Here’s where the Republican candidates for Wyoming governor diverge on policy

In less than three weeks, Wyoming voters will cast their ballots in the Aug. 18 primary election and effectively decide who will be the state’s next governor. 

Four candidates are seeking the Republican nomination including Sen. Eric Barlow, Col. Brent Bien, Curt Blake of Centennial and Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder. Because of Wyoming’s Republican dominance, the primary election winner is expected to prevail in November’s general election. (Gov. Mark Gordon collected nearly 75% of the vote in the 2022 general election.)

The four Republicans overlap on several policy issues, but distinctions between them have emerged. Degenfelder is largely running on President Donald Trump’s endorsement, while Barlow is concentrating on protecting public lands and Bien is championing a property tax initiative he worked to get on November’s ballot. Blake, who has opted out of traditional campaigning, is the one Republican in the race who opposes abortion bans.

For many months now, the gubernatorial hopefuls have traveled the far corners of state for parade-day appearances, meet and greets with voters, as well as forums, debates and gatherings with local business owners, industry leaders and community organizers. But for the average voter, parsing out candidates’ policy positions from campaign platitudes is not always an easy task.

WyoFile identified several policy areas where the candidates diverge by comparing their responses in our election guide, comments at forums and other reporting. 

Healthcare

In the spring, WyoFile asked readers to rank issues that are important to them, and healthcare costs and access topped the list. As part of WyoFile’s 2026 election guide, candidates were asked what they would do as governor to make healthcare more affordable and accessible to Wyomingites. 

In her answer, Degenfelder said her top priorities would include 1) focusing on the workforce pipeline and incentivizing providers to be in Wyoming; 2) creating greater regional coordination, including special services, community care coordination, EMS and electronic records streamlining; 3) expanding telehealth; and 4) working to reduce the overall cost in healthcare while bringing down premiums.

“As a cancer survivor with a husband in the medical field and a mother who was lost far too soon due to access to necessary care, this is something I care about deeply,” Degenfelder wrote. 

In his answer, Barlow wrote, “beginning the day after the primary, I will use the relationships I have built across Wyoming to assemble a healthcare strike team so we can act on day one to get results.”

“There are many dedicated folks to take this on, and I welcome their ideas,” he said. 

Barlow also said he would start “with clear policy goals,” including working to “attract and support more providers; strengthen rural hospitals and clinics; support EMS; expand behavioral health capacity; improve telehealth; maintain price transparency; and invest in training pathways for healthcare professionals.”  

Bien wrote in his response that he would “focus on the needs of the patient and the patient/doctor relationship” and that he would consider several things like supporting all levels of healthcare education in the community college system, reducing “the bureaucracy (red tape) where able,” and pursuing “tort reform in an effort to reduce malpractice premiums that are typically passed on to the patient.” 

Bien, who spearheaded a ballot initiative to cut property taxes that voters will decide on in November, also wrote that he would “prioritize meaningful tax relief for Wyoming families, and the sustainability of our critical local healthcare infrastructure.” 

“Any relief must be paired with efficiency, accountability, and smart funding strategies,” Bien wrote. 

Property taxes fund 14 hospital districts across the state and were among the hundreds of entities that experienced tax revenue declines last year after the Legislature created a 25% exemption on certain residential properties. 

Blake did not provide responses for WyoFile’s election guide. 

In June, Bien, Barlow and Degenfelder participated in a panel as part of a healthcare policy summit in Laramie. 

Moderator Samin Dadelahi, president and CEO of the Wyoming Community Foundation, asked the trio about Rural Health Transformation Program funds. As part of President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the large infusion of federal dollars over the next five years is intended to bolster healthcare in rural states like Wyoming where adequate emergency care, hospital viability and workforce development are challenges. 

In its application to the feds, the state had proposed establishing a perpetuity fund via a system of investments intended to generate revenue for Wyoming healthcare programs indefinitely. However, the perpetuity fund was struck from the final plan. 

“Without a long-term funding mechanism, any improvements we make with this investment will likely disappear when the federal dollars run out,” Dadelahi told candidates during the panel. “Would you commit as governor to championing a state-funded sustainability mechanism, such as a perpetuity fund, to preserve those gains?”

Degenfelder said she favors public-private partnerships “and how we bring all of these different funding mechanisms together.”

“That’s how our most successful start, and so I think that is absolutely the discussion we need to have — is how do we actually make this long-term funding?” she said. “And so yes, I’m committed to that discussion.” 

Bien said he would consider both its “effectiveness and suitability” and pointed to the state’s rainy day fund, which is consistently ranked as the nation’s largest state reserve as a share of its operating costs. 

“If there’s a way to do it to where we can diversify some of the funds we already have, because we do. I mean, we do a pretty good job at actually setting things up and then earning interest over time to pay for certain things. And I don’t have a problem with that,” Bien said. “But you know, it does come down to the tax burden on everyday Wyoming Americans.”

Barlow gave the most direct answer to the question. 

“Yes,” he said. 

Data centers

Wyoming is home to dozens of data center proposals. As part of WyoFile’s 2026 election guide, candidates were asked who should decide on the fate of such proposals and what role the governor should play. 

“The people and the free market should decide,” Bien wrote in his answer, adding that a state tax cut for data centers should be repealed.

“Large corporations should not receive tax cuts that are unavailable to small businesses,” Bien wrote. 

In 2021, former lawmaker Clark Stith brought a bill to repeal data center tax exemptions, but it died in committee when then Reps. Chuck Gray, Tim Hallinan, Mark Jennings, Pat Sweeney and Mike Yin voted it down. 

As a member of the State Loan and Investment Board, Bien wrote that he would “oppose the further development of AI data centers in Wyoming particularly on state And [sic] agricultural lands.” 

More recently, Bien said in a statement on his Facebook that his campaign was being targeted for criticism because he’s “the only candidate against data centers running for Governor of Wyoming.” 

In his answer, Barlow wrote “data center proposals should be decided locally by the communities that will live with them.” 

“The state’s role is to protect water resources from misuse, prevent higher electricity rates, and help communities get truthful information if needed to make those decisions,” Barlow wrote. 

“Wyoming knows how to do hard things,” he wrote. “We have spent generations balancing development with land, water, private property, and local concerns. The same industries where we have learned that balance can help power data centers.”

In her answer, Degenfelder also wrote “the governor has a responsibility to protect our lands, water, ratepayers, personal property rights, and communities.” 

She also outlined “rules” that data centers would “have to play by” in Wyoming, including supplying or paying for its own electricity, operating on a closed-loop cooling system, not drawing from the state’s water supply, prioritizing local workers and contributing to the workforce-education pipeline. 

“You must be welcomed by your host community. Period,” she wrote.

Abortion 

Blake told WyoFile earlier this month that he does not support bans on abortion, which remains legal in Wyoming despite several legislative attempts to curtail or prohibit it. 

“I’ve never known or understood why it was anybody’s business except for the person making the decision,” Blake said. “Whether it’s right or wrong, I don’t think that that’s for me to judge. We’re supposed to live in a country where you have free choice. 

Barlow, Bien and Degenfelder, meanwhile, are opposed to abortion but split when it comes to making exceptions, such as in cases of rape, incest or the health of the mother. 

In June, the three candidates participated in a forum hosted by the Wyoming Family Alliance, a Christian advocacy group based in Cheyenne. 

Moderator Nathan Winters, a former lawmaker and president of the alliance, asked the candidates if they agreed that “abortion is the intentional act of ending the life of another human being while in the womb” and whether they “support any exceptions to legal protection for unborn children.” 

“Absolutely this is accurate, and that’s why I can’t accept any exception when it comes to life,” Degenfelder said, adding that “this is spiritual warfare that we have going on right now.” 

Barlow said he “absolutely” agreed with Winters’ statement but noted the times as a legislator he has supported abortion ban legislation that included exceptions. 

“Since 2022, the Wyoming Legislature has taken up numerous efforts and I’ve been a part of those to advance this absolute viewpoint,” he said. “Now, in some of those were exceptions because in the legislative process you actually have to bring people on board.” 

Barlow pointed back to 2025, when Sen. Larry Hicks accused Barlow of not being sufficiently opposed to abortion. He brought a motion to strip Barlow of his committee chairmanship. After 28 of the Senate’s 31 members rejected Hicks’ motion, Hicks made a Senate-floor apology. 

“And folks that have questioned my record, even on the Senate floor, have found themselves having to say, ‘Oop, not so fast,’” Barlow said. 

Earlier this year, Barlow voted in favor of Sen. Tim Salazar’s bill that would have put the question of abortion in the hands of voters. It failed an introductory vote. 

Bien says he doesn’t support making certain exceptions to an abortion ban. 

“I completely agree with the statement and I unequivocally support zero, no exceptions all the way across the board for this,” Bien said at the forum. 

Bien, a retired Marine Corps colonel, said his view was shaped by an experience he had while serving overseas. 

“It was a 6-year-old child. You know, this kid gets shot in the head. I was over in Iraq at the time. We were trying to get this kid down to Baghdad in the middle of the night and he bled out,” Bien said. 

“And there was something about that that made me absolutely resolute,” he said. 

Public libraries 

At a debate in Dubois hosted by the Wyoming Republican Party in June, Barlow, Bien and Degenfelder were asked about public library book policies. 

Joining a nationwide movement of social conservatives who say sexually explicit content, mostly in books written for young LGBTQ+ readers, is inappropriate, some Republican lawmakers have sought out statewide policies to regulate the children’s section of public libraries. The most recent effort stalled in March in the Wyoming Senate.

“A lot of discussion has been had about inappropriate books in libraries,” John Birbari with the Fremont County GOP told candidates. “What do you intend to do to make sure age-appropriate material is located in its appropriate places?”

Barlow described recent legislative attempts as “big government telling local communities and parents what their kids and children have access to.”

“Look, I have no interest. I don’t even like — I don’t even like pornography. I don’t look at that stuff. No interest in it. I sure as hell don’t want young people having access to it,” he said. “But I also think that parents and local governments can take that up at the local level and have those conversations.” 

Degenfelder, who has served as superintendent of public instruction since 2022, highlighted the book policy she worked with stakeholders to develop to guide school districts in shaping their own policies for producing or restricting books. However, Degenfelder expressed support for a top-down approach at the forum. 

“It is unacceptable to have sexually explicit materials in taxpayer-funded libraries. Period,” she said. 

Bien said he supports a statewide policy “because it is completely unsatisfactory to have these kinds of things in our schools,” and argued that people, not entities like libraries, have freedom of speech.” 

While the primary election is Aug. 18, early voting is already underway. 

For more information about candidates in Wyoming’s federal, state and legislative races, check out WyoFile’s 2026 Election Guide.