Wyoming state senator Anthony Bouchard, a Republican trying to unseat US congresswoman Liz Cheney next year, revealed that he impregnated a 14-year-old girl when he was 18, describing the relationship as “like the Romeo and Juliet” story in a description that drew a rebuke from a sexual assault prevention group.
Bouchard vowed not to drop out of the race and blamed “dirty politics” for bringing the story to light.
Bouchard, 55, initially disclosed what he described as a typical teenage relationship in a Facebook Live video to supporters on Thursday. He later confirmed the girl’s age to the Casper Star-Tribune.
“It’s a story when I was young, two teenagers, girl gets pregnant,” he said in the video. “You’ve heard those stories before. She was a little younger than me, so it’s like the Romeo and Juliet story.”
Bouchard married the girl when she was 15 and he was 19, when both were living in Florida. They divorced three years later, he told the newspaper. She killed herself when she was 20, Bouchard said.
A spokesperson for Cheney told the Star-Tribune that her campaign did not have anything to do with trying to surface the story about Bouchard’s past.
Cheney has become a figurehead of resistance in the Republican party to President Trump and was removed from the party’s leadership earlier this month over her criticism of his lies that the 2020 election was rigged.
“Remaining silent and ignoring the lie emboldens the liar,” Cheney said in a speech ahead of a vote that ousted her from her conference chair position.
Bouchard has become a frontrunner to run against her in a primary challenge next year.
Associated Press contributed to this report
