politics

A plan to try to reduce health insurance premiums on the federal health care exchange was approved by a Wyoming legislative committee. 

Wyoming may be the reddest state in the nation but even the Cowboy State felt a ripple from the blue wave in this month's midterm election.

After a controversial year Park County School District #6 has four new trustees on its seven-member school board.

The district, which includes Cody, debated and eventually passed the CKA policy, which allows certain teachers and staff to conceal carry, and dealt with the logistics behind removing a book from the school system.

Now the newly elected trustees want to move on to other issues. John McCue is a Cody native and a new trustee. He said he was motivated to run to ensure these policies would not remain the focal point and concentrate on things like teacher morale.

State-funded pre-k is coming up in the Mountain West. More states than ever are funding programs across the country. But of the handful that don't, three are in our region.

Public lands advocates across the Mountain West are calling Tuesday's midterm election a big win for conservation. Several races in the region favored candidates with strong public lands platforms.

Fremont County Representative Jim Allen lost against Northern Arapaho member Andrea Clifford by 60 votes. Clifford said she worked dawn to dusk to meet people in person and to create a strong social media campaign.

Laramie County Democrat Sara Burlingame clinched a seat in Wyoming House of Representatives, beating out Paul Johnson by 70 votes. Burlingame is the director of Wyoming Equality, a group that advocates for LGBTQ issues. She says it might surprise people that someone like her could win an election in a predominantly Republican district, but she says it helped that she’s very active in the Cheyenne community. She says she thinks her message of political civility also resonated with voters.

Republican State senator Curt Meier will be Wyoming's new state treasurer. Meier served in the Wyoming Senate for over 20 years and has a background in farming and business.

Former state treasurer Republican Mark Gordon will become Wyoming's next Governor. He won easily with a 40 percent margin defeating democratic opponent Mary Throne - a former state legislator.

Republican Kristi Racines beat out Democrat Jeff Dokter to be Wyoming's next State Auditor.

Wyoming's Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow will serve a second term. Four years ago when she started her first term, she said educators called for strong leadership and stability in K-12 education. She said delivering that along with her reputation for collaborative decision making is why she ran uncontested this time around.

Ed Buchanan will continue his stint as Wyoming's Secretary of State. Buchanan has held the office since March when he was chosen to fill the unfinished term of Ed Murray.

Wyoming Senator John Barrasso beat democratic challenger Gary Trauner in a landslide victory. Barrasso's campaign focused on his role in decreasing federal regulations and cuts to federal income taxes.

Wyoming House District 33 is mostly in Fremont County and includes Lander and the Wind River Reservation. This year the seat is heavily contested between an incumbent, who is a chair of a legislative committee, and a popular Northern Arapaho woman who's a former Fremont County Commissioner. But Northern Arapaho Tribal member Andi Clifford said she would like to represent both tribes in Cheyenne as a Democrat.

If you're confused about where to vote, or what you need to bring with you to the polls, there's now a 24/7 hotline addressing those concerns. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Wyoming and the Equality State Policy Center established the hotline.

Nationally, the average number of uncontested races for seats in state legislatures is close to 40 percent. But in Wyoming, that number is well over 50 percent.