100 candidates now running for office in Wyoming

More than 100 candidates filed paperwork to run for office in Wyoming in the first two days after the state’s candidate filing period opened Thursday, marking the official start of an election year with several high-profile races.

The 2026 election is so far defined by the number of open seats in key positions, including governor, secretary of state, schools superintendent and two of Wyoming’s three congressional seats. It will also be up to voters to choose Wyoming’s next treasurer and auditor, and all 62 House seats in the Wyoming Legislature and about half of the state Senate will also be on the ballot.

Candidates began making campaign announcements months ago, but the two-week filing period will solidify the field for major party races. Those who file by May 29 will appear on the primary election ballot in August before the winners face off in November’s general election.

The filing period also marks the close of the window for voters to affiliate with a political party ahead of the primary election. That’s critical in Republican-dominated Wyoming, where primaries often decide who will win in November. This is the second major election cycle since the Wyoming Legislature voted in 2023 to restrict when residents can declare or change their political party affiliation.

Under that law, May 13 was the last day registered voters could change their political party affiliation before the primary election. The designation determines which primary — either Republican or Democratic — a voter is entitled to cast a ballot in. Unregistered voters, such as someone who turns 18 after Wednesday, may still register and affiliate with a party ahead of the primary.

After many failed attempts, legislators passed the law to prohibit what they called “crossover voting,” or the practice of changing party affiliation in order to vote for a certain candidate. Supporters said it was necessary to stop registered Democrats, minor party and unaffiliated voters from influencing the primary election as Republicans. Opponents, meanwhile, have criticized the regulation for effectively forcing voters to choose a party before knowing the official slate of candidates.

In November, a Laramie County District Court upheld the law after a group of voters of various political affiliations challenged it in a legal complaint.

Initial filings

The Wyoming Secretary of State’s office updates the unofficial roster of candidates each afternoon of the filing period. At publishing time, more than 100 candidates had filed. Dozens more are expected to do so.

As of Monday morning, three Republicans had filed for U.S. Senate, including Rep. Harriet Hageman, Jill Edwards of Laramie and John Allan Holtz, also of Laramie. The seat is open after Sen. Cynthia Lummis announced in December she would not seek reelection.

Meanwhile, at least 10 Republicans previously announced they would run for U.S. House. So far, three have officially filed, including Reid Rasner of Casper, Frank Chapman of Moran and former Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow. Lisa Kinney, a Laramie Democrat, has also filed.

Elk Mountain Democrat Kenneth Casner is the first and only candidate to file for governor so far. State Auditor Kristi Racines, a Republican, filed for reelection last week and is currently set to run unopposed.

Two candidates have filed for secretary of state — Republican Rep. Rachel Williams of Cody and Democrat Bryan McCarty of Worland.

Two Republicans and two Democrats have filed for superintendent of public instruction, including Rep. Tom Kelly, R-Sheridan, Chad Auer, Ana Cordova and Sergio Maldonado.

At least 14 legislative seats will feature contested primaries, including several races where incumbents will face challengers. Additionally, three House members — Reps. Abby Angelos, R-Gillette, Bob Davis, R-Baggs, and Paul Hoeft, R-Powell — have filed to compete in Senate races.

Several former lawmakers have also filed to re-enter the Legislature, including Pinedale’s Albert Sommers, a former speaker of the House, as well as Powell’s R.J. Kost and Sheridan’s Mark Jennings.

The last day candidates can file is May 29. The primary election is Aug. 18.

WyoFile's goal is to provide readers with information and ideas that foster constructive conversations about the issues and opportunities our communities face. One small piece of how we do that is by offering a space below each story for readers to share perspectives, experiences and insights. For this to work, we need your help.

What we're looking for:

Your real name — first and last.
Direct responses to the article. Tell us how your experience relates to the story.
The truth. Share factual information that adds context to the reporting.
Thoughtful answers to questions raised by the reporting or other commenters.
Tips that could advance our reporting on the topic.
No more than three comments per story, including replies.

What we block from our comments section, when we see it:

Pseudonyms. WyoFile stands behind everything we publish, and we expect commenters to do the same by using their real name.
Comments that are not directly relevant to the article.
Demonstrably false claims, what-about-isms, references to debunked lines of rhetoric, professional political talking points or links to sites trafficking in misinformation.
Personal attacks, profanity, discriminatory language or threats.
Arguments with other commenters.

Other important things to know:

Appearing in WyoFile’s comments section is a privilege, not a right or entitlement.
We’re a small team and our first priority is reporting. Depending on what’s going on, comments may be moderated 24 to 48 hours from when they’re submitted — or even later. If you comment in the evening or on the weekend, please be patient. We’ll get to it when we’re back in the office.
We’re not interested in managing squeaky wheels, and even if we wanted to, we don't have time to address every single commenter’s grievance.
Try as we might, we will make mistakes. We’ll fail to catch aliases, mistakenly allow folks to exceed the comment limit and occasionally miss false statements. If that’s going to upset you, it’s probably best to just stick with our journalism and avoid the comments section.
We don’t mediate disputes between commenters. If you have concerns about another commenter, please don’t bring them to us.

The bottom line:

If you repeatedly push the boundaries, make unreasonable demands, get caught lying or generally cause trouble, we will stop approving your comments — maybe forever. Such moderation decisions are not negotiable or subject to explanation. If civil and constructive conversation is not your goal, then our comments section is not for you.