After becoming the first state to elect a Freedom Caucus majority to a legislative chamber in 2024, Wyoming’s rejection of most further right leaders on Tuesday was a win for many moderate Republicans and Democratic voters in Teton County who switched parties.
Northwest Wyoming Republicans had only a few state and federal races to push back directly against Freedom Caucus-aligned candidates.
And it wasn’t a clean sweep for moderates: Chuck Gray, the current secretary of state and a Wyoming Freedom Caucus founder, won the nomination for U.S. House. And U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman, who tends to vote with the national caucus but is not a member, rode Trump’s endorsement to the U.S. Senate nomination. Both beat out candidates from Teton County. But at least 14 key losses in the Legislature included former caucus chair Rep. John Bear (R-Gillette) and House Speaker Chip Neiman (R-Hulett) who narrowly lost in his bid to unseat Sen. Ogden Driskill (R-Devils Tower).
The night’s results came as an auspicious shift to many in the state’s most liberal county.
Whoops and hollers filled the air at a Wilson watch party as the results showed Sen. Eric Barlow, a Republican and rancher from Gillette, beating the Trump-endorsed Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder for governor.
“It’s the best night of my life,” said Rep. Liz Storer, a Jackson Democrat who has worked behind the scenes to mobilize voters with the goal of unseating the further right bloc.
Cheers also went up for Robert Short, who won the Republican nomination for secretary of state after pledging to make the office “boring” again.
“Very excited to see Robert Short’s victory. His experience as a county commissioner will be valuable for the SLIB [State Loan and Investment Board] board and its decisions on state lands. He knows that local input and collaboration are how we do things in Wyoming,” said Teton County Commissioner Natalia Macker via text, who campaigned for Short after serving with him in the Wyoming County Commissioners Association.
In the race for Wyoming’s lone House seat, Jackson Hole businessman and son of GOP megadonor, Steve Friess, worried that splitting votes with eight other candidates would hurt his chances.
In a Sunday interview with KHOL, Friess had tried to frame the race as a two-person battle with Gray.
“A vote for one of the other candidates will be sort of a wasted vote,” he said. “It really is down to Chuck or myself.”
He ultimately took second with 20% of the vote, falling to Gray by about 6,000 votes.
His loss was likely due in part to the significant support for the more moderate Kevin Christensen, whom many Teton County crossover voters said they supported in poll interviews with KHOL.
“I was proud to carry Teton County,” Christensen told KHOL on Wednesday. “It shows me that people really do want a candidate who is willing to run a clean campaign, focus on the issues and not be subject to big money.”
Friess also worried he spent too little time campaigning close to home in Jackson Hole.
“Let’s hope it’s not a costly mistake,” Friess said.
He ended up with 866 votes in Teton County, second to Christensen who gained 1,400. That margin wasn’t nearly enough to make the difference.
The loss came despite a record amount of spending. Friess donated $3 million to his campaign, triple what Gray contributed to his own campaign, records show. Opponents accused Friess of trying to buy a seat in Congress, an accusation he said he countered by touring the state this summer.
Friess said he tried unsuccessfully to gain Trump’s endorsement with a phone call and a text. Trump only weighed in on the races for U.S. Senate and governor, with a failed pick for the latter demonstrating the limits of his influence in Wyoming.
Many voters in Teton County said they wanted to unseat the Freedom Caucus to protect public lands. Others wanted stronger support for schools.
“Their thoughts and views do not align with mine and what I feel is good for Wyoming,” said realtor Molly Murray on her way to vote at the Old Wilson Schoolhouse.
Landscaper Sam McGee agreed.
“I think they’re too narrowly focused on their own goals,” he said. “We’re struggling on spending our budget appropriately and making sure that we’re not wasting our public lands.”
Sam Mead, a Jackson local and moderate Republican who challenged Hageman on public lands, received almost a third of the vote. Observers like Storer are already eager to see and support his next campaign.
“My disappointment is that the vision I have, and the work I hoped to start, has been delayed,” Mead wrote in a concession letter late Tuesday.
