Liz Cheney For Senate Will Deal Another Blow to Fractured GOP

Elizabeth Cheney, former Vice President Dick Cheney's eldest daughter, has announced on Tuesday that she will run against Wyoming's three-term Republican incumbent for the U.S. Senate.

In a six-minute video, she announced her bid and harshly criticized Obama's administration.

"President Obama has launched a war on our Second Amendment rights, he's launched a war on our religious freedom, he's used the IRS to launch a war on our freedom of speech and he's used the EPA to launch a war on Wyoming's ranchers, our farmers and our energy industry," she said.

"We can get our nation back on track," Cheney continued. "Instead of cutting deals with the president's liberal allies, we should be opposing them every step of the way."

Watch the video below:

In the video, she did not mention the incumbent, Mike Enzi, directly. Instead, she said she was running in part "because I believe it is necessary for a new generation of leaders to step up to the plate," and that "We can no longer afford simply to go along to get along."

Senator Mike Enzi has not made any statements in regards to Cheney's bid, but only said in a statement released by his campaign office that he intends to run for reelection in 2014.

"When I announce formally, I will let everyone know that date in the future. In the meantime, I will do the job I was already elected to do," the three-term senator told the press. 

Cheney's announcement comes at a time when Republicans are trying to regain a majority in the Senate in the 2014 elections.

"I'm a big fan of Liz Cheney. But not in this race," former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer tweeted, continuing to write that "divisive, internal GOP fights aren't helpful."

Wyoming has a reliable enough Republican base that whoever receives the GOP nod would be a heavy favorite for the general election. Still, divisive elections such as the one this is shaping up to be echo those of 2010, when nomination fights within the GOP cost the election and led to further rifts within the party.

A Wyoming political veteran, Chris Rothfuss, said that Cheney's bid may be a symptom of the divisions breaking the GOP, with Republican officials being challenged if they are considered too willing to compromise with less conservative politics.

The Democratic state lawmaker, who lost in the election against Enzi in 2008, said that Cheney's video displays "everything that's wrong" with partisanship in national politics.