over Forced Removal Of Liz Cheney

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Almost all voters in a pair of focus groups helmed by Axios and Engagious/Schlesinger this week said that they felt as though Republicans were “making a mistake” by planning to remove Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) from her leadership position among House GOP’ers, according to an Axios report. House Republicans formally ousted Cheney on Wednesday morning after she consistently refused to go along with the brazen lies from former President Donald Trump and his allies about the integrity of the 2020 presidential election, which Trump has claimed was somehow fraudulently rigged for Biden.

According to Axios, 13 of the 14 swing voters who participated in the pair of focus groups said that Cheney “should not be removed and that it would be a mistake for House Republicans to go through with their plans.” The focus groups were held on Tuesday night, and Republicans went through with Cheney’s removal the following morning. All of the participants of the groups had voted for Trump in 2016 but Biden in 2020, and nine of them said that they “could vote for a Republican for U.S. House or Senate races next year,” Axios explains. Thus, it wasn’t a group of Democratic loyalists.

Focus groups, although not reflective of general public viewpoints in the same manner as polls, still provide important insight. As Axios notes, “the responses show how some voters in crucial states are thinking about issues that could shape next year’s midterm elections.” One of the participants — a man named Jimmy from Maricopa County, Arizona, which went for Trump in 2016 and Biden in 2020 — said that the GOP’s current status seems “all about trying to please one person.” That person, of course, would be Donald Trump.

Cheney, for her part, has indicated that she has no intention of backing down from her positions no matter GOP opposition. After the vote to remove her from party leadership unfolded, she said to reporters that she would be doing everything she can to try and keep Trump from securing the presidency once more, should he decide to run again in 2024. Pledging to campaign against Trump seems pretty blunt!