Kamila Kudelska: The Road to Cheyenne [is] our special series previewing the primary elections. This week, we’re looking at state legislative races in the southeast corner of the state.
Here with me today are Wyoming Public Radio’s Laramie-based reporter, Jeff Victor, and our state government reporter, David Dudley, who’s based in Cheyenne.
KK: Jeff, let’s start with you. House races in Albany County are a little different from some of the other areas that we’ve talked about so far in this series. Basically, in Albany County, the general election is more contested than the primary. Why is that?
JV: For most of the state, the electorate is pretty conservative and the main contest in a lot of areas is between Republicans, meaning the winner of the primary is likely to be the winner of the general, so the primary is really the race to watch. That’s not the case in Albany County, where we have sometimes very close contests between Democrats and Republicans.
KK: Is that because of the university? I think the stereotype is that the city of Laramie, where most Albany County residents live, is full of Democrats.
JV: Yes and no. It’s true that Laramie, both on and off campus, is more socially liberal. But currently, about 63 percent of registered voters in Albany County are Republicans while less than 24 percent are registered as Democrats, according to figures provided by the Albany County Clerk.
KK: That sounds like Albany County should safely be Republican. How do Democrats get elected there?
JV: Quite a few of those registered Republicans are not ideological conservatives. Some of them are more liberal-leaning folks who register Republican to vote strategically, for example, voting for the more moderate Republican candidate during the primary because they’d prefer that to someone more far-right. But then they vote Democrat in the general. When you look at who gets elected, three of our four House seats are held by Democrats. One of our two Senate seats is as well. So the split is a little more even than the voter registration data would have you believe.
KK: We’ll definitely be checking back in on Albany County for the general for those Republican-Democrat showdowns, but are there any primary contests we should be paying attention to now?
JV: On the House side, no. Albany County is neatly divided into four House districts. In each of those, there is just one Republican and one Democrat running.
KK: What’s going on there? Why aren’t there any primary contests for the House races?
JV: On the Republican side, there seems to be more interest in county and municipal races. For example, there are four Republican candidates running for the one county commission seat on the ballot this year. But on the other side of the aisle, Albany County Democrats Chair Mike Selmer told me it was a tough year when it came to recruiting candidates.
Mike Selmer: There were a lot of folks that would have been good candidates for the city council or for Legislature and for Senate. All the different seats that were approached said, ‘Yeah, I've always wanted to do this. I like the idea of running, but not this year.’ I bet we had a list of 60 names that we contacted.
JV: Selmer said the reason why many decided not to run was the prospect of political violence and in general the heated partisan rhetoric we’re seeing at the national level. On the last day of candidate filing, the Democrats still didn’t have a candidate for Senate District 10, so Selmer put down his own name.
Mike Selmer: I filed at 4:30 p.m. on the very last day without even being sure at four o'clock that I was going to do it.
JV: It really just goes to show how difficult it was for Democrats to recruit this year.
KK: Got it. Talk to me about Senate races in this area.
JV: Yes, so Albany County has two Senate seats. Senate District 9, which mainly represents Laramie, is not on the ballot this year, but Senate District 10 is. It encompasses the rest of the county outside of Laramie and a few neighborhoods within city limits, including West Laramie. That’s the seat Selmer is running for. Like he said, he’s the only Democrat. But two Republicans are also running.
KK: Who are they?
JV: Keith Kennedy, a lobbyist for agricultural interests, and Gary Crum, a former UW [University of Wyoming] football star and banker. It’s worth noting that the incumbent, Dan Furphy, is not running again but he’s endorsed Crum. I interviewed Kennedy and I’ve been trying to reach Crum, but we haven’t talked yet. However, I did at least get to see him answer questions during a local candidate forum.
KK: Where do they stand on the issues?
JV: Both men are pretty conservative. For example, they both believe in school choice and in funding private schools with public dollars. They’ve both signaled their support for a new law requiring schools to out transgender students to their parents. But when you get into other social issues, like abortion, it becomes clear that Kennedy is more conservative.
Keith Kennedy: Abortion should not be legal in Wyoming, nor should pharmaceuticals be used for abortion.
JV: Meanwhile, here’s Crum:
Gary Crum: I'm pro-life. But there is a place for abortions when the mother's life is in jeopardy.
JV: Crum says he’s running, in large part, to strengthen rural healthcare, and that’s earned him the endorsement of the Wyoming Hospital Association. Kennedy, on the other hand, says he decided to run because he feels the government infringed on individual liberties during the pandemic.
Kennedy is skeptical of the scientific consensus on climate change and he’s a vocal supporter of fossil fuels, although he prefers the term “hydrocarbon industry.” Crum has not spoken publicly about climate change but he has said he supports an “all of the above” approach to energy, which means supporting fossil fuel but also wind and solar.
KK: Subtle differences in this race. Thanks for that insight, Jeff.
Now David, since you live in Cheyenne you’ve been keeping an eye on the races in Laramie County. There are a lot of seats that are being contested. We’re going to focus on a couple where incumbents in leadership positions are being challenged. I’m talking about House District 43. Dan Zwonitzer has been in this seat for almost 20 years.
DD: He’s been representing the more rural area, populated mostly by retirees, just southeast of Cheyenne. Zwonitzer's narrowly edged out his Republican opponents in primaries since 2018. Zwonitzer has served on numerous committees, including the House Judiciary Committee, Joint Revenue, and Mental Health and Vulnerable Adult Task Force, to name just a few.
When we spoke a couple of weeks ago, he said he had intended to retire from office, but said he didn’t see a suitable replacement to carry the torch. He told me that he's running again to "right the ship."
He said that he's seen more chaos in the past two years than at any time in the past 20, and it's all to do with the Freedom Caucus and their approach to politics.
Dan Zwonitzer: There's all sorts of evidence that they're encouraged to vote a certain way. Not that we're not all encouraged to vote. But when you get a mass email or mass text saying, Here's how we're voting today on bills, it's really frustrating because you can't build on ideas.
KK: Who’s running against him?
DD: Anne Lucas, a retired executive vice president of a local credit union, as well as a GOP Central Committee member.
According to Cowboy State Daily, she was the first candidate to announce her candidacy. She aligns with the Freedom Caucus and has accused Zwonitzer of being a liberal. Lucas wants to see a more limited government and less taxation. After meeting Ms. Lucas at the GOP Convention in March, I reached out to her several times to talk about her platform and decision to run for office. As of this morning, I haven't received a response.
KK: The last race that we’re going to take a look at is House District 4.
DD: This seat represents Wheatland all the way to Glendo and Chugwater. Jeremy Haroldson is the current representative. This district is a little different from the last ones we talked about, in the sense that the incumbent is part of the Freedom Caucus. Haroldson is the vice chair, actually.
He was first elected to the seat in 2021 and is running for reelection to continue the work he started then. He wants to see less regulation in Wyoming. During the last budget session, he sponsored a bill to repeal gun-free zones, including schools.
Earlier this year during the budget session, Haroldson got into it with Gov. [Mark] Gordon over funding for Wheatland’s failing water tank. Basically, Gordon vetoed funds Haroldson had secured for it. Haroldson thinks it’s because he ended up voting against the budget.
Jeremy Haroldson: In layman's terms, he pulled it out because I didn't vote for his budget. So it definitely was a situation where he's playing politics with peoples' lives, and I ardently disagree with that.
DD: Haroldson recently got the funds through SLIB, the State Loan and Investment Board. The water tower is scheduled to be repaired ASAP.
KK: His challenger, Jeffrey Thomas, is he more moderate?
DD: According to Thomas, he is more moderate. Thomas is the chief of the Guernsey Volunteer Fire Department. When we spoke, he told me that he intended to secure more funding for emergency services in Platte County. He's also concerned about the fentanyl crisis, as well as immigration along the southern border.
Thomas told me that, were he in Haroldson's shoes, he would've handled the water tank funding very differently.
Jeffrey Thomas: Sometimes, you just need to take the win and live to fight another day. Even if everything isn't perfect about the budget, at least you got what your constituents needed.
KK: Alright well thank you, Jeff and David. Just a reminder that voter registration closes August 5th. You can still register up until and on election day. You just have to go to your local county clerk to do it in person. Tune into the last Road to Cheyenne before the primaries on Aug. 16. We will update you with the latest news to make sure you are prepared to vote on Aug. 20. Also, check out our new elections guide.
Editor's Note: A previous version of this article mentioned Senate District 4, which represents parts of Cheyenne. Incumbent Tara Nethercott was facing a Republican in the primary, Gregg Smith. Smith has withdrawn his candidacy.
