Jillian Balow, former superintendent of public instruction, announced Tuesday she will run for Wyoming’s sole U.S. House seat.
Balow, a Republican, led the state’s education department from 2015 to 2022.
“Wyoming has a history of sending warriors to Washington, and we need one now,” Balow wrote in a press release. “I am a relentless fighter and fierce champion for Wyoming. I am running to defend Wyoming’s energy economy, protect our constitutional freedoms, and make sure the voices of every Wyoming community are heard loud and clear in Washington.”
Balow is the third Republican to declare a bid for the U.S. House of Representatives. Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray and Reid Rasner, who previously ran for U.S. Senate, have both made announcements in the last few weeks. A Democratic candidate has yet to enter the race.
The seat is currently held by Rep. Harriet Hageman, who announced she would run for U.S. Senate after Sen. Cynthia Lummis abandoned reelection plans in December, choosing instead to retire after the term.
While President Donald Trump has already made endorsements in Wyoming’s senatorial and gubernatorial races, backing Hageman and Megan Degenfelder, respectively, he has not weighed in on the state’s race for U.S. House.
Who’s Balow?
Born in Laramie and raised in Gillette, Balow attended the University of Wyoming, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in education. She also has a master’s degree in education from Regis University.
Before taking public office, Balow served under Gov. Matt Mead as a policy advisor and spent time working as an administrator in both the state’s education agency and the Department of Family Services. She taught in elementary and secondary classrooms for about a decade.
Balow has also worked in the private sector, including a recent position with MetaMetrics, a North Carolina-based education technology firm.
“Throughout her career, Balow has advocated for education reform rooted in accountability, parental empowerment, and choice,” her press release states. “She pairs that work with a firm belief in lower taxes, reduced government spending, small government, and personal responsibility.”
As Wyoming’s education leader, Balow guided the department through the COVID-19 pandemic. Under an Obama-era federal policy that enabled states to set their own education priorities, Balow focused on civics education. In 2018, she ushered in a statewide K-12 computer science education initiative.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin appointed Balow in 2022 as that state’s superintendent of public instruction, “where she focused on parents’ rights, accountability, and returning decision-making to families and local communities,” Balow’s announcement states.
About 14 months into the job, Balow announced that she would resign but remain a consultant for Youngkin’s administration. Her resignation letter did not provide an explanation, according to Virginia Mercury, but followed a $201 million shortfall due to a budgeting error in the education department.
Her tenure in both Virginia and Wyoming was in part characterized by her opposition to critical race theory, an academic study of systemic racism and inequality rooted in the nation’s history that its scholars say helps explain continuing biases and disparities in modern American life.
Balow’s Tuesday announcement touted her stances on issues beyond education.
“Balow runs on a platform that emphasizes reliable domestic energy production, strong support for agriculture and Wyoming’s outdoor heritage, and policies that strengthen families, veterans, and small businesses,” the press release states. “She is a strong supporter of the Second Amendment, and an avid hunter and fisherman, and another with deep ties to agriculture and FFA.”
This is a breaking news story and may be updated.
Sure, let’s add another candidate to this clown car of a race