Election 2024 live: Freedom Caucus gains ground

Wyomingites are voting today for congressional, legislative and local candidates. To help you stay informed, WyoFile will provide live updates here throughout the day. We’ll have up-to-the-minute results around 8 p.m., roughly an hour after polls close.

12:10 a.m. | Freedom Caucus gains ground

Going into Tuesday’s primary election, members and allies of the hard-line Wyoming Freedom Caucus controlled about 26 votes in the 62-member House.

By midnight Tuesday, the caucus had picked up at least three more seats, according to an analysis by WyoFile.

Several races had yet to be called, while the fate of about six contests where Freedom Caucus candidates are running will be determined in November’s general election.

The less cohesive group of hard-line Republicans in the Senate held onto power, while some traditional Republicans made in-roads such as Rep. Barry Crago (R-Buffalo), who triumphed over Rep. Mark Jennings (R-Sheridan) for Senate District 22.

One of the biggest upsets of the night was the defeat of Speaker of House Albert Sommers (R-Pinedale), who lost a bid for the upper chamber against political newcomer Laura Pearson.

WyoFile will post a more complete analysis Wednesday morning.

Updated by Maggie Mullen

11:18 p.m. | Here are the called races so far

Here’s a running list of races called by the Associated Press as of 11:18 p.m.

• Senate District 6: Darin Smith won

• Senate District 10: Gary Crum beat Keith Kennedy

• Senate District 14: Speaker of the House Albert Sommers lost to Laura Taliaferro Pearson

• Senate District 18: Sen. Tim French beat Landon Greer

• Senate District 20: Sen. Ed Cooper beat Tom Olmstead

• Senate District 22: Barry Crago beat Mark Jennings

• Senate District 24: Sen Troy McKeown beat Phil Christopherson

• Senate District 26: Sen. Tim Salazar beat Elizabeth Philp

• Senate District 28: Sen. Jim Anderson beats Bryce Reese

• Senate District 30: Sen. Charles Scott beat Rob Hendry and Charles Schoenwolf

• House District 2: Rep. Allen Slagle lost to JD Williams

• House District 4: Rep. Jeremy Haroldson beat Jeffery Thomas

• House District 5: Rep. Scott Smith beat Jackie Van Mark

• House District 6: Rep.Tomi Strock beat Aaron Clausen

• House District 7: Rep. Bob Nicholas beat Kathy Russell

• House District 8: Steve Johnson beat Rep. Dave Zwonitzer and Cayd Batchelor

• House District 10: Rep. John Eklund beat Jennifer James

• House District 11: Jacob Wassburger beat Seth Ulvestad

• House District 12: Rep. Clarence Styvar beat Thomas Lear

• House District 15: Pam Thayer beat Terry Weikum and Sheryl Foland

• House District 17: Rep. J.T. Larson beat Terry Ellison

• House District 18: Rep. Scott Heiner beat Thomas Crank

• House District 19: Rep. Jon Conrad lost to Joe Webb

• House District 20: Mike Schmid beat Cat Urbigkit

• House District 21: McKay Erikson beat Deb Wolfley

• House District 24: Nina Webber beat Matt Hall

• House District 25: Rep. David Northrup lost to Paul Hoeft

• House District 27: Rep. Martha Lawley beat Tami Young

• House District 28: Rep. John Winters beat Kevin Skates

• House District 30: Thomas Kelly beat Gail Symons

• House District 32: Rep. Ken Clouston beat George Dunlap

• House District 34: Rep. Pepper Ottman beat Reg Phillips

• House District 35: Rep. Tony Locke beat Christopher Dresang

• House District 38: Rep.Tom Walters lost to Jayme Lien

• House District 39: Rep. Cody Wylie beat Laura Mckee and Marshall Burt

• House District 40: Marilyn Connoly beat Mark Jones and Liberty Poley

• House District 41: Rep. Bill Henderson lost to Gary Brown

• House District 42: Rep. Ben Hornok lost to Rob Geringer

• House District 43: Rep.  Dan Zwonitzer lost to Ann Lucas

• House District 44: Rep. Tamara Trujillo lost to Lee Filer

• House District 48: Rep. Clark Stith lost to Darin McCann

• House District 49: Rep. Ryan Berger lost to Robert Wharf

• House District 50: Rep. Rachel Rodriguez-Williams beat David Hill

• House District 54: Rep. Lloyd Larson beat Tina Clifford

• House District 55: Rep. Ember Oakley lost to Joel Guggenmos

• House District 56: Elissa Campbell beat Pete Fox and Pamela Mertens

• House District 57: Rep. Jeanette Ward lost to Julie Jarvis

• House District 58: Rep. Bill Allemand beat Tom Jones

• House District 60: Rep. Tony Niemiec lost to Marlene Brady

• House District 61: Rep. Daniel Singh beat Matt Malcolm

Here’s a running list of races called by the Associated Press as of 9:51 p.m.

• House District 7: Rep. Bob Nicholas (R-Cheyenne) beat Kathy Russell.

• House District 25: Rep. David Northrup (R-Powell) lost to Paul Hoeft.

• House District 27: Rep. Martha Lawley (R-Worland) beat Tami Young.

• House District 34: Rep. Pepper Ottman (R-Riverton) beat Reg Phillips.

• House District 38: Rep. Tom Walters (R-Casper) lost Jayme Lien.

• House District 40: Marilyn Connolly beat Mark Jones.

• House District 43: Rep. Dan Zwonitzer (R-Cheyenne) lost to Ann Lucas.

• House District 50: Rep. Rachel Rodriguez Williams (R-Cody) beat David Hill.

• House District 54: Rep. Lloyd Larsen (R-Lander) beat Tina Clifford.

• House District 57: Challenger Julie Jarvis ousted Rep. Jeanette Ward (R-Casper).

• Senate District 26: Sen. Tim Salazar (R-Riverton) beat Elizabeth Philp.

And according to the unofficial results in Natrona County:

• House District 56: Elissa Campbell beat both Pete Fox and Pamela Mertens.

Updated by Maggie Mullen

9:01 p.m. | Many incumbents appear in danger of losing their seats

It’s been about two hours since polls closed, and many votes remain to be counted. Early returns suggest that incumbents could have a rough night. So far, House District 55 Rep. Ember Oakley (R-Riverton), House District 48 Rep. Clark Stith (R-Rock Springs), House District 8 Rep. Dan Zwonitzer (R-Cheyenne), House District 41 Rep. Bill Henderson (R-Cheyenne), and House District 8 Rep. David Zwonitzer (R-Cheyenne) are all trailing.

There were a few exceptions including Rep. Martha Lawley (R-Worland) in House District 27 who beat Freedom Caucus endorsed challenger Tami Young. The AP called the race 8:29 p.m.

Meanwhile, Freedom Caucus Rep. Pepper Ottman (R-Riverton), was victorious over Wyoming Caucus-backed Reg Phillips of Dubois, according to the AP. This was Ottman’s first time running opposed after joining the Legislature in 2021.

House District 4 Rep. Jeremy Haroldson, vice chair of the Freedom Caucus, beat opponent Jeffrey Thomas of Wheatland. The AP called the race at 7:41 p.m.

Updated by Maggie Mullen and Joshua Wolfson

6:25 p.m. | UW students conflicted over the importance of state primaries

On the University of Wyoming campus, talk of the primary election elicited mixed reactions — from invested to disinterested.

Bailey Collins and Gracie McCain, students at UW, aren’t interested in Wyoming politics. Neither Collins nor Mccain voted in the Wyoming primaries. “I haven’t been urged to vote for these elections,” Collins said. Both Collins and McCain plan to vote in the November presidential election.

Graduate student Nyoka Erikson is somewhat interested in Wyoming politics, but feels that the Laramie City Council election is more important than the state races. Erikson is motivated to vote by issues related to housing and parking in Laramie. On the state level, Erikson is motivated based on the candidate’s stance on abortion rights.

Then there’s UW student Jasmin Mahoney, who pays attention to politics, at least more than the average student, she estimates. “You got to get out of that mindset of ‘oh, my vote doesn’t matter,’ because if you and everyone else thinks that, all those people’s votes do make up a significant portion of what does matter,” Mahoney said. “So I think it’s important to go out and vote. Set a good example for your friends and your family.”

Mahoney is paying attention to DEI-related issues, education funding, reproductive health and reproductive rights, even though there isn’t much to differentiate candidates from one another on those issues, she notes. “I want to vote in a candidate that I think is going to represent my views as closely as possible on those,” Mahoney said.

Updated by Calla Shosh

5:08 p.m. | Property tax and senior services bring Natrona County voters to the polls

The cavernous Industrial Building at the Natrona County fairgrounds is usually bustling with voters from 13 different precincts on Election Day, but during the lunch hour voters were far outnumbered by election volunteers — many of whom sat in empty precinct booths with nobody to assist. By 12:39 p.m., only 1,213 of about 10,000 registered voters had cast a ballot, according to election officials.

Just outside the building, Election Manager Shianne Huston was on the lookout for a driver who’d allegedly parked a vehicle with a large campaign banner too close to the polling area, which is considered electioneering. The driver had been asked to move earlier in the day, and Huston said the person was reportedly still driving through the area.

Voters leaving the building, meanwhile,  listed several issues that brought them to the polls.

For Casperites Luke and Jennifer Anderson, skyrocketing property tax and insurance costs were top of mind. The couple also wants to see new faces in office, favoring Reid Rasner for the U.S. Senate over incumbent John Barrasso in the Republican primary.

“Barrasso has been in there so long, I think we need a new outlook,” said Jennifer Anderson, 38.

“I just figure sometimes you need a new guy in there and see what he can do,” said Luke Anderson, 41.

Kathy Haden, 78, said she’s interested in the county commission and city council races. But her biggest concern in the primary election is a local ballot measure to establish a Natrona County Senior Citizen Service District. Senior service organizations, including Meals on Wheels, are struggling with limited resources and can barely keep up with demand, she said.

“I volunteer at both the Senior Center and Meals on Wheels, so I see first-hand the value of it,” Haden told WyoFile. “I can’t imagine what would happen to the community if they had to close. It would be devastating.”

Haden said she’s also disappointed in the “lack of options” among candidates and particularly races where there are no challengers.

Delaney Harm, 24, recently moved to Wyoming from Nebraska, and said she’s not intimately familiar with many local and statewide issues. She feels it’s her civic duty to vote, however, and said she’s most interested in public education and safety at schools. Meantime, she’s looking forward to the general election. “The presidential [race] is a big one,” Harm said.

Updated by Dustin Bleizeffer

4:14 p.m. | Candidates flock to polls

Within 30 minutes Tuesday afternoon, three Laramie city council candidates arrived at Laramie’s Lincoln Community Center: Roxie Hensley, Brett Kahler and Jim Fried.

Hensley was there to get some information for an election judge and said voting has been going smoothly. She’s also proud of the county GOP’s efforts to get out the vote this year.

Brett and Jim were also upbeat Tuesday afternoon, but acknowledged the large field of candidates and the additional work that’d be needed if they move forward in the race. Either way, they were both grateful for the opportunity to run and engage with so many residents.

“Being here and talking to people in the community for the last few months has been awesome,” Fried said.

“I’m just excited to be part of the race,” Kahler added. “Laramie has a really bright future.”

Updated by Madelyn Beck

3:13 p.m. | Mailers’ missives upsetting to Sweetwater voter

In Rock Springs, voter Keith Allen expressed dismay at the mass distribution of mailers that mischaracterized several GOP incumbents’ positions. The mailers prompted incumbent Reps. J.T. Larson and Cody Wiley to sue the WY Freedom Caucus’ political action committee for defamation.

Allen shared his frustration outside the polling station at the Sweetwater Events Complex during the lunch hour.

“It shouldn’t be that way,” he said of the mailers that were, in his opinion, “overstepping bounds” and taking words out of context. “It’s an injustice to politics,” he said.

“What we’re out here for is the best for Wyoming and not the slander,” he said. With the mailers, “we’re bringing the national level to the state level.”

He said he found good candidates, nevertheless, including U.S. Sen. John Barrasso and U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman. Both have challenged a U.S. Bureau of Land Management plan that would make conservation a priority for 3.6 million acres in the area.

Those incumbents deserve support because the Biden administration is “trying to close down all of these public lands, make them wilderness study areas,” Allen said.

Updated by Angus M. Thuermer Jr.

2:32 p.m. | Voters cite civic duty as motivation for voting

Voters casting ballots at the Albany County Fairgrounds and Laramie’s Lincoln Community Center told WyoFile they were there to fulfill their civic duty. That included Velma and Augie Vialpando (pictured) casting their ballot Tuesday afternoon.

Other voters were drawn to the polls by specific issues, from supporting the Freedom Caucus to abortion policy to immigration. The county commissioner race was a draw for others.

For Josh Kelton, the U.S. Senate primary motivated him to vote. “Get your crap together or get voted out,” Kelton said of Sen. John Barrasso, voicing his support for candidate Reid Rasner.

Updated by Madelyn Beck

1:26 p.m. | Keeping Wyoming wild motivates one Sublette County voter

The fight over a billionaire Joe Ricketts’ averted luxury resort in the Bondurant area was top of mind for Carol Radakovich on Tuesday as she made her way to the Pinedale polling station to vote in the primary election.

“I don’t believe a word he or his spokesperson says, that he’s not going to continue on raping our mountains,” she said. “And I’m over it.”

After voting, Radakovich explained that she wanted to vote in county commission candidates who don’t talk “out the side of their mouth” and would keep Ricketts’ resort dead .

Radakovich went into the primary with strong feelings about races that would represent her interest in the statehouse. Her post office box had been stuffed with mailers slamming some candidates, especially Rep. Albert Sommers (R-Pinedale), the outgoing speaker of the House who’s vying for a seat in the Wyoming Senate.

“I chucked them,” Radakovich said of the mailers. “I don’t need someone else to form my opinion.”

Updated by Mike Koshmrl

12:40 p.m. | Voting appears to lag far behind the 2022 primary in Natrona County

Voting got off to a slow start in Casper. Shortly after 11 a.m., just 867 ballots were cast at the largest polling area in the county, where there are about 10,000 registered voters among 13 precincts, according to Natrona County Election Clerk Tracy Good. Only 576 ballots had been cast at the Restoration Church polling area, where there are approximately 4,000 registered voters among six precincts.

“It’s just been very, very slow,” Good said, adding that numbers were also down for early voting and mail-in-ballots. The county received 2,300 mail-in ballots and only 2,029 voters cast their ballots early. Natrona County voter turnout was 63% for the 2022 primary election, according to Good.

Updated by Dustin Bleizeffer

11:48 a.m. | In Fremont County, voters say deluge of campaign mailers was unwelcome

The thwacking of pickleballs from neighboring courts accompanied voters streaming in and out of the Bob Carey Memorial Fieldhouse, an athletic facility turned polling place in Lander.

The morning crowd was in high spirits, with many people gathering in clusters outside to chat, and several voters used canes or walkers to reach the polls.

Dick and Julie Lefevre opted to ride their tandem bicycle. The Lander residents consider voting a civic duty that ensures their concerns are heard, Dick Lefevre said. His wife added that it’s important to vote for candidates with integrity.

One issue that was top of mind for her, she said, was “the influence of outsider groups coming to Wyoming” to impose their beliefs and pour their money into the state’s politics.

As Fremont County residents, they were inundated with political mailers, some with false claims and misrepresentations. “They made me boiling mad,” Julie Lefevre said.

Ann Huhnke was at the polls with her grandson, 19-year-old Will Edlund, who was voting for the first time. Huhnke also received a pile of mailers, which were “not necessarily appreciated,” she said. “They were extremely negative.”

Lisa Kisling of Milford said she too received mailers, but ignored them. She looks up voting records and does her own homework to guide her decisions, she said, and cares about issues like balancing the budget and keeping oil and gas drilling going on American soil.

Updated by Katie Klingsporn

9:17 a.m. | Voting machines tested again, show accurate results

Some questioned the testing of Wyoming voting machines in recent weeks, but several counties have confirmed with WyoFile that new tests ordered by the secretary of state showed accurate counts. There were never any errors or failures with early tests, Carbon County Clerk Gwynn Bartlett stressed. Counties ran some voting machine tests where races ended in a tie, and in Wyoming, that doesn’t follow the law.

“In Wyoming statute … it does say that each candidate shall have a differing number of votes,” she said.

Updated by Madelyn Beck

8:14 a.m. | Polls open across Wyoming

The 2024 Primary election kicked off at 7 a.m. this morning as polls opened across Wyoming. At the Sweetwater County courthouse in Green River, Chief Election Judge Ian Parker placed a sandwich board outside denoting a polling place, making sure to tape down a red directional arrow well to keep it secure from the wind. Laurie Hamel helped him, saying “I just want to ensure elections are fair.” Both are volunteers. “I do believe Wyoming elections are fair,” Hamel said.

Updated by Angus M. Thuermer Jr.

7:26 a.m. | Control of the Capitol: What’s at stake?

Wyoming’s primary will answer a number of questions, but perhaps none is bigger than this: Which faction of the Wyoming Republican Party will control the Wyoming Legislature? Control of the statehouse is hardly academic. It will influence any number of key issues in Wyoming, from energy to education. WyoFile’s reporters offer a video breakdown here:

Updated by Joshua Wolfson

6:24 a.m. | Early voting wraps up

Early voting tallies were starting to trickle in Monday. In rural counties like Carbon and Weston, early voting counts seem similar to previous election years, clerks said, but in Albany County, participation is well below 2022’s tally. Late Monday afternoon, county elections coordinator Stacey Harvey said about 2,161 total people voted early — either in person or via paper ballot — compared to a total of around 4,300 early votes in the last primary.

These lower numbers could be influenced by a range of factors, including no gubernatorial race this year, a fiery election involving Liz Cheney and Harriet Hageman in 2022, high absentee voting during the pandemic and changes in voter registration laws, among other things.

Updated by Madelyn Beck

4:25 a.m. | Still making your picks? Check out WyoFile’s election guide.

It’s primary day in Wyoming, and if you’re still trying to do your homework, WyoFile can help. Our election guide features questions and answers from dozens of congressional and legislative candidates from around Wyoming. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Not sure where to vote? The Wyoming Secretary of State’s poll locator can help .

Updated by Joshua Wolfson

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