As candidates spend big, one out-of-state group injects $370K into Wyoming’s primaries

Wyoming campaign costs are soaring as two factions of the Wyoming Republican Party vie for control of the statehouse. At the same time, a national political action committee has poured roughly $370,000 into the state’s politics this year.

Legislative hopefuls in competitive races have already spent tens of thousands of dollars leading up to Tuesday’s primary, according to recent filings. In some instances, though, their campaigns are facing stiff competition — or significant help — from federal political action committees that are now required to report their spending in Wyoming.

That includes the Virginia-based PAC Make Liberty Win , which has spent about $370,000 both supporting and attacking state politicos. Some of its mailers have spread misinformation — including the wrong dates for early voting.

More outside funding could spur the need for even more in-state funding to combat it. As the high cost of becoming a moderately paid , part-time legislator balloons, some are urging lawmakers to strengthen the guardrails on the campaign finance system.

Make Liberty Win

In 2023, lawmakers passed Senate File 40 – Federal political action committees-reports , which required federal PACs spending money on state and local races to report those expenditures to the secretary of state.

“National PACs that engage in federal races must file reports with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), but as of 2023 there was no parallel requirement for them to file at the state level when engaging in state races,” the Equality State Policy Center noted in its report on campaign finance.

The legislation to shore up that loophole went into effect last July.

And this summer, lawmakers started seeing attack mailers making claims they say are false, and even posting an incorrect photo of a lawmaker. Many of them were paid for by the PAC Make Liberty Win.

A Virginia man threatened to sue after the PAC used his face on a mailer for a Wyoming politician of the same name.

Federal Election Commission reports show Make Liberty Win raised about $8.7 million, nearly all coming from Texas donors. No donations were listed from Wyoming.

Now, filings with the Wyoming Secretary of State’s Office show just how much the national PAC is paying to support and attack Wyoming legislators.

For example, it spent $14,600 on mailers opposing Sen. Tara Nethercott (R-Cheyenne) who’s now the sole candidate. It spent another $10,400 on mailers against Wyoming’s longest-serving state lawmaker Sen. Charles Scott (R-Casper). Mailers going after Rep. Tony Niemiec (R-Green River) and Rep. Bill Henderson (R-Cheyenne) cost the PAC more than $9,000 each.

Meantime, it also spent more than $9,000 for mailers supporting candidates like Reps. Bill Allemand (R-Midwest), Jeanette Ward (R-Casper), Tony Locke (R-Casper) and Sen. Jeff Wasserburger (R-Gillette).

And that’s not counting what the PAC spent on phone calls and texts.

To see who they supported or opposed in your district, go here .

Bucks deluxe

Back in 2012, the average cost of a state senate campaign was about $9,000 and a house campaign was less than $7,000, according to analyses by the Equality State Policy Center, a nonprofit group in Wyoming that advocates for fair elections and transparent government. The highest spending races that year were about $30,000.

What was once the exception is now the rule.

In this year’s Senate District 22 race (in northern Wyoming ), if the two candidates spend everything they’ve raised so far — and they’re well on their way — it’ll produce the highest average cost for a Wyoming legislative campaign since records started in 2010, and likely, ever. That’s a week before the primary and months before the general election.

Rep. Barry Crago (R-Buffalo) has raised $81,000 and spent about $61,000, according to his candidate committee’s report to the secretary of state on Wednesday. His opponent Mark Jennings has raised another $34,000 and spent $25,000.

Another big fundraiser is Darin Smith, who’s running in the crowded Republican primary race for Senate District 6 in southeast Wyoming. He was both incumbent Anthony Bouchard’s and former President Donald Trump’s pick for the seat, and he raised about $85,000 — $55,000 of which came from a loan to himself. He’s spent about 60% of it so far. The next highest fundraiser for Senate District 6 is Kim Withers, collecting about $39,000, though no one in the cohort of six candidates has raised less than $10,000.

In fact, as of Wednesday, few politicians in tight primaries have raised less than $10,000 — with more spending and fundraising likely throughout the week. These newly released finance reports can also be updated or changed.

Steps forward

The Equality State Policy Center’s report on how campaign costs were increasing for both state and federal races found a clear and consistent increase across most sectors, even while excluding PACs.

“Expenditures by political candidates and contributions to their campaigns can have an outsized impact on election outcomes, especially in a state like Wyoming, where races can be won with only a handful of votes,” the nonpartisan policy center wrote. “In recent years, campaign spending around the state has risen sharply, especially for a number of contentious seats.”

Policy Director Marissa Carpio said the group has been asked to do another report with this year’s data, which she expects to happen after the general elections. But Carpio says from what she’s seeing so far this year, the trend of increased spending is continuing.

At the same time, the group is advocating for legislators to re-examine campaign finance and clarify its language, she said.

“We actually submitted an interim topic to the Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions Committee, trying to get them to take a look at campaign finance,” she said. “The committee decided to focus on other issues … like electricity, taxation and some big topics, and kind of push the election issues to next year, which makes sense since it is an election year.”

The policy center also recommended that the Wyoming Secretary of State’s Office create an accessible and clear way to report campaign finance violations, that state agencies adopt stronger enforcement policies for those violations and the “Wyoming Legislature dedicates funds to district attorneys to prosecute those who violate the state’s disclosure laws.”

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