Wyoming held its primary elections on Aug. 20, 2024. At the statewide level, U.S. Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) and U.S. Congresswoman Harriet Hageman (R-WY) easily secured victories in their races. Barrasso has served in the U.S. Senate since 2007 and is currently the chair of the Senate Republican Conference. Hageman has served since 2022. Barrasso and Hageman are expected to win their general election bids in November.
Races for the Wyoming Legislature, by contrast, were much more contentious. The Wyoming Legislature is in a solidly conservative state. Republicans currently hold 57 of the 62 seats in the Wyoming House and 29 of 31 seats in the Wyoming Senate. However, despite being a Republican stronghold, the primary election featured a contrast between members who identified with the national Freedom Caucus and more traditional Wyoming Republicans.
Voter turnout was the lowest for a primary election since 2016. There were numerous upsets that gave gains to the Wyoming Freedom Caucus. Prominent incumbents who lost include House Speaker Albert Sommers who was seeking a term in the Senate, House Speaker Pro Tempore Clark Stith, and Rep. Tom Walters who serves on the powerful House Appropriations Committee. The Freedom Caucus did lose incumbent members, which include Reps. Allen Slagle, Tamara Trujillo, Jeanette Ward and Ben Hornok.
On the Senate side, for the new seats the following candidates are the presumptive winners, absent a write-in candidate or successful Democratic challenger in the general election:
- Darin Smith won Senate District 6 with 38% of the vote in a six-way race. Former President Donald Trump endorsed Smith. He identified his key issues to include pro-life legislation, property tax relief Second Amendment rights and ending diversity, equity and inclusion organizational frameworks in Wyoming. This was an open seat held by Sen. Anthony Bouchard who did not seek reelection.
- In Senate District 14, Laura Pearson defeated former House Speaker Albert Somers by 156 votes. Pearson is pro-Second Amendment, wants to reduce government and believes in school choice. Sommers has served in the Wyoming House since 2013. Senate District 14 was an open seat held by Sen. Fred Baldwin who did not seek reelection.
- Barry Crago defeated prominent Freedom Caucus member Rep. Mark Jennings in the contest for Senate District 22. Crago was first elected to the House in 2021. Jennings was first elected to the Wyoming House in 2015. Senate District 22 was an open seat held by Sen. Dave Kinskey who did not seek reelection.
- In Senate District 30, longtime Sen. Charlie Scott held on to defeat his challenger, former Natrona County Commissioner Rob Hendry. Scott has served in the Senate since 1983 and served in the House from 1979 to 1982. He is Wyoming’s longest-serving legislator.
On the House side, several incumbents lost their seats. Those key races include:
- In House District 2, former Rep. JD Williams reclaimed his seat and defeated current incumbent Alan Slagle, earning 55% of the votes. Slagle is a member of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus.
- In House District 8, Steve Johnson defeated long-time legislator Dave Zwonitzer, earning 49% of the vote to Zwonitzer’s 47%. Johnson is a Freedom Caucus candidate and is endorsed by Gun Owners of America.
- Freedom Caucus-aligned Joe Webb defeated Rep. Jon Conrad, earning 56% of the votes. Conrad served one term.
- Paul Hoeft handily defeated incumbent Rep. David Northrup, garnering 61% of the votes. Hoeft is an auto-service technician from Powell who would like to see property tax relief and to secure the border from illegal immigration. Northrup served House District 25 in 2023 and previously served from 2013–
- Jayme Lien defeated incumbent Republican Tom Walters, 55% to 45%, a surprising upset given Walters’ service on the powerful House Appropriations Committee. Lien identified reductions in government spending, property tax reform and pro-life laws as priorities. Tom Walters had served House District 38 since 2013.
- Freedom Caucus challenger Gary Brown defeated incumbent Rep. Bill Henderson, 54% to 46%. Brown identifies as a “conservative Republican” and was endorsed by Wyoming Right to Life and Restore Liberty groups. Bill Henderson served since 2017.
- In a close race for House District 42, Rob Geringer defeated Freedom Caucus incumbent Ben Hornok with 51% of the vote. Geringer is the son of former Gov. Jim Geringer. Hornok served one term.
- Ann Lucas defeated long-time Rep. Dan Zwonitzer, garnering 59% of the vote. Lucas was the executive vice president of a Wyoming credit union. Zwonitzer had served since 2005.
- Freedom Caucus contender Darin McCann unseated Speaker Pro Tempore Clark Stith with 57% of the vote for House District 48. Stith served since 2017.
- Republican Lee Filer defeated incumbent Tamara Trujillo, garnering 55% of the vote to Trujillo’s 33%. Lee previously served in the House in 2013 as a Democrat. Trujillo served for one term and won the vote in the last election over her cousin, John Romero-Martinez, who had also formerly served in the House district.
- Freedom Caucus ally Robert Wharff defeated Ryan Berger for House District 49. Wharff previously served as representative for one term in 2021– Berger served one term from 2023–2024.
- Freedom Caucus challenger Joel Guggenmos unseated incumbent Ember Oakley for House District 55. Joel is a homeschool graduate and works in residential construction. Oakley has served since 2021 and is the assistant Fremont County attorney.
- Political newcomer Julie Jarvis defeated incumbent Jeanette Ward for House District 57. Jarvis is a Natrona County school administrator. Ward recently moved to Wyoming and is a hardline member of the Freedom Caucus. Ward sparked attention with bills in the 2024 budget session, including legislation to define the sex of a person based on their chromosomes.
- Freedom Caucus member Marlene Brady defeated Tony Niemiec for House District 60. Niemiec served one term in the House.
Prior to the primary election, the Wyoming secretary of state published the finances for the Freedom Caucus and Wyoming Caucus. The political action committee (PAC) associated with the Wyoming Freedom Caucus raised approximately $168,000. The largest donors to the Wyoming Freedom Caucus were from William and Jeannie Haas, in the amount of $30,000 each. The Wyoming Caucus, which supported more traditional Wyoming Republican candidates, raised $104,000. Notably, the single-largest donation to the Wyoming Caucus was $30,000 from Republican Gov. Mark Gordon. The governor also deployed more than $200,000 through his own PAC, the Prosperity and Commerce PAC.
Wyoming also saw an uptick in the amount of money spent by outside groups. Virginia-based “Make Liberty Win” was active in 40 races around the state, and spent $371,260, most of which was on negative attacks. Americans for Prosperity also engaged in some negative attacks.
At the close of the primary election, the Freedom Caucus gained a majority in the House. Current House Majority Floor Leader Chip Neiman, also a Freedom Caucus member, has announced his run for Speaker of the House. Neiman was first elected to the House in 2021 and he ascended in the role of Majority Floor Leader after only having served one term. If elected, Neiman will play a critical role in selecting members to serve as committee chairmen, including the House Appropriations Committee. No Freedom Caucus members currently serve on this committee. Four of the seven sitting members—Reps. Walters, Henderson, Stith and Zwonitzer—lost their reelection bids. Political insiders are concerned about the lack of experience among House members. If the Freedom Caucus candidates win in the general election, approximately 40 of the 62 House members will have no more than two years of experience entering the 2025 session.
Full election results can be found on the Wyoming Secretary of State’s website at Wyoming Secretary of State | 2024 Primary Election Results.
The General Election will be held on Nov. 5, 2024.
This document is intended to provide you with general information regarding the 2024 Wyoming primary. The contents of this document are not intended to provide specific legal advice. If you have any questions about the contents of this document or if you need legal advice as to an issue, please contact the attorneys listed or your regular Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP attorney. This communication may be considered advertising in some jurisdictions. The information in this article is accurate as of the publication date. Because the law in this area is changing rapidly, and insights are not automatically updated, continued accuracy cannot be guaranteed.