In fact, there’s still a more Trumpy candidate in the race. ANTHONY BOUCHARD, a state senator, arguably has more of a claim to the Trump mantle than Hageman, who was once a Never-Trump Republican and called then-candidate Trump “racist and xenophobic.” Bouchard, meanwhile, has been a Trump diehard since the 2016 primaries. He has some major vulnerabilities as a candidate — when he was 18, he “had a relationship with and impregnated a 14-year-old girl,” the Casper Star-Tribune has reported. His colleagues in the legislature kicked him off of his committees last month.

But some Wyoming observers are comparing the dynamic to the Alabama GOP Senate primary in 2017, when Trump endorsed the seemingly more electable LUTHER STRANGE over the seemingly toxic ROY MOORE, who still ended up winning the MAGA vote (and the primary).

If Hageman and Bouchard split the Trump vote, Cheney could squeak by with a plurality coalition of traditional Republicans and Democrats who switch parties to vote for her on primary day.

She certainly has the money now to execute that plan. And if she beats Trumpism in Wyoming, she will immediately be able to leverage her new national fundraising network into a potential 2024 primary showdown against the man himself. After all, she said last May, “I will do everything I can to ensure that the former president never again gets anywhere near the Oval Office.”