CLEVELAND — With the midterm elections one week away, one of the nation's most prominent politicians came to Northeast Ohio.
On Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) appeared at the City Club of Cleveland for a discussion with PBS NewsHour Anchor and Managing Editor Judy Woodruff. While her appearance comes nearly three months after she lost a Republican primary in Wyoming to former President Donald Trump-endorsed candidate Harriet Hageman, the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney has risen to prominence in recent years thanks to her criticism of the 45th President.
In 2021, Cheney made waves when she was one of 10 Republicans in the House of Representatives who voted to impeach Trump following the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, which came following the then-president's lies that the 2020 election was "stolen" from him.
"He took their patriotism and turned it into a weapon against our very democracy," Cheney said of Trump's impact on his supporters.
Watch the full discussion in the player below:
In the time since, Cheney has become the face of the United States House Select Committee on the Jan. 6 attack and has even teased a potential run for president in 2024, which would potentially put her on another collision course with Trump.
"I haven't made that decision," Cheney said when asked if she would run. "I don't think that's the most important question. I think the most important question is whether or not, as a nation, we're going to do everything we have to do to preserve the republic, and that's really what I'm focused on."
During the 2022 midterms, the nation's current political fractures have played out in Ohio, with Democrat Tim Ryan facing Republican JD Vance for the state's open U.S. Senate seat. Vance, a one-time Trump critic, has since embraced the former presidents support and even claimed the 2020 race "was not free and fair" while calling some people who have been charged in the Jan. 6 riots "political prisoners."
For Cheney, comments like that make Vance a non-starter for her, even if they technically share a political party.
"I would not vote for JD Vance," Cheney said as the sellout crowd applauded. She subsequently admitted she would vote for Ryan, whom she currently serves with in the House of Representatives.
Tuesday's event came as the result of a partnership between Ideastream Public Media and The City Club of Cleveland. Cheney encouraged those in attendance to play a role in electoral politics, stating her belief that the "vast majority of Americans, both Democrats and Republicans, fundamentally believe in our Democratic system."
"We often have really bad choices," she added. "We need to demand excellence among out elected officials. We need to demand confidence and responsibility, and that means we need more candidates."