Donald Trump and Wyoming’s crowded House race

If Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray thought announcing his bid for Congress last December would scare anyone out of the contest, he must be sorely disappointed. 

The GOP primary is a 10-person race, and there’s finally a Democrat running, former state senator Lisa Kinney of Laramie.

Gray started running campaign spots even before announcing which office he would seek, and the commercials haven’t stopped.

Whatever TV channel I turn to, Gray is touting his MAGA credentials nonstop. He’s on every half-inning on mlb.com, interrupting my beloved baseball games and ruining the experience. I’m taking it personally.

But Gray’s only part of the story. This promises to be a barnburner of a Republican primary. The field could even get bigger, though it’s more likely some of the lesser-known candidates will drop out for lack of name recognition, money and, most importantly, the endorsement of President Donald Trump.

This could turn into one of the most expensive races in the state’s history. 

Reid Rasner is another high-profile candidate on the airwaves, though his spots pale in quality to Gray’s commercials. Gray has loaned his own campaign $500,000, and Rasner wrote himself a check for $208,500. So far, Frank Chapman of Moran, another House hopeful, tops the personal loan list at $560,000.

A candidate with serious money entered the race on April 2. Steve Friess is the son of GOP donor, investor and philanthropist Foster Friess, who died in 2021. The elder Friess finished second to Mark Gordon — then state treasurer, now governor —  in the 2018 Republican gubernatorial primary.

Steve Friess is probably the only candidate who can “out-MAGA” Gray. In an interview with Cowboy State Daily, he said he helped raise the first million dollars for the Tea Party — MAGA’s predecessor — and also helped launch the late Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA. 

Friess described his political philosophy as “pro-Trump, pro-gun, pro-liberty, and pro-opportunity.”

When I first wrote about this contest four weeks ago, there were six Republicans who had announced their candidacies. Since then four more Republicans threw their hats in the ring: Friess, Chapman, Matt McGinniss of Pinedale and John Romero-Martinez of Cheyenne.

Kinney wants to face whichever one of the 10 hopefuls wins. She could have some competition within her party, but Kinney may get a free pass to the general election.

On her website Kinney said she wants to stop federal overreach into Wyoming public lands, reform Immigration and Customs Enforcement, stop wars and support the U.S. Constitution, rule of law and democracy.

Meanwhile, in the Republican primary, much of the focus so far has been about supporting the policies of President Donald Trump. That’s likely because his endorsement could prove influential for GOP primary voters.

In the past, Trump has said nice things about Gray and Biteman, state Senate president, and endorsed both in the elections for the positions they now hold. Trump also has ties to the Friess family and endorsed Foster Friess when he ran for governor. Still, the president has yet to weigh in on this year’s House race.

If Gray doesn’t win Trump’s endorsement, I hope someone breaks it to him gently. He’s carried thousands of gallons of water for the president since he was in the Legislature. If there was an award for Wyoming’s top sycophant to Trump, Gray would win hands down.

With four months before the primary, Trump’s popularity is sagging nationally. The president has a propensity for extremely weird and dangerous behavior: He started a highly unpopular war against Iran, weaponized the Department of Justice to punish his enemies, and bulldozed the White House’s East Wing so he can build a gigantic ballroom as a monument to himself.

Trump’s mental and physical health are rapidly deteriorating; everyone can see it but millions ignore it. He posts daily threats to Iran on Truth Social, including the monstrous declaration that “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.” On Monday, he angered even members of his base when he posted an image that appeared to depict him as Jesus, causing some of his supporters to accuse him of blasphemy before he took it down.

Still, his endorsement could have a major impact on the race, at least according to recent history. In 2021, several Republican candidates, including Gray, halted their campaigns for the same House seat now up for grabs after Trump endorsed Hageman to take on then-incumbent Rep. Liz Cheney. I may never understand why Republican candidates everywhere say, “This is the guy I must get to endorse me,” but for now, Wyoming Republicans will still do whatever they can do to earn Trump’s backing, even if it means supporting policies that ultimately hurt the residents of this state.