Will ‘extremism’ fracture the GOP? Cheney vs. Trump in Wyoming

Trump-backed candidates have lost recently in Georgia, Nebraska, North Carolina and Idaho. The biggest caveat about how the lessons of other states might apply in Wyoming is that in states where the Trump candidate lost, the non-Trump candidate was not anti-Trump. Rep. Liz Cheney’s political identity — at least, her identity on the national stage — is now defined by her criticism of the former president. The anti-Cheney effort in Wyoming has been led by Frank Eathorne, the Wyoming GOP chair and Trump’s most important ally in the state. Last weekend, Victoria Eavis of the Casper Star-Tribune and Rone Tempest of WyoFile, published a bombshell 6,500-word profile of Eathorne. On this week’s episode of Playbook Deep Dive, co-author Ryan Lizza is in the Casper Star-Tribune’s newsroom, where Eavis explains how the story came together. Plus, former chairman of the Natrona County Republican party Dr. Joseph McGinley explains what it’s like to be pushed out of his own party.

Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO.
Victoria Eavis is the state politics reporter for the Casper Star-Tribune.
Dr. Joseph McGinley is a physician and former chairman of the Natrona County GOP.
Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio.
Brook Hayes is a producer for POLITICO audio.
Adam Allington is senior producer for POLITICO audio.
Jenny Ament is executive producer for POLITICO audio.

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