This story is part of our new Quick Hits series. This series will bring you breaking news and short updates from throughout the state.
The deadline for candidates to file in order to run for office in Wyoming’s August 20 primary election is May 31.
Over 100 people have put themselves forward as candidates for Wyoming’s House and Senate seats.
Many races will be decided by the primary, as more-conservative House Freedom Caucus-aligned hopefuls vie for the majority against traditionally-conservative Wyoming Caucus candidates.
One crowded race is in Senate District 6, where six Republicans are contesting the seat in the southeast corner of the state.
Meanwhile in the southwest, Senate District 14 is up for grabs.
Current House Speaker Albert Sommers of Pinedale will run against Kemmerer sheep rancher Laura Taliaferro Pearson and former Navy submarine commander Bill Winney of Bondurant.
Another race to watch is House District 17, where the incumbent, Rock Springs Rep. J.T. Larson, will defend his seat against Terry Ellison, a coal industry worker also from Rock Springs.
On the national stage, Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyoming) is facing off against Republican challengers John Holtz, an attorney in Laramie, and Reid Rasner, a businessman from Mills.
And Wyoming’s only representative in the U.S. House, Harriet Hageman, will face Steven Helling, a Casper-based attorney, in seeking the Republican nomination. Helling ran for the seat as a Democrat in 2022, even as he supported former Pres. Donald Trump, according to his responses to Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey.
It’s expected many candidates will wait until the last minute before the deadline to file.
This reporting was made possible by a grant from the Corporation For Public Broadcasting, supporting state government coverage in the state. Wyoming Public Media and Jackson Hole Community Radio are partnering to cover state issues both on air and online.
