WASHINGTON (AP) — Wyoming has been among the most conservative states in the county, and voters on Tuesday will select the Republican candidates who will advance to November’s general election for federal and state legislative offices.

The only contested races in Wyoming’s primary are on the Republican side.

While voters in the fall will decide contests for the U.S. Senate, the state’s at-large U.S. House seat, 62 state House and 15 state Senate seats, only 56 Republican primaries across these races include two or more candidates. Most of the state legislative candidates who advance will face no Democratic opponent in November.

This unusual circumstance is likely related to how Republicans have dominated the state in recent years.

Republicans have supermajorities in both state legislative chambers. The last time a Democrat won any statewide election in Wyoming was 2006, when Gov. Dave Freudenthal was reelected. Just 11% of the state’s electorate are registered Democrats.

Sen. John Barrasso and Rep. Harriet Hageman both have challengers in the GOP primary but likely do not face serious threats.

Hagemen’s opponent hasn’t reported any fundraising to the Federal Election Commission. In the Senate race, businessman Reid Rasner has raised and spent $1.2 million to Barrasso’s $5 million; Rasner’s fundraising includes a $1.18 million campaign loan

A look at what to expect on Tuesday:

Primary day

Polls close at 9 p.m. EDT.

What’s on the ballot

The Associated Press will provide vote results and declare winners in contested primaries for Senate, House, state Senate and state House.

Who gets to vote

Only voters registered with a political party may participate in that party’s primary. Under a 2023 law that changed the state’s primary system, Republicans may not vote in the Democratic primary or vice versa. Independent or unaffiliated voters may not participate in either primary.

Decision notes

Wyoming has 23 counties, the majority of which contain fewer than 20,000 residents. The most populous counties are Laramie, which includes Cheyenne, and Natrona, home to Casper.

Unlike many other states, these large counties do not lean Democratic. In 2022, the Democratic candidate for governor performed best in the counties of Teton, which includes Jackson and popular tourist areas, and Albany, which includes the state’s fourth-most populous city, Laramie (not to be confused with the county of the same name).

In an example of just how strongly Republican the Wyoming electorate is, Republican Gov. Mark Gordon won both of those counties – Teton by one-tenth of a percentage point, and Albany by almost 28 points.

The AP does not make projections and will declare a winner only when it’s determined there is no scenario that would allow the trailing candidates to close the gap. If a race has not been called, the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why.

Recounts in Wyoming are automatic if the vote margin is less than 1% of the votes cast for the winning candidate. Candidates may request and pay for a recount if they allege fraud or error in the vote-counting process. The AP may declare a winner in a race that is eligible for a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.

What do turnout and advance vote look like?

As of July 1, there were nearly 222,000 registered voters in Wyoming. Of those, 11% were Democrats and 81% were Republicans.

In the 2022 midterm primaries, turnout was about 3% of registered voters in the Democratic primary and about 60% in the Republican primary. About 59% of Democratic primary voters and 32% of Republican primary votes in that election cast their ballots before primary day.

As of Thursday, 22,912 ballots had been cast before primary day. About 15% of those were cast in the Democratic primary and 82% in the Republican primary.

How long does vote-counting usually take?

In the 2022 midterm primary election, the AP first reported results at 9:28 p.m. EDT, or 28 minutes after polls closed. The election night tabulation ended at 2:05 a.m. EDT with about 99.9% of total votes counted.

Are we there yet?

As of Tuesday, there will be 77 days until the November general election.

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Follow the AP’s coverage of the 2024 election at https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024.

Wyoming doesn’t want the federal government’s $35 million offer to plug orphan oil and gas wells.

The Biden administration’s Interior Department this week offered the availability of $775 million to 21 states to clean up legacy pollution.

Orphan wells are abandoned wells for which no owner can be determined. That number is fractional on public lands. It’s a different story on private lands, where there are substantially more.

The government’s offer to help clean up orphan wells in Wyoming was the sixth largest dollar amount made available to the 21 energy-producing states.

Other cleanup offers larger than Wyoming’s include $52.8 million to California; up to $102.6 million for Oklahoma; $86.6 million to Ohio; up to $152.8 to Pennsylvania; and $119.5 million to Texas.

Oklahoma and Texas could receive less money based on ongoing negotiations for previous grant funds offered.

Tom Kropatsch, oil and gas supervisor for the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (WOGCC) in Casper, told Cowboy State Daily in an email that his agency isn’t interested in the offer.

“We do not intend to apply for this second phase of the formula grant,” said Kropatsch, who did not immediately offer an explanation why his organization is turning down the money.

The commission has tracked the orphan well program with electronic records since the early 1990s, when it saw a peak of 7,250 orphan wells on its list. Of those, the commission has plugged 6,250.

Manna From Heaven

The orphan well cleanup money was made available to states through the 3-year-old Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, a catchall piece of federal legislation designed to help build everything from wind turbines and solar farms to cleaning up environmental messes and plugging leaky wells.

The orphan well program was designed in two phases.

Since August 2022, the federal government has awarded $565 million in initial grants to 25 states and another $444 million in a first phase of the cleanup program to 18 states.

Details of the second phase of the cleanup program were released this week, which begins the next phase to apply for an estimated $775 million in formula grant funds. The 21 states have until Dec. 13 to apply.

Kropatsch previously told Cowboy State Daily that the orphan well issue is well under control in Wyoming.

In April, Kropatsch said that the 538 orphan private and state wells that are not under contract for plugging will likely be put out for bid with plugging to begin in late 2024 and continue into 2025.

At that time, the state’s Oil and Gas Conservation Commission had 1,010 private and state wells on its orphan list, with 472 of those wells under contract to be plugged, all of which will likely be plugged in 2024.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management believes that orphan wells are big issue.

Some critics like the Petroleum Association of Wyoming disagree.

The Wyoming trade group worries that a new BLM rule could force oil and gas developers to leave Wyoming — or worse, America.

BLM issued the new rule April 11 that could make it difficult for some oil and gas companies to bid on energy leases on public lands.

The energy industry’s biggest beef with the rule is that the BLM may force developers to pay higher bonding amounts to drill on public land. The higher bond amount is meant to deter some developers from walking away from the drilling site and leaving a mess behind without any financial incentive to clean up.

Pat Maio can be reached at pat@cowboystatedaily.com.

Porcupine Falls, a hiking trail located south of the Montana-Wyoming state line, is a hidden gem for those who have visited.

The 0.7 mile hike leads directly into a swimming hole that is surrounded by cliffs with a large waterfall pouring in.

The beautiful area is unknown to many.

“If you drove by it on the mountain or the road, you’d never know it was there,” said frequent visitor Jeremy Stewart of Sheridan.

Stewart and his family visit often.

“We try to come here once or twice a year for the last 10 years I’d say probably,” Stewart said.

Others, like Gillette residents Trisha and Francisco Garibay, were pleasantly surprised to find this trail so close to home.

“It was a good hike,” Francisco said. “A little steep and a good workout.”

“It’s amazing,” Trisha said. “I’m like how did we ever miss this place? It’s crazy that it’s right in our back door.”

The hike itself isn’t too challenging. There’s even been manmade steps built to help hikers find the falls.

“It’s accessible,” Trisha said. “You’ve got little kids and you’ve got elderly people walking. Our four-year-old is with us and he basically did the whole thing.”

Those steps and extra people bring excitement for Stewart, who said he wants to share the views with as many people as possible.

“It’s phenomenal all the people that get to see it,” Stewart said. “Ten years ago, everyone was like, ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’”

MTN News

And the beautiful scenery speaks for itself.

“It’s like you’re walking into a paradise,” Trisha said. “It’s so beautiful. There were people fishing and swimming. It was great.”

Even though the hike is becoming more popular, most aren’t as courageous as the Stewart family when it comes to jumping into the freezing water. Jeremy said that’s his favorite part.

“It’s usually hot coming down, so it feels great to jump in the cold water,” Stewart said with a smile after jumping in. “It was chilly. I mean, I’ll do it again, but it was chilly.”