Jackson Hole rancher Frank Chapman is abandoning his bid for Congress.
The Heart Six Ranch owner dropped out Thursday after spending nearly $600,000 in the crowded race for Wyoming’s lone seat for the U.S. House of Representatives. He said it was too hard to distinguish himself from the field of ten Republicans.
“The forums weren’t productive because you’ve got too many people. It just creates a lot of clutter for the voter,” he told KHOL.
The slate of “normal” Republicans could end up splitting the vote so that “somebody who doesn’t have anywhere near a majority or represent the ideas of Wyoming can get elected,” he said.
Filings show most of the money Chapman spent was his own. He and the three other top spenders in the U.S. House race each lent their campaigns more than $1 million.
That includes Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray, who received one of the state GOP’s first ever primary endorsements earlier in the week.
Chapman said the party shouldn’t make primary endorsements. The lawyer said he’s still deciding whether to support one of his former opponents.
President Donald Trump has not weighed in. Chapman said that’s because there’s no clear frontrunner.
“[Trump is] not going to endorse anybody unless there’s a clear polling favorite prior to the election,” he said.
Trump has backed current U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman in her Senate bid and endorsed Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder in her run for governor.
Chapman said he doesn’t regret spending so much money on a failed campaign. It helped bolster his reputation in the Cowboy State, he said, which could help with a future campaign in the years ahead.
Or, he said, “maybe people will do a great job and I’ll be proud of them and not have to run.”
Besides Gray, the remaining pool includes Wyoming Senate President Bo Biteman, former Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow, and Stephen Friess, the son of Jackson philanthropist Foster Friess.
The other Republicans are: entrepreneur Reid Rasner, Casper veterans Kevin Christensen and David Giralt, Sundance consultant Richard Dodson, and former Democratic Wyoming Sen. Keith Goodenough.
