In Cheney’s defeat, Trump and the MAGA movement got the vengeance they craved for most. But, for Cheney, this may all be part of the plan.

“The one certainty is that she will not go away quietly,” said Tim Stubson, a former state lawmaker who ran against Cheney in the 2016 House primary and has since become an ally.

“Frankly, Trump has made it his goal to get her out of Congress,” Stubson said. “I think he may live to regret that decision.”

Many of Cheney’s biggest admirers—regardless of party—are holding out hope that’s the case. Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN), who recorded a video last week encouraging Democrats in Wyoming to cast ballots for Cheney in the GOP primary, told The Daily Beast that win or lose, Cheney’s “courage will go down in the annals of United States history.”

“True American patriots join me in encouraging the continuation of her mission to prevent Donald Trump from destroying democracy,” Phillips said, “and to restore respect for the rule of law to the Republican Party.”