The Wyoming Secretary of State’s office is reviewing multiple complaints filed by a Teton County lawmaker Wednesday regarding contributions to several gubernatorial campaigns allegedly exceeding the legal limit an individual can give to a statewide candidate per election.
Jackson Democratic Rep. Mike Yin filed three separate complaints against the Constitution Party’s Rebecca Bextel, as well as Brent Bien and Megan Degenfelder, two Republicans defeated in August’s primary election.
Wyoming state law limits individuals from giving more than $2,500 — including in-kind donations like services or campaign assistance — to a statewide candidate per an election. The primary and general are considered separate elections. Yin alleges that Bextel, Bien and Degenfelder all filed campaign finance reports with the Secretary of State’s office that include contributions from individuals that exceed that limit.
“For Ms. Bextel, whose election is still ahead, I ask for the fix the law allows: give the extra money back, and correct the report before people finish voting,” Yin said in a statement. “For Mr. Bien and Ms. Degenfelder, the primary is over, and a refund cannot take back the advantage those campaigns carried into it over candidates who followed the rules. In those cases, I asked the Secretary of State to refer the largest entries to the Attorney General, who decides whether a penalty is warranted.”
Secretary of State Chuck Gray confirmed his office had received the complaints and is currently evaluating them according to Wyoming law.
“Secretary Gray has said that election integrity is the core mission of his office,” Yin said in a statement. “Under the law, these complaints land on his desk first, and he decides whether they go to the Attorney General. Campaign finance limits are part of that mission, and I trust his office will act on these before Tuesday.”
Degenfelder denied any wrongdoing, while Bien said he was reviewing his campaign finances. Both say that donations may have been inadvertently duplicated in the state’s campaign finance reporting system. Bextel did not respond to multiple requests for comment by publishing time.
The reports are filed and available to the public, but they are not reviewed unless an election complaint is filed. That’s because the secretary of state’s office does not automatically audit campaign finance reports. Errors are not uncommon.
Bextel complaint
According to the campaign finance report Bextel filed Tuesday, Susan Gore of Cheyenne contributed $4,000 across four donations while John Warren of Cordova, Alabama gave $3,000 across six donations.
Reached by phone Thursday, Warren told a reporter he is Bextel’s father and was under the impression that Wyoming law does not limit how much a candidate’s immediate family can give to their campaign. Warren’s understanding is correct, though Bextel did not include her father’s donations in the immediate family portion of her report.
Bextel, who reported raising a total of $89,000, reportedly told Cowboy State Daily this week she would “soon be filing an amended report reflecting a much higher fundraising figure, at about $500,000.”
Tuesday marked the deadline for candidates to file their campaign finance reports ahead of Tuesday’s general election. State law allows for amendments in instances where additional contributions or expenditures occur after filing, or if inaccuracies are found.
“Additional statements shall be filed within a reasonable time not to exceed 30 days from the time the inaccuracies or additional contributions or expenditures became known,” according to the election code.
Bextel amended her report Thursday, according to the secretary of state’s website. However, the amendment did not add contributions, but instead deleted a $500 donation from Warren. The secretary of state’s website did not show additional amendments by publishing time.
Gore, a conservative donor and Gore-Tex heiress, could not be reached by publishing time.
Bien complaint
Yin flagged donations to Bien’s campaign from 10 individuals, according to his complaint.
Four contributions were listed from Wheatland resident Jill Kaufman, totaling $6,700, according to Bien’s amended primary election campaign finance report.
Bien’s campaign reported $4,900 across three donations, as well as an in-kind donation of $1,800 for campaign outreach, administrative support, supplies, catering and a venue. Kaufman didn’t respond to a request for comment before press time.
Wheatland resident Mark Kaufman contributed $2,000 and made an in-kind donation of $2,500, according to the primary report. That in-kind donation was for the same services as Jill Kaufman. He didn’t respond to a request for comment before press time.
Retired Jackson physician Richard Sugden reportedly gave two $2,500 donations, both on March 16, according to the primary election campaign finance filing. He didn’t respond to a request for comment before press time.
Albany County GOP state committeeman Jerry Gruber gave $3,200 across two donations, as well as $1,300 in-kind donation for campaign outreach, administrative support, supplies and catering, according to the finance report. Gruber didn’t respond to a request to comment before press time.
Gillette resident Wanda Lieneman gave $400 across three donations, as well as $2,300 in-kind contribution for campaign outreach, administrative support, supplies and catering, according to the primary election campaign finance report. She didn’t respond to a request for comment before press time.
Cheyenne resident Don Odom, who ran for House District 61 in 2022, gave a $700 contribution, as well as two in-kind contributions: one for $150 for a venue fee and another $1,800 for campaign outreach, administrative support and supplies, according to campaign finance records.
When asked about the complaint, Odom said in an email Thursday that, “Those figures are incorrect.”
“I talked to Brent and they are getting it straightened out,” he said.
Ron Smart of Rock Springs reportedly gave $900 across two donations and a $1,700 in-kind donation for campaign outreach, administrative support, supplies and catering, according to the primary election campaign finance report. He couldn’t be reached before press time.
Bob Aguiar, a Hot Springs county commissioner, contributed $180 across three separate donations, as well as made a $2,340 in-kind contribution for campaign outreach, according to the campaign finance records. He didn’t respond to a request for comment before press time.
Yin also said in his complaints that two other entries were over the limit, “but may be duplicates: Elena Campbell of Sheridan reportedly gave $3,200, including two identical $700 donations on July 11, and Cheryl Aguiar from Thermopolis, who has worked on Bien’s campaign, donated $2,500 in 2026, plus two $60 in-kind contributions in 2025.
“If any entry in this letter is a duplicate or a spouse’s gift entered under the wrong name, the cure is an amendment that says so,” Yin said.
Yin raised one more issue with the report.
“It shows a cash balance of negative $18,067.47 at the end of the primary period, and negative $26,209.03 after the General Report filed October 27, with no loan reported,” he wrote. “Whoever covered those bills, and in what amounts, belongs on the report.”
Bien said he called the Wyoming Secretary of State’s Office on Thursday morning and that they are reviewing the campaign finance records. He was concerned about duplicate donations of the same amount for certain contributors in the finance reporting system. He said his team is also looking at in-kind donations and what the value of certain services or assistance were for the grassroots campaign, as well as cross-checking with explicit monetary contributions.
“I just got off the phone with the bank to potentially set up a teller to go down line-by-line,” Bien said Thursday. “But it’s going to take awhile because unfortunately you can’t go in on an app or on your computer. You actually have to go to the bank to figure out what exactly the donation was.”
Degenfelder complaint
Yin flagged contributions from four individuals to Degenfelder’s campaign in his complaint.
According to campaign finance reports Degenfelder filed in August, Ty Jenkins of Ten Sleep gave $7,500 across two donations and Debbie Jenkins of Ten Sleep gave $5,000 across two donations. Neither responded to a request for comment by publishing time.
Yin also named Tiffany and Blake Gamble of Casper in the complaint. According to campaign finance reports, Tiffany gave $2,500 to Degenfelder’s superintendent campaign committee in December and $2,500 to her gubernatorial campaign in January, while Blake made identical contributions. Yin argues that “still violates the statute.”
Tiffany Gamble, who hosted Degenfelder’s campaign kick-off event in Casper, told a reporter she is aware of the legal limit, and wondered if donations from her and her husband got mixed up somehow. Blake declined to comment.
“The committee has not accepted any contributions in excess of campaign finance limits, and the complaint is frivolous,” Charlotte Jones, Degenfelder’s campaign manager, said a statement. “The contributions from the Gamble’s were made to two independent committees, one that existed prior to Megan’s decision to run for Governor and formation of a new committee to seek that office. The Jenkins’ also did not make contributions in excess of limits, rather these contributions were double reported. The campaign’s treasurer has notified the Secretary of State of the clerical error, which requires deletion by the Secretary’s office.”
In both Yin’s complaints about Degenfelder and Bien, he requested the Secretary of State’s Office refer them to the attorney general to determine whether a civil penalty was warranted, as well as to direct the campaign committee to refund the excess and file an amended primary election report and “confirm to me in writing when the referral is made and when the amendment is on file.”
He added in Bien’s complaint that he would like the office to “direct the committee to amend the report to identify the source of the funds covering its negative balance, or to explain in writing why it cannot.”
The general election is Nov. 3. Early voting is underway.
