Wyoming Rep. Harriet Hageman has won the Republican ticket for U.S. Senate, while former state Rep. James Byrd won the Democratic one.
They’ll face off in the November general election, along with any third-party and Independent candidates who file.
According to election results compiled by the Associated Press, two-time congresswoman Hageman had so far won by a double-digit margin. She garnered 62.7% of the Republican vote as of 9:30 p.m on Tuesday. Sam Mead, a tech worker, former whiskey distiller and nephew of former governor Matt Mead, was the runner up with 28.5% of votes.
Former Army National Guard member Jimmy Skovgard, Laramie massage therapist Jill Edwards and Laramie attorney John Holtz all so far received percentages in the single digits.
As for the Democratic primary, James Byrd won in a landslide. The son of Wyoming’s first Black woman to serve in the Legislature, Byrd received 78% of the vote as of Tuesday night. Billy Benavidez, a political newcomer who works at the Powder Horn Golf Club in Sheridan, received 22%.
In an acceptance speech in Cheyenne Tuesday night, Byrd reminded the audience the fight isn’t over, but that tonight is a celebration.
“Because we are on the right side of this. We are backed through the people,” he said.
Hageman did not respond to a request to comment by publication.
Although only about a third of county results are in, the Associated Press called the winners before 9 p.m.
The seat opened up after Sen. Cynthia Lummis announced she wouldn’t run for a second term last year.
