In her last election, Cheney beat her Democratic opponent 73%-26%. Running as an independent, she would need most of those Democratic votes and then some. But if she retains the voters who support her in the primary and Democrats run no opponent, she has a decent chance. That will only happen, of course, if the Democratic Party and its leaders — including President Biden — signal it’s the right thing to do. But why should they?

Clearly, Cheney is no Democrat — but she may be the most important small-d democrat on the national scene. Her willingness to stand up to the insults, threats, and shunning the Trump wing of the GOP has used to drive the three-term congresswoman out of office makes her a symbol of courage and true patriotism. How many elected officials from either party are willing to jeopardize their job to do what is right? Among the 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Trump, two (Adam Kinzinger and Anthony Gonzalez) have already announced their retirements and a third (Fred Upton) is still wavering in the face of likely defeat in their respective primaries.

But Liz Cheney stood her ground. More importantly, she has become the most powerful voice on the Jan. 6 committee investigating the attack on our democracy — and the Democratic leadership in the House knows it. They have been eager to embrace her when she speaks out against the flagrant falsehoods perpetrated by members of her own party; now it’s time they take steps to ensure she continues to have a platform to do so.