END OF A CAMPAIGN – AT 8:49 A.M. ET:  Liz Cheney, whose decision to challenge an incumbent Republican senator in Wyoming was a serious blunder, is ending her campaign.  It's a wise move that will preserve her possibilities in future elections.  From CNN:

New York (CNN) -- Liz Cheney, whose upstart bid to unseat Wyoming Sen. Mike Enzi sparked a round of warfare in the Republican Party and even within her own family, is dropping out of the Senate primary, she said in a prepared statement Monday morning.

"Serious health issues have recently arisen in our family, and under the circumstances, I have decided to discontinue my campaign," she said.

Cheney, the eldest daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, began telling associates of her decision over the weekend, CNN reported late Sunday night.

"Though this campaign stops today, my commitment to keep fighting with you and your families for the fundamental values that have made this nation and Wyoming great will never stop," she added.
Cheney's surprising decision to jump into the race, an announcement made in a YouTube video last summer, roiled Republican politics in the Wyoming, a state that Dick Cheney represented in Congress for five terms before moving up the Republican food chain in Washington.

Enzi was a low-key presence in Washington who was elected in 1996 and, with few blemishes, amassed a conservative voting record in the Senate. He expressed public annoyance at Cheney's decision to mount a primary challenge. A number of his Senate colleagues quickly rallied to his side and pledged support for his re-election bid.

There was little public polling of the race, but two partisan polls released last year showed Enzi with a wide lead, an assessment mostly shared by GOP insiders watching the race.

COMMENT:  Liz Cheney is a terrific woman, and she has a future.  But her campaign against a sitting, decent and easily re-electable senator was poorly considered and poorly run.

I have no idea what "serious health issues" she's talking about.  I think it's generally assumed that this is the polite public excuse.  The former vice president has serious health concerns, but they are hardly new.

We hope Liz remains active, and remains to fight another day.

January 6,  2014