As Harris Courts Her Endorsement, Cheney Plans to Weigh In Soon

The former Wyoming congresswoman, the most prominent Republican critic of Donald J. Trump, did not speak at Democrats’ convention, calculating that she could have more impact later in the race.

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Democrats and other Republicans committed to defeating Donald J. Trump view Liz Cheney as a unique figure who can help with a critical slice of the electorate that the Harris campaign is betting big on.

When Democrats spread the word this month that there would be prominent Republicans onstage at their party convention making the case for Vice President Kamala Harris, all eyes turned to former Representative Liz Cheney, the onetime member of G.O.P. royalty who torpedoed her own political career by breaking vociferously with former President Donald J. Trump.

But Ms. Cheney, who has repeatedly pledged to do whatever it takes to stop Mr. Trump from holding office again, never took the stage in Chicago and has yet to endorse Ms. Harris despite repeated outreach from the vice president’s campaign.

Instead, on the eve of the convention, she posted a selfie with her daughter from a Taylor Swift concert in London. (When she referred to Ms. Swift, who has yet to endorse any candidate but backed President Biden and Ms. Harris in 2020, as a “national treasure” this year, Mr. Trump responded by saying that “Liz has gone full democrat.”)

In reality, Ms. Cheney has been virtually silent since Ms. Harris became the Democratic nominee last month, except to say that Mr. Biden’s decision to step aside was “courageous.” As the campaign has started a “Republicans for Harris” organizing program with a full-time national engagement director and a seven-figure ad buy targeting anti-Trump Republicans and swing voters, she has been conspicuously absent from its rollout of dozens of new G.O.P. endorsements.

Ms. Cheney, perhaps the most prominent Republican in the nation making the case against Mr. Trump, has notably stayed on the sidelines despite the campaign’s courting.

That is not expected to be the case for much longer. Ms. Cheney, who continues to describe Mr. Trump as “unstable” and “depraved,” has decided that September will be her moment to weigh in, according to three people familiar with her thinking, when early voting has begun and her voice will not be lost in a sea of back-to-back convention speeches.

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