I’ve been in Cheyenne for weeks now, representing House District 39 in the Wyoming Legislature. Late nights and long days voting to defend our kids, our elderly, our quality of life, our roads, young mothers, our legacy industries, our water funding and our position in coal and resource management plan litigation. That’s the job. That’s the responsibility. And that’s what the people of Wyoming sent us here to do.
Opinion
I was born and raised in this great state. Wyoming shaped me under these wide-open skies. It taught me my first lessons. It let me make my first mistakes. It showed me what hard work looks like and what it means to stand by your neighbors. Here, a handshake still matters. Here, community still means something. Here, we care for one another. That’s what it means to be a Wyomingite.
That’s why I find myself increasingly concerned by a growing tone in our Legislature suggesting Wyoming is broke and needs to be “saved.”
We don’t.
In recent years, members of the Freedom Caucus have embraced what feels like a governing philosophy built on a single word: “No.”
No to funding.
No to investment.
No to maintaining commitments.
No to defending our industries strategically.
No to supporting the services that keep our communities strong.
“No” cannot be the only governing philosophy.
We are told that endless cuts define conservatism. I disagree.
Conservatism, as I understand it, means stewardship. It means protecting what works. It means investing wisely in the infrastructure and industries that sustain us. It means defending Wyoming’s interests in court when federal overreach threatens our coal, our water or our land-use authority.
It does not mean dismantling our capacity to function.
Wyoming sits on a significant surplus. That did not happen by accident. It is the result of responsible management and the strength of Wyoming’s legacy industries. However, having ample financial resources while refusing to use them to maintain roads, fund water projects, support counties and defend our economic backbone is not fiscal discipline.
It’s neglect.
Roads do not maintain themselves. Water systems do not repair themselves. Counties cannot shoulder unfunded mandates indefinitely and our industries cannot fight federal battles without state support.
I am not an isolationist. Everyone comes from somewhere. Many who now serve in the Legislature moved from other states. That’s part of the American story. Wyoming welcomes people who value freedom, hard work and community.
But if you choose Wyoming, then love Wyoming.
Respect our way of doing things. Understand that local communities often know best. Recognize that our culture was built over generations by ranchers, miners, teachers, small business owners and families who weathered booms and busts alike. We are not interested in importing dysfunction. Nor are we interested in being told that everything we’ve built is insufficient.
Wyoming is not broken.
We are the Last Best Place.
That doesn’t mean avoiding tough conversations. It doesn’t mean reckless spending. It doesn’t mean rejecting reform. It means governing with steadiness instead of slogans. It means measuring twice before cutting once. It means investing where it matters: in our children, our elderly, our infrastructure and the industries that create opportunity for the next generation.
The decisions we make today will echo long after we leave these seats. They will shape not only our children’s future but their children’s as well.
Wyoming does not need saving by the Freedom Caucus or otherwise.
What we need is leadership that believes in Wyoming. Leadership that understands its role is stewardship, not mandating. Leadership that understands our strength. Leadership that knows this state is worth defending, worth investing in and worth preserving for generations to come.
That is the Wyoming I know.
And that is the Wyoming I will continue to fight for.
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Rep. Wylie,
Good to hear some common sense coming from a Republican. The MAGA Retrumplican bunch is turning myself and others into Independents. I hope you can convince some of your fellow legislators that many of us want our environment and wildlife protected. Also remind them that around 200 years ago we were the aliens of a different color. Thanks, Scott Johnson
Thank you for the excellent opinion piece, Rep. Wylie. I could not agree more.
Responsible management….. hypocrisy. When one votes to manage a woman’s womb they have zero credibility for any other position they take. If you cannot trust a US Citizen to make a decision about her own body without interference from the State, then any other position you take lacks any credibility.
Rep. Wylie you have no right to manage your neighbor’s womb, yet you vote for the power of the State to do something you would not be man enough to do by yourself. You are voting for tyranny when you cast your vote for this bill.
https://www.wyoleg.gov/Legislation/2026/HB0126
Thank you for speaking out in this way Rep. Wylie. Everyone hoping to put an end to this sad Freedom Caucus era needs to make sure they are registered to vote in the Republican Party primary by May 13, 2026–the new registration date pushed through in 2023 by the Freedom Caucus.
You use the term “reckless spending” but what is so often lost is the concept of “reckless austerity.” Reckless austerity is when saving a dime costs you a dollar, when failure to invest in the state costs us dearly in the not so long run.
Bless your heart, Rep. Wylie, but we’re already shin deep in vague platitudes and western idioms, and they haven’t done squat for this state. The reality is that WY’s ruling party (even pre-freedom caucus) has lacked any vision for our state’s future that doesn’t look like its past. It will be a dark day in Wyoming when our nation’s energy industry catches up to the rest of the world. Go Pokes!
Amen brother. The current House “leadership” does seem to be really good at saying “NO” to pretty much everything but $1500.00. Maybe we should re-brand the ol’ five-&-dime FC as the new and improved “Fifteen-hundred Club”.
Thank you, Representative Wylie. We need more of this type of common sense in our legislature. Thank you for your service to our communities.
Thank you Rep Wylie—-I wish that my own local representatives believed as you do that Wyoming does not need to be “fixed” by the agendas of gazillionaires and their dark money cohort. I would even go one step further, and suggest that in the recent past, in the memory of everyone reading this, the United States of America was not considered “broken” and did not need to be “fixed”. In fact our country was one to be proud of. In our 250 year quest to form a more perfect union, our human rights, rule of law, and environmental leadership were creeping, albeit slowly and in fits and starts, in the direction of truth. I hope to live long enough to see our moral arc bend back to this course.
Thanks for this opinion Cody. It’s refreshing to hear what a true Republican sounds like again and not the continuous, abrasive caterwauling of the MAGA right.
Keep up the good fight sir. You might want to consider running against Gray and Rasner for Hageman’s house seat. The last thing Wyoming needs is either one of those two Trump sycophants in Washington since we’re about to lose one with Lummis retiring.
Well said Rep. Wylie. I saw this coming a few of years ago when the FC started gaining traction. I ran for the House to do my part to try to slow the FC movement. Unfortunately, due to our incumbent losing in the primaries I had to petition to get on the general ballot and was identified as an “Independent”. Unfortunately, in my District, if you don’t have an “R” by your name on the ballot, you aren’t electable. Regrettably, the winning opponent has, as predicted become a lapdog for the FC faction.
As a lifelong Republican it saddens me deeply to see what our stalwart Republican, (and Democratic) legislators created back when they truly had a budget CRISIS, not a crisis constructed of false rhetoric being promoted by the FC faction. The actions of the FC led JAC flies in the face of what their predecessor’s thoughtfully and with great foresight put in motion.
I urge everyone to go to the polls in August, even if it means “crossing over” and vote to change the direction of the legislature back to a body of the people and not the body of power and politics.
Many thanks for sharing your concerns and fears Cody. Let’s hope a few of the “Senator No’s” will listen and resist tearing at the very fabric of what makes Wyoming a great place to live, work and raise a family. As a UW grad I’m shocked at what this No cult is doing to the school’s budget.
Wise words from Representative Wylie. It’s time for our legislators to address the real needs of Wyomingites as housing, food, and healthcare are unaffordable, wages are too low, and corporations have too much power in our lives, especially insurance and pharmaceuticals. Investing in people is never the wrong thing to do. The payback will be a stronger, healthier and happier Wyoming.
Thank you! I do hope your viewpoint prevails in the legislature. Anytime I see an organization touting freedom or liberty, I know that organization is actually in the business of restricting the same.
Quite right, Rep. Wylie. “No” is indeed not a management strategy. Among other things we need to say “yes” to is maintaining funding for Wyoming Public Radio, a literal lifeline for many Wyomingites who depend upon it for news and weather and a true joy for all of us.
Thank you for elegantly saying what I have been thinking since the freedom caucus appeared in Wyoming politics.
Representative Cody Wylie for Governor!
The Wyoming you represent and describe is the one for us!
I wish our legislature was filled with Cody Wylies.