Trump ally Rep Harriet Hageman announces 2026 Senate campaign for open GOP seat

FIRST ON FOX — Republican Rep. Harriet Hageman of Wyoming, a strong House supporter of President Donald Trump, announced her candidacy for the Senate on Tuesday in the race against retiring GOP Sen. Cynthia Lummis.

Hageman’s campaign launch comes four days after Lummis announced he would not seek re-election in next year’s midterm elections for a second six-year term representing the deep-red western state in the Senate.

If he wins next year’s election, Hageman would give Trump another top supporter in the upper house of Congress.

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“President Trump’s America First movement has made it popular to say you want to Make America Great Again, and he continues to deliver on that promise,” Hageman said in a statement. and start the video announces his candidacy. “It will be a great honor to continue advancing the America First agenda in the Senate as well as in the House of Representatives.”

Hageman, a water and property rights attorney, gained national attention in 2022 when, with Trump’s support, he unseated then-Rep. Liz Cheney is in the Republican primary for the state’s congressional seat.

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Cheney had become one of Trump’s primary targets after being the only one of 10 House Republicans to vote to impeach the president following the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. Cheney continued to take a leadership role on the Democratic-led committee investigating the storming of the Capitol by Trump supporters seeking to boost congressional certification of former President Joe Biden’s 2020 White House victory.

Then-Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming speaks to supporters at a primary night event on Aug. 16, 2022, in Jackson, Wyoming. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Hageman, who won nearly 70% of the vote in the general election, was also backed by Trump in his landslide congressional reelection victory in 2022, and a potential endorsement by the president would not be surprising as he is now running for the Senate.

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Lummis noted this fall’s divisive government shutdown when announcing his decision not to seek reelection.

“Deciding not to run for re-election represents a change of heart for me, but during the difficult, grueling weeks of session this fall, I came to accept that I did not have six more years left,” the senator said in the statement. he wrote.

Hageman praised Lummis as he launched his campaign.

Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis, seen on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on January 27, 2025, announced Friday that she will not seek re-election in next year’s midterm elections. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

“Cynthia Lummis leaves a legacy of more than four decades of principled, conservative leadership, and Wyoming and America are better for it,” Hageman said. “I thank him for his distinguished and admirable service, and I promise to honor his position should the people of Wyoming elect me to the United States Senate.”

Hageman, the leader of the Western Caucus, a coalition of Republican lawmakers from western states in both houses of Congress, is a fourth-generation Wyomingite. As he launched his campaign, he vowed to continue the fight for conservative ideals and protect the inherent rights and freedoms of Wyomingites.

Republican Rep. Harriet Hageman of Wyoming, seen speaking to the House Judiciary Selection Subcommittee on Thursday, July 20, 2023, launched her 2026 Senate campaign on Tuesday. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)

“I will always defend Wyoming’s ability to access, manage and use our natural resources to fuel our economy. We must ensure Wyoming remains a leader in energy and food production to help sustain our way of life,” he said in his statement.

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Hageman became the first major Republican to launch a Senate campaign.

Two-term GOP Gov. Mark Gordon is thought to be considering a potential Senate bid.