wyvote

In the next several days, Wyoming Public Radio will be chatting with some of the folks seeking Wyoming Congressional seats. We begin the series by speaking with Republican U.S. Senate Candidate Robert Short.

Mr. Short is a Converse County Commissioner, an entrepreneur, and a businessman whose worked in areas such as energy, agriculture and tourism. We begin the conversation discussing energy and some of the things that need to be done to help Wyoming's industry get through tough times.

The Equality State Policy Center wants the 2020 elections to be safe and widely accessible.

The 2020 candidate filing period for Wyoming is officially open. And with that, Wyoming's Secretary of State Ed Buchanan has also launched a campaign to keep voters informed and safe during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Former candidate for Wyoming governor Foster Friess has started a series of listening sessions around the state.

The multimillionaire is considering running for the U.S. Senate that became open after Sen. Mike Enzi announced his retirement after his current term. But before he makes a final decision, Friess announced he will go around the state to see if he should get in the race.

The Sheridan City Council has approved an emergency ordinance for a special election.

Riverton Representative Andi Clifford held a town hall meeting at the Lander Public Library on Saturday. She spoke to a crowd of around 30 people, many of them Lander residents, about the challenges of being a Northern Arapaho woman in the Wyoming State Legislature.

The Wyoming Senate has defeated a bill that would have allowed the state to explore an alternative voting method. Laramie Senator Chris Rothfuss was proposing that the state switch to an open primary where voters could vote for all candidates seeking a particular office and the top two vote-getters could advance to the general election, no matter their party affiliation.

An all-Republican legislative committee voted to reject a bill that would have prevented people from switching political parties prior to the primary 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.

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.

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.

Republican Kristi Racines will face Democrat Jeff Dockter in November to become the state auditor.