‘True’ conservatives, public lands, data centers top issues for Wyoming primary election voters

RIVERTON—There wasn’t a single issue or race that spurred Harold Johnson to cast his ballot at the Fremont County Fairgrounds, but rather a set of values that he said shaped his decisions. 

These include small government, authentic conservatives and budget cutting — the same core values he always votes on. As for how he determines which GOP candidates in crowded primary-election races are genuine articles, he said, one thing’s for sure. 

“I don’t believe what the mailers say,” he said. 

Johnson, like many Wyoming voters, has been fishing stacks of political fliers and attack ads out of his mailbox all summer. Some voters told WyoFile they don’t give much credence to those mailers and door hangers — or the incessant text messages that have become part of the primary campaign cycle. 

Instead, he said, he did his own homework to assess which candidates most align with his vision of ideal government. 

The definition of a true conservative was top of mind for many in this red state during Tuesday’s primary election, which underscores growing tensions in the Republican party between the hard-line Freedom Caucus and more moderate colleagues considered the “old guard” of the GOP.

The caucus aims to build on its victorious 2024 election season, when it won control of the Wyoming House. Several caucus members and allies are pursuing Senate seats. The Senate thwarted some of the caucus’ priorities during the most recent legislative session such as cuts to the University of Wyoming and the Wyoming Business Council. 

And with statewide and congressional campaigns also crowded with Republican candidates — including nine vying for the state’s lone U.S. representative seat — sussing out conservative bona fides was no small feat. Because Wyoming is so dominantly Republican, primary election winners often go on to sweep the general election.

Around Wyoming, voters who cast ballots on everything from mayoral contests to governor and congressional seats also cited public lands, data centers and taxes as motivating factors. Here’s a rundown of what they had to say.

From local to national

Many Wyoming voters were spurred to the polls by issues that will impact their local communities. They spoke of implications to road construction, EMS funding and public safety. 

In Laramie County, voter Carrie Pritchard listed data center water usage as a top concern. 

“Our water table is getting low,” Pritchard said. “We don’t have enough water for the people, for our reservoirs and everything, and [data centers] use a lot of the water.”

In Lander, Danny Kness was most concerned with a local sales and use tax measure that would raise revenue for ambulance systems, commercial air service and public ground transit. 

“The main thing that brought me out was the three-quarter percent tax,” said Kness, who opposes the measure. Taxpayer dollars should not fund private business, he said. 

The tax measure was also significant to Kirsten Brown of Lander, but in a different way; it was one of the main things she wanted to vote yes on. Brown sees the measure as a way to “support and help out our neighbors,” she said.  

For other voters, national issues were dominant. That was the case for Laurie Jenkins, one of the first at her polling station in Teton County, who said public lands were chief among her issues.  

“They’re foundational to everything I have worked for and believe in,” the former National Park Service employee said. She had 40 years of experience with the agency before she left her post.

In Casper, 63-year-old Kenny Mayer also paid close attention to candidates’ stances on public lands. The avid bowhunter and fisherman favored those who will “protect our public lands and not sell them out to big corporations,” he said. 

Fealty to the Trump administration guided the decisions of a Riverton voter who declined to give her name. Her main hope was to see the national status quo maintained, she said. 

“I definitely want the country to go forward with the Trump agenda,” she said. “I want the Trump agenda to succeed.” 

Other voters were hopeful their votes could help defeat candidates they didn’t like. 

“I won’t vote for Gray,” said Louise Kranz, 89, outside of the polls in Riverton, referring to Republican U.S. House candidate and current Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray. After all, she noted, he is from California. 

“And I won’t vote for Friess,” said Sandy Wilder, who was accompanying Kranz. She was referring to one of Gray’s competitors in the U.S. House race, Republican Steve Friess. Friess, Wilder noted, is from Jackson, which is “the California of Wyoming.”

Some old, some new

Issues that have long mattered to Wyoming voters, like energy, education and the Second Amendment, still carry weight. 

For Casper voter Michael Broyles, education was top of mind. As a band teacher at Kelly Walsh High School and a father of four young children, Broyles is concerned not only about funding cuts to education, but what he sees as politicians who don’t value public schools or the teaching profession in general.

“Lately, the Wyoming state government has made a lot of cuts to education and funding for various things through the Freedom Caucus,” Broyles said. “So one of my biggest priorities as a voter today was to try to eliminate as many of those Freedom Caucus members as possible and try to get people in office that support educators and schools.”

Barbara Cardenas of Riverton, meanwhile, said she wants to see little to no government interference.

“I just sit home and mind my own business,” she said. Ideally, she said, elected officials would let her be.

This story was produced with reporting from WyoFile staff in Casper, Cheyenne, Lander, Jackson and Laramie.