Democrats changed party registration in Wyoming. It couldn’t save Cheney.

From January 1, 2022 to the August 16 primary, there was a 20% drop in Democratic voters. Republican voters jumped 10%, according to the office of the Wyoming secretary of state.

Voting records do not specify how many people are registering for the first time in relation to the party change, or which party they are turning to. But for the record, Democrats in Wyoming said they re-registered as Republicans to vote for Cheney in the primary.

Wyoming voters can change their party affiliation at least 14 days before the election or at the polls. Cheney included those instructions on his campaign site and sent out mailings detailing the steps.

The voter shift was even more apparent beginning in July after Cheney began asking for support from Democrats. From July 1 to the primary, Democratic registrations fell from about 43,000 to 36,000, a 15% drop in just over a month. Republicans garnered nearly 15,000 voters during that time, rising to a record 215,000 primary registrants.

And in the two weeks between Aug. 1 and the primary, Democrats lost more than 3,000 voters, dropping from 40,000 to 36,000 registered Democrats — the lowest in decades. Republican voters increased by nearly 8,000 from Aug. 1-16.

Cheney wasn’t the only lawmaker asking voters to make a temporary change for her. An organization called Wyomingites Defending Freedom And Democracy ran two Democratic Reps ads. dean phillips (Min.) and Tom Malinowski (NJ) earlier this month urging Democrats in Wyoming to vote for her.

“You might be a little surprised that I’m supporting Liz Cheney in her attempt to continue representing Wyoming in the United States House,” Phillips said in her video. “But principles must always come before politics, and no one has shown more honor, integrity and courage than her.”

Cheney’s next steps include preparing to launch a new outside group dedicated to pushing Trump away from the presidency. The group, The Great Task, filed its move from Cheney’s nominating committee to a leadership PAC with the FEC in the early hours of Wednesday morning following its loss.