Fralik has been involved with the state Democratic Party since 2015. He said he made trips to Gillette from the University of Wyoming (UW) to attend party meetings. A decade later, he beat Evansville Mayor Candace Machado to lead the state party.
“ I'm more of an office guy,” said Fralick. Before his recent election win, he served as the National Committeeman since 2018. He was one of the Wyoming representatives involved in the process of nominating a presidential candidate for the National Democratic Party.
Fralick said the National Democratic Party is in somewhat of an identity crisis. He said it happens every time there's an upset in the presidential election, citing that the Republicans were in a similar place after Pres. Obama’s second win in 2012.
”The National [Democratic] Party really is navigating on its own path,” said Fralick. “So, figures like us in Wyoming, the best that we can do is to get resources to our state here, for the Wyoming Democratic Party. And that's really what my focus has always been.”
Plans for the future
The problems Democrats currently face across the nation are similar. But a Republican dominated administration and legislature is something Wyoming Democrats face every year.
”It's gonna be difficult, but it all starts with being very smart with how we target certain races and win,” said Fralick.
Fralick’s plan is forward-looking. He said Wyoming Democrats don’t need a rebrand and there’s no need to upset or challenge the state party's relationship with its legislative caucus. For Fralick, the idea is to solidify and reinvigorate the base.
“The ultimate goal is to make for the strongest party possible so we can keep winning elections and crucially flip some seats if we can,” said Fralick.
Democratic Rep. Karlee Provenza (D-Laramie) and Trey Sherwood (D-Laramie) are planning to host public workshops over the summer to teach Wyomingites how to have their voices heard. Fralick applauded these efforts, saying grassroots actions are a “ major backbone of the state party”. Fralick said the state party can help bolster those efforts by re-engaging former Democrats and strengthening its relationship with current blue towns.
”Sweetwater County has a lot of good potential 'cause we used to have a stronghold there. We can probably bring that back,” said Fralick. “Cheyenne as well, and Laramie County. There's several other places too where there's opportunity to expand our presence in the state.”
However, Fralick is “making no promises”. Like all Democrats in the state, he’s well aware of the Republican majority. Fralick said the Wyoming Democrats know there are more blue voters than those registered. So the challenge lies in the party’s ability to “ re-earn people's registration and trust”.
“ There's a culture of defeatism all over and I really want to change that. And I mean, we're not gonna make any promises that we can't keep, but we're gonna just strive to do our very best to ensure that people feel comfortable being Democrats again. ‘Cause we know there are so many more than what are actually registered,” said Fralick.
Fundraising
The Cowboy State Daily reported that the Wyoming Democratic Party had experienced a “$5,000 loss per month” for the first four months of the year, with the party estimating they’ll be down “$24,478 by the end of the year”. Through a vote, the Wyoming Democrats agreed to ask Cowboy State Daily not to publish the information.
Fralick said the vote party is ” an open party”.
“We don't like kicking out the press,” said Fralick. “And procedurally, that vote was not really a decent vote anyway.” Fralick said the vote was spur of the moment, but does not deny that the party's financial situation has to be addressed.
The party is spending more than it’s bringing in. Fralick said if the trend continues to a worst case scenario, they would have to start cutting staff or travel. However, Fralick doesn’t believe it will reach that point. Fralick said they are looking at different options. Everything from National Party funds, resources from other Western Democratic state parties, as well as out-of-state donors.
“ I should be clear. We'll take funds from anywhere, really,” he said. “ But definitely our main goal is to keep things within the state.”
Fralick said the Wyoming State Democrats will form a committee to focus on in-state donors, which Fralick said is the backbone of support for the state party.
In addition to this committee, Fralick also highlighted how the Democratic Party can do better with groups that traditionally lean more liberal. The University of Wyoming hosts the College Democrats, a group Fralick has supported and spoken with in the past.
“ Historically, there hasn't been a lot of support between the state party and a lot of the younger folks who want to be active Democrats,” said Fralick. ”But we can do better and that's something I really want to try to do more of, is definitely step in and have a stronger party presence among a lot of these youth groups, not just Dems at the university, but all the community colleges as well.”
One step the party is already trying to take in that direction is the newly formed Minorities and Allies Caucus, which Fralick hopes will “ recruit minority candidates across the state too, to help strengthen our base there too.”
Fralik said it will be slow, but he believes the party can reach a point when they challenge every seat in the state. Nineteen Democrats in Wyoming ran for Legislative office in 2024.
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.
