Chuck Gray announces bid for U.S. House

Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray announced Monday he will run for U.S. House. 

“You elect me, they’re going to notice,” Gray said in a video posted on social media. 

“To make America great, we’ve gotta break a little China,” Gray says while the video shows a baseball shattering a plate of the Chinese flag.

Gray is running for Wyoming’s sole congressional seat, currently held by U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman, who announced earlier this month she would run for U.S. Senate. Hageman’s decision followed U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis’ announcement that she would not seek reelection. 

With the backing of President Donald Trump, voters elected Gray as secretary of state in 2022. He previously represented Casper’s House District 57 in the Wyoming Legislature for three terms. 

This will not be Gray’s first attempt at federal office. In 2021, he vowed to defeat then-Rep. Liz Cheney, but dropped out of the Republican primary race after Trump endorsed Hageman. 

Who’s Gray?

Gray became a permanent resident of Wyoming in 2012, according to previous WyoFile reporting. He began his career in 2013 at his father’s company, Mount Rushmore Broadcasting, after graduating from the University of Pennsylvania.

In 2017, he joined the Legislature, where he largely focused on anti-abortion legislation and changes to election law, including a 2021 voter ID mandate. 

Gray centered his campaign for secretary of state, which functions as the state’s chief election official, on election integrity, telling voters that Wyoming had “tremendous problems” with its elections. 

As part of that campaign, Gray sponsored several showings across the state of the film “2000 Mules,” which alleged that rampant “ballot harvesting” in swing states stole the 2020 election from Trump. When the conservative nonprofit whose claims the film was based on — True the Vote — admitted in 2024 that it did not have recordings, documents or other evidence backing its claims, Gray was silent. 

This summer, Gray, alongside the Wyoming Freedom Caucus, backed the Trump administration’s plans to stop states from using voting machines and mail-in ballots. The exact details of Trump’s plans remain to be seen since no executive order has been issued yet. 

Earlier this year, Gray was named in his official capacity in a federal lawsuit challenging a new state law that requires residents to provide proof of citizenship and residency when registering to vote. In July, a federal court dismissed the case. 

Throughout his public service, Gray has been recognized by multiple conservative organizations. 

“Chuck’s record has earned recognition from leading conservative organizations, including multiple CPAC awards; the Wyoming Right to Life Platinum Award for his work on family, faith, and life-related policies; and the Club for Growth’s Defender of Economic Freedom Award,” according to his campaign website. “Guided by his Christian faith, Chuck Gray continues to fight to keep Wyoming free, conservative, and strong—leading with conviction, not convenience, and always following through for the people of Wyoming.”

Gray is the first candidate to announce a run for Wyoming’s sole congressional seat.