Fun times ahead for Wyoming’s GOP US House race

When state Senate President Bo Biteman last week became the sixth Republican candidate running to fill U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman’s shoes, it transformed a potentially boring race into one that’s a lot more fun to watch.

When I call it fun, I don’t mean the U.S. House hopefuls or Wyoming voters will have a jolly good time. Without question, they won’t.

But it should be entertaining to watch five of the candidates battle to out-grovel each other to win the blessing of President Donald Trump, unless he blurts out his endorsement before the official candidate filing period, which could happen.

If it does, look for most of the others to jump ship and seek another office. 

Wyoming remains Trump Country, even though historians in the waning days of the 21st century will be befuddled when they try to understand why a twice-impeached president who started an unpopular war with Iran, and lied about almost every issue he campaigned on in 2024, could hold so much sway over voters here.

Biteman is conservative but not over-the-top MAGA. In his campaign announcement, the senator said, “Wyoming needs a proven America First leader who will turn President Trump’s vision into real results for our state.” 

That doesn’t come close to the ring-kissing loyalty to Trump that’s a hallmark of the first candidate to announce his run for the House seat. Secretary of State Chuck Gray is a 2020 election denier who offered free showings of “2000 Mules,” the debunked documentary about how the election was supposedly rigged.

Gray has tried to tie himself to Trump’s coattails since his aborted first run for Congress in 2021. He dropped out when Trump hand-picked Hageman as the successor to U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, one of the few Republicans who stood up to him.

Gray moved on, defeating state Sen. Tara Nethercott of Cheyenne in the Republican secretary of state primary by claiming Wyoming lacks election integrity. It was a jaw-dropping statement after Trump won 70% of the vote, but it played well.

Three other candidates are also working to win Trump’s favor. Jillian Balow, twice-elected state superintendent of public instruction before she bailed with a year left to take a similar but appointed job in Virginia, wants voters to know she worked with Trump’s administration to “stop federal funds from supporting radical curricula that belittled our country.”

Reid Rasner, a Casper financial advisor, described himself as “a proud and unapologetic America First conservative who will work with President Trump to deport criminal illegals, get fentanyl out of our communities, stop Democrat extremists and protect what makes Wyoming great.”

David Giralt, a Casper-raised Army veteran who worked in U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis’ office in Washington, D.C., before returning to Wyoming, said he plans to be “Trump’s most reliable vote” in the House after Hageman departs.

The only candidate who hasn’t mentioned Trump in his campaign material is Kevin Christensen, who could use that as a way to separate himself from the field. Like Giralt, he’s an Army veteran from Casper who’s never held public office. 

Christensen’s website describes him as “a fiscal conservative and fierce advocate for individual liberty who values and protects the culture and traditions of Wyoming.” That pretty much sums up how all of his opponents picture themselves.

When Trump endorsed Gray for secretary of state in 2022, he called him “a tremendous warrior for Wyomingites.”  

But the president has also expressed interest in Biteman. Trump told Sheridan radio host Jeff Wallack in 2023 that he would have endorsed Biteman in the 2022 governor’s race if he had opposed Gov. Mark Gordon. Trump also encouraged Biteman to run for the job in 2026.

Biteman won his first state House race in 2016 in a huge upset over incumbent Rosie Berger, who was poised to be the first woman speaker of the House until she lost. Biteman inaccurately portrayed her as anti-gun. 

Biteman, a Ranchester landman, only served one House term before winning a state Senate seat in 2018. He was re-elected in 2022 and became Senate president in 2025, when he collected enough moderate votes to defeat conservative Sen. Larry Hicks of Baggs.

In his first eight years at the Capitol, I viewed Biteman as an abrasive politician who went out of his way to denigrate foes, particularly if they challenged him on his favorite issue, ending crossover voting in primaries so Democrats couldn’t allegedly “steal” elections from conservatives and put moderates like Gordon in office.

But in the past two years, Biteman’s tone and rhetoric changed. He’s shown leadership and fairness, a remarkable contrast with the House Freedom Caucus. During the recent budget session, he led his chamber to tank several far-right House bills and unnecessary spending cuts. 

I’m not surprised Biteman chose the U.S. House race over a gubernatorial match-up against moderate state Sen. Eric Barlow, a former House speaker, and conservative Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder. There were too many ways to lose a split vote against those competitors.

But that doesn’t mean the logjam in the House contest will be easy to overcome. This race reminds me of the nine-person 1994 GOP primary for a nominee to succeed U.S. Rep. Craig Thomas, who moved to the Senate. The winner was Barbara Cubin, a state senator who went on to serve seven terms.

Cubin, the first woman Wyoming sent to the House, was followed by Lummis, Cheney and Hageman. If voters continue to see women as the best candidates for this office, it would obviously improve Balow’s chances.

U.S. House candidates didn’t start blooming until Hageman, four days after Lummis’ bombshell announcement she wouldn’t run for a second term, said she wanted the senator’s job. Six days later, Gray announced his bid for the House.

Until that moment, Gray had been running TV commercials asking voters to elect him. He just didn’t say what office he was seeking.

Balow announced her bid in mid-January, and two days later, Rasner — who had formed a campaign committee to explore running for governor — switched to the House. Giralt and Christensen followed, and Biteman was the final domino to fall, at least so far.

There are several factors to consider about what will appeal to Wyoming voters. Legislative service like Biteman’s doesn’t automatically translate into a better chance to go to Washington. Balow and Gray are the only candidates who’ve won statewide races; the rest of the pack has never held a local, state or federal office.

What about those highly touted Wyoming values all say they’ll defend? Isn’t it more likely that people born here know and possess these values?

Biteman was born in Michigan, and Gray grew up in California. Giralt’s family moved from Florida to Wyoming when he was young. Rasner and Christensen were born in Casper. If there are special points in this category, they go to Balow, a fifth-generation Wyomingite.

I still can’t believe there won’t be a MAGA-loving Freedom Caucus challenger. They’re still on the sidelines, including Rep. John Bear of Gillette and House Speaker Chip Neiman of Hulett.

And won’t any Democrat at least say they’re interested? The Democrats haven’t held this office since 1978.

Believe it or not, it’s possible for a Democrat to win a major Wyoming election. It took a nasty brawl in the 2002 GOP gubernatorial primary to make winner Eli Bebout vulnerable when Ray Hunkins’ bitter supporters either skipped the general election or switched parties, but it helped put conservative Democrat Dave Freudenthal in office.

Could it happen in this year’s House race? It would be quite a long shot, but Democrats cannot win if they do not play.