This conversation and other stories will be featured in this weeks episode of Jackson Unpacked, available wherever you get your podcasts.
It isn’t easy being a Democratic lawmaker in Wyoming. There are only two in the state Senate and five in the House. But after Tuesday’s primary, many districts fell into the hands of the far-right Freedom Caucus, making the chasm between Democrats and Republicans even vaster. State House Minority Leader Mike Yin of Jackson thinks that negative mailers aimed at moderate Republicans had a lot to do with the election results. Wyoming Public Radio’s Melodie Edwards caught up with Yin at the airport on his return trip from the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Melodie Edwards: You were out at the DNC [Democratic National Convention] when you were hearing about last night’s results. But how were you feeling as those results were rolling in?
Rep. Mike Yin: I was in the middle of a couple of different speeches at the DNC. Both conventions are a little bit of a pep rally and so the energy has been high. But then seeing the results come in, I think it was a little disappointing. The turnout looked really low and the results were frankly ones that I did not expect. But it came as a lesson learned that those flyers really did reach people.
ME: Maybe you can talk a little bit more specifically about what some of the biggest surprises were to you.
MY: Laramie County was where some of the biggest surprises were, members that have faithfully served their communities for many years getting overturned from flyers that were sent, maybe every day, for the last two weeks. What it is for me, I think, is a learning experience on what the Republican Party looks like. Now, these are all partisan primary voters, right? So what’s that look like for the members of that party choosing those nominees?
ME: What are some of the lessons that you might be learning as the minority leader from this kind of radical shift? Any other insights you gathered?
MY: One of the biggest is that we really shouldn’t be deciding who is the elected representative by the primary system that we have. I think it leads to outcomes where the decisions are being made by less than 1,000 people for an entire 10,000-person district. In some cases, there were votes where it was less than that, right? It was significantly less. The best way to choose the best representative isn’t a decision by only a tenth of the members of the district.
ME: What is going to be your approach going forward to be able to work with these Freedom Caucus lawmakers?
MY: If you have an entire caucus that doesn’t want to solve problems with Democrats and in fact rates itself [based on how successfully it] doesn’t solve problems with Democrats, then it sounds like they want to run the state by themselves and they don’t need us to solve problems.
But in my opinion, based on the policies that they’ve tried to pass in the past, they aren’t gonna solve any problems at all. They’re only going to create more.
ME: Are there some bigger issues that you feel like Democrats are going to need to play defense on, just to make sure that certain kinds of really important programs continue to get funded? What are some of those issues that you would really prioritize?
MY: Some of the things that have been pushed for in the past by the Freedom Caucus, they voted and proposed amendments several times to cut funding for the University of Wyoming and for community colleges. Those are the economic engines of our state and if we intend to make sure that we have workforces for an economy in the future, then we’re going to need them. Are we going to lose more young people?
Two, they actually restrict people’s personal freedom as we’ve seen in the bills passed that were banning abortion. Not only do they restrict it to the extent of many other states, but they propose some of the most restrictive abortion bans without any exceptions. The only reason that it ever got amended in the past was because of non-Freedom Caucus members and Democrats.
So if you believe that there should be freedoms for people who need healthcare, then you’re going to lose it under the current Legislature if they actually take control of the entire House.
ME: Going into the general election, a lot of these Freedom Caucus candidates will be going unopposed. But there are a few that will have Democratic opponents. What are some of those races that we should be watching for heading into the general election?
MY: Both in Laramie County and a couple of districts across the state, there are chances for Democrats to work with Republicans in those districts who are dissatisfied with the choices that their party has chosen to make some sane solutions for the state.
If not, I’m afraid of the place the state is going to go. I’ve already had people tell me that it’s going to be a place where they don’t want to raise children. They don’t think that they can have a job. They’re afraid for their neighbors and their friends. So I do hope that people do come out to vote in the general election.
