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Liz Cheney abandons U.S. Senate race
Log Cabin says she missed chance to embrace marriage equality
Liz Cheney has dropped her bid for U.S. Senate. (Photo by Milonica; courtesy Wikimedia Commons)
Liz Cheney on Monday announced she is ending her campaign for a U.S. Senate seat in Wyoming.
In a statement provided to Politico, Cheney cites health issues as the reason she’s abandoning her efforts to win a Republican primary against incumbent U.S. Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.).
“My children and their futures were the motivation for our campaign and their health and well-being will always be my overriding priority,” Cheney said
Cheney’s campaign never gained much traction. Polls showed Enzi would crush Cheney in the primary by as much as 53 points.
But Cheney gained national attention when she declared on Fox News Sunday her opposition to same-sex marriage, despite the support for it from her prominent father, former Vice President Richard Cheney, and the marriage of Mary Cheney, her lesbian sister, to Heather Poe.
In a Facebook post, Mary Cheney responded, “Liz – this isn’t just an issue on which we disagree – you’re just wrong – and on the wrong side of history.” Weeks later, Mary Cheney would appear at a fundraiser for Freedom Indiana to speak out against a proposed state constitutional amendment in Indiana that would ban same-sex marriage.
The feud was seen as a microcosm for the way in which the Republican Party would handle the issue same-sex marriage in the aftermath of victories for marriage equality at the Supreme Court and the ballot and growing support among the American public.
Gregory Angelo, executive director of the Log Cabin Republicans, said Liz Cheney missed an opportunity by not differentiating herself from her opponent, such as by staking out a position in favor of same-sex marriage.
“Liz faced an uphill battle from the start,” Angelo said. “She had an opportunity to represent a new generation of Republican voices on marriage equality and other issues, but instead her campaign and policy positions were a near replica of her rival’s. She didn’t give voters in Wyoming a single reason why she would be better — or even different — from Senator Enzi, so her decision today wasn’t only unsurprising, but prudent.”
Dan Pinello, a political scientist at the City University of New York, said Liz Cheney’s feud with her sister didn’t help the campaign, but he doubted that the elder Cheney would have fared better if she had endorsed marriage equality.
“I seriously doubt that Liz Cheney’s embrace of marriage equality would have helped in a Republican primary in Wyoming, especially after what’s happened in Utah, scaring the party’s base to its core,” Pinello said.
WorldPride 2025 concluded with the WorldPride Street Festival and Closing Concert held along Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. on Sunday, June 8. Performers on the main stage included Doechii, Khalid, Courtney Act, Parker Matthews, 2AM Ricky, Suzie Toot, MkX and Brooke Eden.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Celebrating the transgender community, Baltimore Safe Haven, an organization committed to empowering LGBTQ individuals in Baltimore City, plans to host their fourth annual Baltimore Trans Pride on Saturday.
Instead of the usual parade and march, this year’s Trans Pride will be a block party on Charles Street and between 21st and 22nd Streets. The event will start at 1 p.m. with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and last until 10 p.m.
Community members can go on guided tours, enjoy refreshments by local vendors, listen to presenters, and watch performances by special guests.
Sukihana, the event’s headliner, plans to take to the stage to entertain the crowd, along with a variety of local performers, according to Melissa Deveraux, Baltimore Safe Haven’s executive assistant to Executive Director Iya Dammons.
“Some (are) prominently known, some (are) just making a name for themselves,” Deveraux said. Iya is always making sure that community talent is showcased at all of our functions.”
In company with Pride on Saturday, Baltimore Safe Haven will be opening its new building on Friday from 1-4 p.m.
“That is sort of going to be the prelude to pride,” Lau said. “Thanks to Sen. Mary Washington and the Weinberg Foundation, we were able to purchase the building outright, and it’s going to be a community hub of administrative buildings and 12-bedroom apartments.”
Renee Lau, administrative assistant for special projects coordinator for Baltimore Safe Haven, said the planning process for Baltimore Trans Pride began in January, and putting it all together was a collaboration of multiple city agencies and organizations.
“Safe Haven is an LGBT community organization, but we service the entire community, and that’s the message we try to spread,” Lau said. “We’re not just here for the LGBT community. We’re here to spread goodwill and offer harm reduction and housing to the entire community.”
Lau said the organization’s biggest goal for the event is to gain exposure.
“(We want) to let and let people know who we are and what our community is about,” she said. “Right now, because of what’s happening in DC, there’s a lot of bad untruths going on, and the total thing is bringing out the truth.”
Deveraux said having a place of inclusivity, acceptance, and togetherness is important in today’s political climate and the current administration.
“This event will have people seeing the strength and resilience of the transgender community, showing that no matter what we are going through, we still show up,” Deveraux said. “We are here, we will not be erased.”
The 2025 WorldPride Parade was held in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, June 7. Laverne Cox and Renée Rapp were the grand marshals.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key and Robert Rapanut)
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