GREEN RIVER—In Sweetwater County, Republican voters split in electing representatives, sending two incumbents packing and putting incumbent Reps. J.T. Larson and Cody Wylie, both of Rock Springs, back in Cheyenne. Challengers Darin McCann and Marlene Brady will represent Sweetwater County after ousting incumbent Reps. Clark Stith of Rock Springs and Tony Niemiec of Green River, according to complete but unofficial results.

The contests were waged amid a controversy over widely distributed mailings that prompted a defamation lawsuit by Larson and Wylie against the Freedom Caucus’ political action committee. The mailers alleged the pair voted to remove former President Donald Trump from this year’s presidential ballot, but no such vote occurred in the Wyoming Legislature.

“It’s going to be horrible for the state.”

Rep. Tony Niemiec

“I’m kind of saddened, not just for me,” said Niemiec, one of two Sweetwater incumbents upset by the Freedom Caucus tide. “It looks like the Freedom Caucus will be in power in the House.”

He predicted “cuts, cuts, cuts” to the state budget. “It’s going to be horrible for the state,” he said.

Stith, an attorney who represented Larson and Wylie in the defamation suit, said the voters in Sweetwater County wanted a change, in part. He was proud of Larson and Wylie, however. “They fought hard,” he said. “They were attacked mercilessly by out-of-state money, but they prevailed.”

Successful incumbent Rep. Cody Wylie gets a hug from Lisa Ryberg as he eyes the primary results on a big screen in the Sweetwater County Courthouse on Aug. 20, 2024. (Angus M. Thuermer Jr./WyoFile)

Larson said he “stayed on the high ground with integrity woven into the very fabric of my campaign.” Referring to the mailers, he said there’s no room for dishonesty in Wyoming politics. “I am glad the voters were vigilant when they made their choice.”

Wylie called the results “confusing.” When lawmakers meet in Cheyenne next year, “it’s going to be an interesting session,” he said.

Angus M. Thuermer Jr. is the natural resources reporter for WyoFile. He is a veteran Wyoming reporter and editor with more than 35 years experience in Wyoming. Contact him at angus@wyofile.com or (307)...

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  1. Right-wing politicians are interchangeable parts, no matter how nooze peddlers and writers try to conceal that state of affairs. Some are meaner, or better looking, than others, but they are all basically robots.

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  2. I am so sad this morning to see the state of Wyoming politics. I am proud to say I was a Democrat legislator who worked side by side with Republicans for the good of all the people in the state. Though I was a minority in the body, I was proud to be in the legislature. I certainly would not say the same today after months of dirty, out of state efforts to control the Wyoming legislature.

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  3. Mr. Niemiec. Maybe it good thing you were defeated. When you talk like that. You were likely beat by better person. I know neither of these people by the way

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    1. Reply