It may not have been an election year in Wyoming, but 2025 still had plenty of standout political moments and events.
From rowdy town halls to a new group of Republicans rising to power in the statehouse to legal battles over election laws and abortion restrictions, here’s a look back at some of those stories.
Wyoming Freedom Caucus takes the wheel
In January, the Wyoming Freedom Caucus pitched a new legislative era of “bold policies” guided by “godly principles.”
The group of hard-line Republicans won control of the House in 2024 and this year’s general session marked their first time at the statehouse helm.
The caucus wielded that power in Cheyenne by prioritizing certain bills, pushing back on gubernatorial budget vetoes from the year prior, accusing the governor and other lawmakers of breaking the law and using the House speaker’s “drawer” to unilaterally squash 95 bills.
Meantime, other lawmakers pushed back against the caucus, perhaps most notably when the Senate announced it would not pass a supplemental budget — an unprecedented action in Wyoming.
In the legislative off-season, known as the interim, the Freedom Caucus announced its plans to take inspiration from the Trump administration’s efforts to cut federal jobs and spending by “DOGE-ing” the state budget.
From there, the caucus used the Management Audit Committee to subpoena several local officials and formed a subcommittee to scrutinize the Department of Health, which regularly has the largest budget of any state agency.
More recently, the caucus has pledged to cut spending, citing “pre-pandemic spending levels” as a general target.
Election laws and litigation
Lawmakers filed a whopping 45 bills to remake Wyoming’s elections, accounting for about 8% of all legislation in both the House and the Senate this year.
Just eight of those bills survived to Gov. Mark Gordon’s desk, including one to require residents to provide proof of citizenship and residency when registering to vote. That particular bill, which became law with Gordon’s signature, spurred a federal lawsuit that drew in high-profile attorneys, the Republican National Committee, a coalition of 25 states and Guam and the Trump administration.
A federal court dismissed the case in July, siding with Secretary of State Chuck Gray, who was named as a defendant in his official capacity alongside the state’s 23 county clerks.
In August, Gray and the Freedom Caucus backed the Trump administration’s plans to stop states from using voting machines and mail-in ballots. The exact details of Trump’s plans remain to be seen since no executive order has been issued yet.
In the meantime, lawmakers charged ahead — again — with election reform. Between two committees, legislators voted to sponsor 14 bills tied to elections. Some of those bills were inspired by the upheaval surrounding the Weston County clerk and an initial miscount and subsequent audit in the 2024 general election.
Abortion
Early in the year, lawmakers passed new abortion laws, including one to require a transvaginal ultrasound before taking abortion medication, another to restrict the state’s sole facility that provides in-clinic abortions.
Gordon vetoed the ultrasound bill before lawmakers doubled down and voted to override his veto. However, a state judge halted enforcement of the two new laws in April. Two months later, another judge blocked a third new law that dealt with off-label medications.
At the crux of each of those legal challenges is a 2012 amendment to the Wyoming Constitution, which protects people’s rights to make their own health care decisions.
Whether that amendment makes banning abortion unconstitutional is the central question in litigation related to the state’s two abortion bans, which the Wyoming Supreme Court considered in April. Justices grilled attorneys, but a decision in the case has yet to be published.
Chief Justice Lynne Boomgaarden told WyoFile in October that a ruling would not be expected until the year’s end.
Property taxes
It was another big year for lawmakers seeking to cut residential property taxes. But the House and the Senate didn’t always see eye to eye.
While firefighters, sheriffs, community colleges and special districts appeared at the Capitol in protest of blanket property tax cuts during the legislative session, the two chambers squared off.
First, the Senate rejected House amendments to a proposal to create a two-year tax break for homeowners, partly on account of confusion over what exactly the lower chamber’s changes did to the bill. And after a deal was allegedly struck, it fell apart with Senate leadership accusing their House counterparts of backing out of an agreement.
Lawmakers ultimately settled on a deal to cut residential property taxes by 25%, resulting in reduced local services in certain parts of the state. Separately, it will be up to voters in next year’s election to decide whether to approve an additional 50% cut.
In June, Sen. Bob Ide, R-Casper, asked legislators to consider an even more sweeping proposal — to amend the Wyoming Constitution to abolish property taxes altogether.
That prompted about two dozen Casper homeowners to attend a legislative committee meeting in August urging lawmakers against further cuts.
In November, the Joint Revenue Committee voted to sponsor one bill to eliminate residential property taxes, another to raise sales taxes to replace the resulting revenue loss.
The measures will be up for consideration by the entire Legislature next year.
In memoriam
In September, the assassination of Charlie Kirk shocked the state, including those in Wyoming who helped the commentator get his start and those who credit him with inspiring their political lives. Kirk’s death also sparked disputes about free speech.
Wyoming also mourned the passing of many who served in elected office, including former U.S. Senator Alan Simpson, former Secretary of State Kathy Karpan, former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, state Rep. John Eklund and former Superintendent of Public Instruction Judy Catchpole.