Ahead of the 2026 general election, Wyoming Public Radio and KHOL Jackson offered all candidates in competitive races for statewide and federal offices 20-minute interviews to introduce themselves to voters and discuss their positions. The following transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.
Eric Barlow is the Republican Party’s nominee running for governor. His campaign website is www.barlowforwyo.com. He spoke with WPR’s Jordan Uplinger.
Click here to listen to a special episode of Open Spaces previewing the races for statewide and federal offices.
Jordan Uplinger: Let's just start off with the basics. Could you introduce yourself to the audience and just give a little bit of a background?
Eric Barlow: My name's Eric Barlow. I'm a fourth-generation ranch kid from northeast Wyoming. Grew up in Campbell County, went to school in Gillette, and I've worked and served in Wyoming for many years. Thanks for a little bit of your time today, Jordan.
JU: Thank you for joining us. You're running for governor of Wyoming. In the event that you win the position, can you tell us what the most pressing issue you think is facing the office of the governor?
EB: I am the Republican nominee in the general election for governor. That's [after] being successful in the primary. For the year prior to the primary, we traveled around the state of Wyoming showing up, listening and learning to citizens in nearly every community in the state, multiple times, about what things were important to them.
The first thing they want is someone who does show up, who does take the time to hear and learn about the opportunities and challenges in their community. That's number one. And out of that I think comes a goal that's shared across the state of Wyoming, in that people in Wyoming want a place where young people can stay. [Where they] can find their lives, build their lives, start their businesses, have families and live lives that are meaningful for them. The challenges we have, there are challenges together, and different communities have different challenges or opportunities. But collectively, that's what people care about. They care about the future, the next generations and the opportunities they have in Wyoming.
Then you start talking about the very specific parts of that. What is healthcare for those young families? What is healthcare for all of us? What is education? Not just K-12, but the community colleges and the university. Water. We have water challenges in Wyoming, whether it's the Colorado River or the prolonged drought. Then you start getting to specific issues.
What do I take away? They want a governor who shows up, who listens and goes to work on the issues that are important to Wyoming's people and the future of Wyoming. That's what I've committed to doing as Wyoming's next governor.
JU: We're gonna jump into, I think maybe for the third time now based on all the debates and forums you've done, a rapid fire section. [Let’s] just get straight to it. What do you believe is more important to voters: a candidate's personal values or the issues they highlight on the campaign trail?
EB: I think they're both important. I think maybe even more important is the candidate's character, their integrity, and are they trustworthy? If they have that, then you can trust them with the issues that are before a community or before the state of Wyoming.
JU: What three words best summarize your political beliefs?
EB: We work together.
JU: I'm gonna give you four options here. Which of the following do you believe has the most significant impact on young people's decision to leave or remain in Wyoming: job opportunities, healthcare [and] healthcare access, public infrastructure or housing?
EB: I would say the economy, the first one, the job opportunities, if I only get one choice.
JU: If elected, can you name one industry in the state you'd like to see grow during your term?
EB: All of them.
JU: But if you had to pick one industry? Broadly speaking, I would say.
EB: Broadly speaking, Wyoming has an integrated economy, and our industries are interconnected [and] reliant on each other. I don't think there's one that is more important than the others. I think they coexist, they work together and they're important together.
JU: One last one here. In one word, can you describe your feelings towards AI?
EB: No. Sorry, that's what you get.
JU: It is a word. These last three questions are more just tied to your campaign history so far. During a candidate forum hosted by WPR, WyoFile and the League of Women Voters, you talked about Wyoming's healthcare workforce. You've also brought up your healthcare task force and the conversations you've had through that around the state since winning the primary, I believe. As we approach the general [election], can you name a new policy you'd like to see implemented or an action your office would take to attract individual healthcare workers to the state of Wyoming?
EB: The healthcare strike team has taken form. There are suggestions and ideas coming out of that discussion and that dialogue. I'm not going to get ahead of what that is bringing together. But one of the things that Wyoming has had in the distant past, and I think has validity now, is loan repayment programs for healthcare providers who are providing services that we need in Wyoming. I think you can outline psychiatry. You could outline mental health services. You could say obstetrical, gynecological care, those types of things, where we really do have a deficit of providers in Wyoming.
A mechanism to help attract them and then allow them to build roots is a program that would be a reimbursement toward their educational costs that helps keep them in Wyoming and put down roots in Wyoming.
JU: Data centers are top of mind for voters. You've talked about the need for more energy, energy infrastructure. You've once suggested the possibility of a data tax, although it was just kind of a brief suggestion. You've also talked about the importance of water and local decision-making. If elected governor, would you work hands-on to attract developers and compete with surrounding states in this kind of emerging field? Or would you remain more hands-off and let the voters voice their opinion, possibly over the whims of the market?
EB: We will be very engaged, both with the developers but also with the communities, ensuring that their needs are being met and heard, and that our resources are being protected.
JU: In all of your interviews, you emphasize talking and conversation, getting to the bottom of a problem. However, conversation happens all the time in Cheyenne and Washington, and it doesn't necessarily guarantee action. You were born in Gillette. You were elected to office in [the Wyoming Legislature in] 2013. Is there a singular topic that in all that time you feel doesn't really have time for conversation anymore and needs to have action taken on it sooner rather than later? Is there a topic that comes to mind when given that base there?
EB: I think healthcare is probably that topic where we've had lots of task force commissions over the years, and we continue to find it more and more challenging. That's not just a Wyoming issue, of course. It's a national healthcare conversation. Look, we don't stop talking about it. We try to identify the most meaningful and practical ways to address the concerns and, with that, have some durability – not just quick fixes, band-aids, but things that will actually improve both the access and the quality of care for Wyoming citizens. I would say healthcare is one of those, to your point about my legislative tenure, that we've had lots of discussions and we've taken small bites out of. We need to continue to work on it, and there's probably some bigger bites that need to be taken.
JU: You've had quite a long legislative history as well here. If you do become governor, there will be a day where you step in the House and in the Senate, and you address your former colleagues. Is there any piece of legislation or policy idea you would encourage the Legislature to take up early on in your governorship? Or will you remain kind of hands-off there as well and just let the Legislature take the lead? I'm thinking back to when the governor kind of said, ‘Please reinstate my budget,’ essentially.
EB: There, we have separate branches of government, obviously, and the executive branch and the legislative branch have responsibilities. But just because we have different responsibilities doesn't mean we can't have a common understanding and common goals. So my hope is, as the governor-elect, if we're successful in the general election, that the legislative leadership and the Legislature as a whole and myself, as we start to build a team, can have those conversations where we can have some shared goals and visions and the way to get it done, and then actually get the work done working together.
That doesn't mean we're going to agree on everything, but let's just take the healthcare topic as one example. There are some things that we will agree on and move forward, and then there's things that maybe we don't agree on, and those don't advance. But we know we need to work on healthcare, and so how do we continue? How do we find those common things and then move forward with them, and then work through the ones where there may be some disagreement?
JU: As the last, kind of, bonus question here. I don't have the exact quote in front of me, but I think it was during the [Wyoming] PBS debate, you were talking briefly about the situation with the Colorado River. Obviously, we've hit a point now where the levels are getting lower. There is more conversation going on between the states, and the federal government has stepped in with their own outline of a 10-year plan.
Given that Wyoming just doesn't have as many funds or assets as some of these other states, and so the war chest can't necessarily be this large, massive war chest, what do you think you or your administration, if elected governor, could bring to this negotiation for the Colorado River? You had mentioned making an alliance with the Upper Basin states. Could you talk a little bit more about what you would do in the Colorado River situation?
EB: First, I think we do need to ensure the Legislature, and I believe my colleagues, current colleagues in [the] Legislature, and I anticipate the future Legislature will understand that we do need the legal and technical resources to defend Wyoming's positions and to ensure that our interests are well understood and defended.
Then to your, to the question or your point about building an alliance, the Upper Basin states certainly have a mutual interest in working together for all of our collective benefit of each of our states and their citizens. So, I think it's both.
One, we have to have resources to make sure our interests are being heard, and two, we have to have relationships to ensure that there's a collective effort as well. That effort, of course, translates both to a conversation with the federal government, but also with our Lower Basin partners.
JU: Just as a point of clarification, when you say better resources, do you mean better individual lawyers, better scientists, or better access to research and more funds?
EB: I think it's all of the above. Better information – or not better – more information, more professional staff, both legal and scientific staff, to help bolster the case that Wyoming needs. Then hopefully, with our Upper Basin partners to support the position of the Upper Basin states and the water rights that we believe we have should have access to and use of.
You can find more conversations with Wyoming’s candidates on our How do I vote? page.
