Wyoming bears all the hallmarks of a “red state.” Its executive offices and legislature are dominated by Republicans, and Donald Trump won it by more than 40 points in the last three presidential elections.
But like many “red states” in America today, Wyoming’s Republican rule is in many ways a mirage. So-called “Republican” elected officials have often gone out of their way to stifle and kill conservative priorities.
The state’s recently concluded budget session perfectly illustrates this problem.
Despite Republicans possessing supermajorities in the state House (56-6) and Senate (29-2), the House rejected six bills containing provisions long supported by election integrity activists and the Wyoming Freedom Caucus (WYFC), which holds a governing majority in the chamber. According to local media, these measures would have prohibited the use of ballot drop boxes, restricted ballot harvesting, “required random ballot hand count audits, directed counties to use pen and paper ballots, expanded poll watcher access and raised the bar for independent candidates to appear on the general election ballot.”
Non-budget-related bills can only be considered during Wyoming’s legislative budget sessions if they receive at least two-thirds support from the chamber. As the Cowboy State Daily reported, the election bills failed because enough House Republicans joined Democrats in voting against them.
The rules governing Wyoming’s budget sessions “effectively hand[ed] veto power to the same bloc of Republicans and Democrats that the [freedom] caucus has been battling since taking power,” the outlet observed.
Things don’t appear much better in the Senate, where a bill prohibiting “sexually explicit material” in school libraries and in the children’s section of public libraries died after it was not considered before a specified legislative deadline. There were also reported clashes between members of the WYFC and the establishment throughout the session on the size of the state’s budget.
“We’re at a really critical turning point in Wyoming politics where the insiders and the establishment class are very, very mad and want all of their power back,” one prominent Wyoming conservative activist told The Federalist. “We’re really seeing a lot of tension right now between the executive branch, which is dominated by very liberal Republicans; the Senate, which is dominated by liberal Republicans; and the House, which has a very slim majority of true Republicans.”
That tension appears to be spilling over into the Cowboy State’s upcoming primary elections.
According to local media, state Republican Sen. Cale Case spoke at a community forum hosted by Fremont County Democrats in late January to discuss the state’s August primaries. The event also featured the president of the county’s left-wing League of Women Voters.
In an apparent reference to the Wyoming Freedom Caucus, Case reportedly espoused concern about “very divisive factions” in Wyoming politics. More notably, however, he noted that the Democrat forum’s attendees have the ability to change their party affiliation to participate in the August primary and influence the state’s slate of GOP nominees.
“To participate in that election in August, you have to declare or change your party affiliation by May,” Case said.
When pressed for comment, Case told The Federalist that the Democrat-led forum “was a mixed audience.” He also said that he “think[s] that there were more Republicans than Democrats in attendance,” and that he “told them that anyone who has not currently registered that wants to vote in the August primary must declare their affiliation by May 13.”
Case did not respond to The Federalist’s follow-up questions about whether he believes that it is in the best interests of Wyoming Republican voters to have Democrats crossing over to vote in their party’s primaries and whether he personally supports Democrat voters registering as Republicans in order to influence GOP primaries.
Seemingly encouraging non-Republicans to change their party affiliation to vote in the August Republican primaries was also a topic of discussion raised at a virtual meeting held by the Wyoming Trial Lawyers Association earlier this year. According to the meeting’s host (identified as Bill), the event was focused on so-called “threats to … democracy in the state of Wyoming.”
In a recording of the event obtained by The Federalist, Bill can be heard praising the “courage” of Minnesotans amid the recent ICE deportation operations in their state. He later informed attendees about a law moving up the date by which voters can change their party affiliation before a primary election.
Wyoming lawmakers passed the referenced law in 2023. The measure restricts “crossover voting” in the state to stave off such left-wing interference in Republican primaries. The measure’s passage was arguably driven by revelations that former Rep. Liz Cheney reportedly instructed Wyoming Democrat voters to switch party registration to vote for her in her 2022 reelection bid. Cheney ultimately lost the primary to current Rep. Harriet Hageman.
The Wyoming Trial Lawyers event also featured remarks from Senate Majority Floor Leader and Republican Tara Nethercott, who spoke about alleged efforts to undermine the state’s judicial system.
Nethercott did not respond to The Federalist’s request for comment about whether she believes that it is in the best interests of Wyoming Republican voters to have Democrats crossing over to vote in their party’s primaries. Nor did she respond when pressed on whether she personally supports Democrat voters registering as Republicans in order to influence Wyoming’s GOP primaries.
Nethercott made her comments following a forum discussion about an ongoing defamation lawsuit against the Wyoming Freedom PAC, which operates as the Wyoming Freedom Caucus’ campaign wing. The plaintiffs in the suit are represented by former state Rep. Clark Stith, who lost his reelection bid to a now-freedom caucus member in the state’s 2024 GOP primaries.
Republican Gov. Mark Gordon recently tapped Stith for a district county judgeship, according to Cowboy State Daily.
Controversial as they are, attempts to encourage left-wing interference in Republican primaries to box out conservative candidates are not new. The tactic dates back to at least the state’s 2018 GOP gubernatorial primary, which resulted in the liberal Gordon securing the governor’s mansion.
Ahead of the August 2018 election, an automated phone message about influencing the GOP primary was sent out, ostensibly to registered Wyoming Democrat and independent voters. Obtained by The Federalist, the message encouraged these voters to defeat Trump-endorsed businessman Foster Friess by changing their party affiliation and supporting Gordon’s candidacy.
“Tomorrow, just go to your normal polling location, ask to switch parties, and vote in the Republican primary. They have to let you do it on the spot. That’s the law. Besides, you can switch back later,” the message said. “Remember, if we don’t elect a moderate, reasonable candidate like Mark Gordon, Democrats and independent voices will be ignored. Let’s send President Trump a message — Wyoming is not Trump country — by beating Foster Friess and electing Mark Gordon.”
The message was designated as an “in-kind contribution” to “Switch Wyoming.” The group’s name is similar to “Switch for Wyoming,” which sought to encourage Democrats and independents to vote for Gordon in the 2018 primary.
“There’s a perception that Wyoming is the most conservative state in America,” the Wyoming conservative activist told The Federalist. “And [while] the people of Wyoming are,” the reality is that “we have a lot of Republicans In Name Only [RINOs] that have been at the helm for decades.”
Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He is a co-recipient of the 2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics and RealClearHealth. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood
