In the final days of the Republican primary for U.S. Senate, Jackson candidate Sam Mead trusts his campaign for public lands still resonates with Wyoming voters.
“I’m a hunter. I grew up fishing,” Mead told KHOL. “It’s a part of our character and culture in Wyoming. And I just want to protect that for future generations.”
But a recent survey says the topic may rank below inflation, taxes and government spending and illegal immigration for voters, according to WyoFile.
When the software engineer launched his campaign this spring, last year’s senate proposal to sell public lands from Utah’s Republican Sen. Mike Lee was front of mind for many anglers, hunters and conservationists. Many worried about losing access to public land they recreate on.
Advocacy groups, such as the Wilderness Society, led a wave of public comments opposing the pitch to sell some lands for housing and other industry. Critics said the Utah senator’s proposal would have allowed for the sale of or development of national park lands.
But Wyoming primary frontrunner U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman, claims only “underused” lands adjacent to more precious parks and open space was at stake.
She wrote letters in support of the proposal, which never reached the house, and said conservation groups misconstrued her stance on that bill and others.
The representative, who also sits on the House Natural Resources Committee, maintained the position in op-eds as recently as June to say that Lee’s proposal was “narrowly-focused” and would be a boon for much-needed housing.
“I’m a co-sponsor of the Fix Our Forests Act,” Hageman said in an interview. “I’m a co-sponsor of the Great American Outdoors Act, which would invest another $4 billion in infrastructure on our national parks and other federal lands.”
Hageman compared the controversy around Lee’s senate proposal to an ongoing debate in Jackson Hole over whether to allow Forest Service land to become housing at the edge of the National Elk Refuge.
“It’s rather funny and interesting to me that this is an issue that some of these folks have run with to attack me, because it’s not based upon my record,” Hageman said. “It’s based upon someone else’s interpretation of what Mike Lee’s bill did.”
Mead said answers like that detract from what precedent the bill would have set for public lands, one he sees as a mistake. As the state’s sole representative, Hageman also supported efforts to eliminate federal jobs from the Department of Government Efficiency, which included cuts to the National Park Service staff by nearly a quarter last year. Mead maintains that her track record isn’t “coherent.”
“Wyoming deserves someone who can recognize the mistakes they’ve made and answer to the people instead of sidestep everything,” Mead said. He referred to Hageman-backed policies such as the Fix Our Forests Act and the Great American Outdoors Act as “good … [But] they’re reversible. Selling our public land is not.”
Hageman’s campaign has outraised Mead, the next top spender, by eight times. Army veteran Jimmy Skovgard, Laramie attorney John Holtz and massage therapist Jill Edwards are also vying for the party’s nomination.
Each candidate, save for Edwards, attended the candidate forum on Aug. 13 livestreamed by Wyoming PBS from Central Wyoming College.
