Weigel

Liz Cheney Tanking in Senate Race, for the Worst Reason

James Hohmann gets a look at internal polling for Wyoming Sen. Mike Enzi in his primary fight with Liz Cheney. The Wicker Group’s data is all sunny for Enzi—a 40-point lead in August is a 52-point lead in November, a +18 favorable rating for Cheney has withered to a -8 rating. If we take this as it is, what’s the cause?

The American Principles Fund, a conservative super PAC run by Sarah Huckabee Sanders, spent $140,000 over three weeks on TV ads attacking Cheney as wobbly on gay marriage. No other outside group, and neither campaign, ran ads in the period.

The ad in question:

Not only is she soft on gay rights—she appears on MSNBC! That’s not just a low blow, that’s like the sucker punch that paralyzed Hilary Swank in Million Dollar Baby.