Both House Republicans have raked in huge sums since they branded themselves as leaders of the anti-Trump wing of the party.
Exile in the House GOP is proving extremely lucrative for Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger.
Cheney and Kinzinger are the most prominent anti-Trump voices among congressional Republicans, casting two of the 10 House GOP votes to impeach the former president and — unlike the other eight — sparing no opportunity in the months since to rebuke a party that has tethered itself to his image. That’s left them in a precarious position as they seek reelection back home and alienated them from the rest of their party in D.C.
It’s also given them a new route onto the national stage. The Wyoming and Illinois Republican allies may end up losing their seats next fall to primary challengers who are hugging the Trump machine. But the campaign war chests they’ve amassed could help launch the duo’s political careers outside of the House, or even Congress.
“They’re very encouraged by what they see in fundraising and by what they’re starting to hear on the ground,” said former Rep. Denver Riggleman (R-Va.), a fellow GOP Trump critic and a friend of the two. “Nobody thinks of cascading effects … The fact is, there’s a significant portion of Republicans who do not support Donald Trump anyway, who’re looking at Adam and Liz to sort of carry that conservative banner nationally.”
Cheney, who lost her slot as House GOP conference chair in May, hauled in close to $1.9 million in the last quarter, bringing her to nearly $3.5 million total this year. Only halfway through 2021, those fundraising numbers trounce the $3 million she raised during the 2020 cycle. Cheney’s donations also surpassed her leadership successor’s, with Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) bringing in $1.5 million in the second quarter.
Kinzinger, who represents a deep-red district in exurban Chicago, never raised more than $350,000 in a single quarter during the 2020 cycle. But during the first three months of 2021 — after his support for the second Trump impeachment — he skyrocketed to $1.1 million.
While their rising profiles give them a new megaphone as well as deep pockets, it’s not clear whether either incumbent has a path to victory running as an anti-Trump candidate in a GOP primary. Still, their shaky futures in the House haven’t stopped some Republicans on Capitol Hill from privately musing whether Cheney and Kinzinger are eyeing future bids for the Oval Office. Both have also recently created PACs and aligned publicly with law enforcement officers as some in their party decline to honor responders to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, both signals of possible interest in a higher office.
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Exile in the House GOP is proving extremely lucrative for Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger https://t.co/VsKc7VJBwx
— POLITICO (@politico) July 14, 2021Three of the top GOP House fundraisers of the 2nd quarter: Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Matt Gaetz and Lauren Boebert.
It literally pays to be extreme. Being able to rely on large # of small dollar donors transforming the nature of House race fundraising.
— Josh Kraushaar (@HotlineJosh) July 16, 2021
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