Trump uses the phone to boost Degenfelder’s bid for Wyoming governor

For the thousands of people who tuned into President Donald Trump’s telephone rally Thursday afternoon with Megan Degenfelder, his pick for Wyoming’s next governor, listeners heard an abbreviated, virtual version of what has become a core instrument of his political power. 

In place of the usual Trump rally mix of rock, pop and show tunes, the event featured a single anthem when it opened with Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the U.S.A.” From there, the telerally lasted another 15 minutes as the president asked Wyoming — the state that gave him the widest margin of victory in 2024 — to back the Republican candidate he endorsed in January. 

“So get out and vote for Megan Degenfelder,” he said. “And you’re going to be happy. You’re going to say, ‘President Trump gave me a good idea.’ You’ll look back in the years and you’ll say, ‘That was a great, a great choice.’” 

Degenfelder, who now serves as Wyoming’s superintendent of public instruction, is vying for the Republican nomination against Sen. Eric Barlow of Gillette, Col. Brent Bien of Cody and Curt Blake of Centennial, who is running a “word-of-mouth” campaign. 

Barlow, Bien and Degenfelder each have their own edge in the race. While Trump endorsed Degenfelder before she even announced her campaign, the Wyoming Republican Party endorsed Bien in July. Barlow, meanwhile, released internal polling two weeks ago that shows him with a comfortable lead. 

The Republican nominee will face Democratic candidate Kenneth Casner of Casper and Constitution Party candidate Rebecca Bextel of Jackson in November’s general election, though Bextel has said she is running as an “insurance policy” against Barlow and would drop out if he loses in the primary to either Degenfelder or Bien. 

“Campaigns have different priorities,” Barlow wrote in a statement. “Nearly 12 months ago, I committed to showing up, listening, and earning Wyomingites’ support, community by community. Last night, that meant knocking doors in Cheyenne and sharing root beer floats with neighbors at a local park. We’ll finish this campaign the same way we started it, by having respectful conversations with the people of Wyoming.”

Cheryl Aguiar, Bien’s campaign manager, wrote in a statement, “we didn’t even watch it,” referring to the telerally.

“Our focus is on the campaign and Brent’s plan to move Wyoming forward,” she wrote. “Brent and all of the thousands of supporters remain confident in Brent’s message and the support we are seeing across the state as we head towards the primary.” 

Over the years, Trump’s support for early voting has wavered — sometimes encouraging and criticizing the practice at the same event. Absentee voting, which accounts for both mail-in and early voting in Wyoming, is popular among residents. At least 45% of the state’s registered voters cast their ballots absentee in the most recent election. 

Trump encouraged it Thursday.

“Early voting is happening right now, and it ends on Monday, Aug. 17,” he said. “So you have just 11 days to go out and vote early, and you can also vote on Election Day.”

Degenfelder thanked the president for his support and told listeners what she sees as the stakes of the governor’s race. 

“We have a very important decision to make in this election. Will we go along to get along? Will we play nice and comfortably manage our decline? That’s what Colorado did, and look where they are now,” Degenfelder said. “Or will we stand up, push back, challenge the status quo, and fight for what we know is right, even when it’s unpopular?”

About 20,600 people tuned in Thursday, according to Degenfelder’s campaign, which is about twice as many as attended Trump’s 2022 in-person rally in Casper when he backed Harriet Hageman against Liz Cheney. It’s not clear how many at the telerally were registered Wyoming voters, but according to Degenfelder’s campaign, most who joined the rally answered a call inviting them to attend rather than dialing in.  

At the end of the call, listeners were asked to participate. 

“Can President Trump count on your vote in the primary election for governor for Meghan Degenfelder?” a moderator asked. “Press one for yes. Press two for no. Press three for undecided.”

Slightly more than three-fourths pressed one for yes, according to Degenfelder’s campaign, while 10% answered no and 14% said they were undecided. 

Trump hosted his first telerally in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic made holding large, in-person campaign rallies more difficult. His company applied to trademark “telerally,” which the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ultimately rejected because the word is merely descriptive. Regardless, Trump’s telerallies have stuck around. This midterm election, he’s hosted telerallies in states like Georgia, Kansas, Alabama, South Carolina and Louisiana. Most of those candidates went on to win their primary elections, but a few lost their bids for nomination. 

A Trump endorsement is potent in Wyoming, but how potent during this election remains to be seen. What does the telerally and its timing indicate? Potentially several things, Jim King, a retired University of Wyoming political professor, told WyoFile on Friday.  

“The race may be close,” King said, adding that he’s not seen any independent polling and is unsure of where the candidates stand relative to one another. 

“We are also entering this stretch with just a couple more weeks left, and so candidates want to double down,” he said. “They want to make sure that they’re out there before the voters.”

A telerally may not generate the same spectacle as an in-person gathering, King said, but news outlets across the state are still writing about it. 

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.