No Surprise: Liz Cheney Voting for Harris

Former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, a leading Republican critic of former President Donald Trump who was part of the committee overseeing impeachment hearings, told a crowd in North Carolina on Wednesday that she plans to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris this November.

Speaking during a presentation for Duke University's Sanford Club of Public Policy, Cheney emphasized the threat she said a second Trump presidency would pose to the nation.

"Because we are here in North Carolina, I think it is crucially important for people to recognize, not only is what I've just said about the danger that Trump poses something that should prevent people from voting for him, but I don't believe that we have the luxury of writing in candidates' names, particularly in swing states."

Cheney has been a dogged Trump critic over the last three years, particularly after being hand-picked by then Speaker of House Nancy Pelosi to be one of two Republicans on the Jan. 6 Committee that investigated the riots at the Capitol in 2021. Cheney was also one of only 10 Republicans who voted in favor of impeaching Trump.

Of note, and what makes her Harris endorsement less than surprising: She has not been a vocal critic of the Biden administration on several issues in which her peers in the party have been outspoken.

This includes the chaotic withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, the millions of illegals crossing American borders during Biden's time in office, high inflation, and handling of the wars in Ukraine and the Mideast that've erupted since he became president.

Cheney's recent praise of Harris is a notable departure from when she called her a far-left California senator.

In 2020, Cheney labeled Harris a "radical" and "to the left of Bernie Sanders" after Harris was chosen by then candidate Joe Biden to be his vice presidential running mate.

Cheney was primaried in 2022 and handily lost her seat to current Republican Rep. Harriet Hageman. Since that time, Cheney has made Trump's defeat her top priority.

"We must be very clear-eye about the threat we face," she said following her loss, and she pledged to "do whatever it takes to ensure that Donald Trump is never again anywhere near the Oval Office."