The Wyoming Republican Party filed a federal lawsuit Thursday challenging the constitutionality of a state law that prohibits political parties from financially backing one of their candidates over another until primary voters decide on a nominee.
The long-anticipated suit comes two months before a hotly contested primary election where party officials want the freedom to endorse certain Republicans.
“The Wyoming Republican Party brings this suit to protect its First Amendment Rights of free speech and free association,” the complaint states.
It is a misdemeanor for a political party to expend any party funds “directly or indirectly in the aid of the nomination of any one person as against another person of the same political party running in the primary election,” according to state law.
“This unconstitutionally censors the WYGOP,” the complaint states.
At the party’s state convention in April, GOP Chairman Bryan Miller announced the organization was mounting such a legal challenge, which coincides with newly adopted party bylaws that establish a framework to vet, endorse and financially back Republican candidates ahead of the primary.
For several years, the Wyoming Republican Party has argued that because it is a private group, state laws ought not to govern its organizational structure and internal business. Opponents, meanwhile, say the organization can’t ignore the law, particularly since the party has public duties such as filing vacancies in elected offices like secretary of state or schools superintendent.
The dispute has resulted in several court cases and more than one controversy. Just last week, a judge ordered the party to follow state law in its local leadership elections. Thursday’s federal lawsuit is the latest development.
Historically, the party would back whichever Republican won in the primaries. But more recently, the party has been more selective in supporting candidates after they’ve won in August. The party, for example, only donated to certain Republican nominees ahead of the 2024 general election, according to campaign finance data.
Now, as the lawsuit describes, the party “would like to contribute amounts determined by its leadership to one Republican candidate in various competitive, opposed primaries whom the party determines is most aligned with the WYGOP’s platform.”
“But this is prohibited by [state law,]” the complaint states.
The party also says it would like to spend money publishing and distributing voter guides ranking and expressly endorsing candidates based on their alignment with the GOP platform. It also seeks to publish that guide online.
Those actions are currently illegal, the lawsuit states, but such statutes are unconstitutional.
“The State of Wyoming has no compelling interest in preventing a political party from expressing a preference among its own primary candidates or in dictating how a political party allocates its private funds among such candidates,” the complaint states.
The law also burdens the party’s associational rights by displacing its “internal decisions about how to support its preferred candidates with a state imposed rule of neutrality during the primary,” the party argues.
The complaint points to a recent example highlighted by WyoFile in 2024, when a political action committee affiliated with the Wyoming Freedom Caucus returned thousands of dollars to the Crook County GOP after an election-code complaint was filed.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday, names Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray as a defendant in his official capacity as the chief elections officer.
Speaking at a Thursday night meeting of the Park County Republican Party in Cody, Gray told the group to not be alarmed that he’s named as the defendant in the GOP’s suit.
“We’re technically adverse in this action, but that happens all the time when you have enforcement officers over certain sections of the code,” Gray said, adding, “I appreciate that the GOP is challenging chapter four of the election code. I think that’s very important that we get clarification on this issue.”
CJ, staff writer for the Powell Tribune, contributed to this reporting.
When Bryan Miller was chairman of the Sheridan County Republican Party he instigated a lawsuit against the county commissioners continuing even after the issue was settled. The lawsuit faceplanted and he never explained who funded the lawsuit. It wasn’t the party. He seems just as fuzzy explaining the current lawsuit funding.
The next step should logically be to eliminate primaries. Have a state party convention and have the delegates, selected by precincts, districts, whatever, choose the candidates for each office. No need for an expensive election, and it just might, encourag’e local voters to get out and participate in shaping the party’s policies. Didn’t most states do this in the past?
Additionally, caucuses would eliminate the need for primaries. Iowa famously uses this practice.
The freedom caucus depends on low voter turnout for success and believes they are the sole arbiters of defining what being a Republican means.
Wow. The party of law and order sure has issues with rules.
You kind of missed the fact that only two states have this kind of control over political parties. A US Supreme Court decision in the late ’80s said these laws were unconstitutional and most states complied. Wyoming has had theirs on the books but has never been challenged until now. Also, the Wy statues say nothing about “endorsing” primary candidates only providing financial support. In addition, the endorsing of a candidate in the primary does not mean endorsing any candidate for a particular office but only saying that the party believes a certain republication candidate reflects most of the Party’s platform and values. Ride for the brand. All candidates or none could be “endorsed.” if you’re running under the Republican banner, support the party’s values.
Hopefully they win this. It will save the state and counties a fortune. The political parties act as an agent of the state in primary process which is way it is publicly funded. If they are a totally independent entity and able to ignore the prohibition about state employees endorsing candidates then we should not be using public funds to pay for their club elections. They also should not be allowed to pick you is considered to fill vacant offices. Anyone from that party interested should submit their name directly to the County Commission or Governor and the should select from that list. Either they are an agent of the state and subject to state law or a private club, they can’t be both.
Exactly! Thanks, Mr. Harris.
When the state pays for primaries, the state gets to make the rules.
So you believe the state should control political parties? Isn’t that fascism?
No I think the state should either not fund private organizations per the Wyoming Constitution (remember that document) or eliminate partisan primaries all together.
“political parties act as an agent of the state in primary process which is way (sic) it is publicly funded.” Parties are in no way “agents” of the state. The elections are publically funded because the state is charged with running elections including all parties. “prohibition about state employees endorsing candidates” party members are not state employees, they are private citizens. Elected officials are also not “state employees” and they can endorse anyone they want. Your statements are substantially wrong in fact and theory.
Why would anyone vote Republican. Nothing but a bunch of grifters, fascists, and outright crooks. The Democrats are at least a little better. I’ve never seen a fiscally responsible Republican when it comes to themselves. They are the king of grifting.
Just shows how disgusting and corrupt the republican party has become.