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Katherine “Kat” Rueckert was elected chair of the Teton County Republican Party in an uncontested race on Mar. 3. The position guides the priorities of the local political party and Rueckert hopes a shift in focus will help the party gain footing in an overwhelmingly blue county.
“I would say that we’re starting from ground zero,” Rueckert said.
Rueckert, a 28-year-old project engineer, has lived in Jackson for seven years and ran a failed bid for town councilor in 2022 when she was backed by leaders of the “Save the Rodeo and Fairgrounds” movement.
She will serve a two-year term and replaces former party chair Mary Martin who held the position for four years.
“I’m a God-fearing church goer, a patriot, and a swing-dancing frequent at the Cowboy Bar,” Rueckert writes on the county GOP’s website.
During last fall’s election, where Wyoming voted red by some of the largest margins in the country, the county GOP didn’t gain a single seat, including affiliates on the Board of County Commissioners.
Rueckert wants to change that and get a Republican into political office in next year’s election. Currently, no Republicans serve as county commissioners and few are in other local offices.
“The mission statement of the Teton County Republican Party is to get Republicans elected,” she said.
To do that, she plans to shift her party’s focus away from national talking points and to local issues that reflect the party’s values like fiscal responsibility.
Rueckert believes many Republicans haven’t won local office in the past because of a focus on national issues that don’t resonate in Teton County. Issues include the town’s budget deficit and a voter-approved extra penny of sales tax which voters narrowly passed in 2024 and goes into effect April 1st.
“And that seventh penny doesn’t go away until that 80 million ticket is paid off,” she said.
