Actor Kevin Costner, star of the television show Yellowstonebacked Representative Liz Cheney’s re-election bid as she faces a challenge from Donald Trump-backed Harriet Hageman.
Cheney, a Wyoming Republican, turned on former President Trump following the January 6, 2021 attack at the United States Capitol building—when a mob of his supporters rioted in a failed effort to force Congress to block President Joe Biden’s win—and has since become one of the fiercest Trump critics in the GOP.
While her stance has earned her support from many moderates and Democrats, who praise her willingness to buck her own party, she has found herself at odds with many voters in Wyoming’s at-large congressional district in a state that backed Trump by more than 26 points . Trump’s massive victory for her in the state made it the most conservative state in the 2020 presidential election.
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic/Getty Images
But on Monday, Cheney revealed a new celebrity endorsement, tweeting a photo of Costner wearing a white t-shirt that read “I’m for Liz Cheney.”
Costner stars in the Paramount television drama Yellowstonenamed for the famous Yellowstone National Park that is located in parts of Wyoming and Montana.
“Real men put country over party,” Cheney tweeted alongside the photo.
Kevin Costner’s Political Views
Despite his endorsement of Cheney, Costner does not consider himself to be a Republican anymore. Earlier in his life, Costner was considered a Republican but has supported Democrats since the 1990s. In fact, I have endorsed Pete Buttigieg, then the mayor of South Bend, Indiana and now the Secretary of Transportation, during the 2020 Democratic primary—later supporting President Joe Biden’s election campaign.
“I think we really have to have a president for both sides,” he said in a 2020 interview with Variety. “And for the people who don’t vote for Biden, if Biden wins it’s necessary that he address what they’re concerned about. I think he has that level of bandwidth to understand that the group that doesn’t vote for him needs attention They have their own concerns and we have to think about that.”
In a 2020 interview with TheDailyBeastCostner said he goes “back and forth” on his votes and called Trump “dangerous.”
“The Democratic Party doesn’t represent everything that I think, and neither does the Republican Party right now—at all. So, I find it too limiting,” he said.
What Polls Say About Cheney’s Re-election Bid
Despite Costner’s endorsement, Cheney is in for a difficult primary against Hageman, who Trump has endorsed and stumped for. Cheney evoked his ire from him after refusing to embrace or support his claims the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him due to widespread voter fraud. She is one of two Republicans to sit on the Congressional committee investigating the riot—the other, Illinois Representative Adam Kinzinger, opted not to run for re-election.
Polls have found her struggling to win a majority of support in the Republican primary. A survey conducted by the Casper Star-Tribune from July 7 to 11 found Hageman leading Cheney by 22 points. It found Hageman winning 52 percent of support, while Cheney won only 30 percent of support from likely Republican primary voters.
Wyoming voters will decide between Cheney and Hageman on August 16. Whoever wins the primary would be the overwhelming favorite in the Equality State.