Wyoming’s early voting is already in full swing for the Aug. 20 primary. In the famously conservative stronghold, where 86 of 93 seats in the state legislature are held by Republicans, the primaries are where the political map of the Cowboy State’s future is drawn.

With infighting in the state’s Republican Party mirroring national splits, we look at both sides of the GOP political gunfight: the Wyoming Freedom Caucus, part of the national State Freedom Caucus Network, and the more moderate Wyoming Caucus.

More: Native representation in the Wyoming legislature rests on Ivan Posey’s shoulders

The boundaries around the different conservative camps are blurry—the Wyoming Caucus does not have an official member list, and the Freedom Caucus does not have any registered members in the state senate. But, over a dozen state senators consistently voted in line with the Freedom Caucus’ U.S. House members during the 2024 legislative session.

Advertisements across the board are rich with big belt buckles and even bigger landscapes, blue jeans, American flags, and calls to preserve the “Wyoming way of life.”

The 2024 state primaries will prove to be a defining moment for the Republican identity in Wyoming. The question remains: Will the momentum that led to Rep. Liz Cheney’s defeat in 2022 result in more Freedom Caucus members entering the state legislature, potentially shifting control? Or will the red wave recede, leaving the moderate Republicans in power but on shaky ground?

Check out the Cowboy State’s regional and congressional races that USA TODAY is monitoring:

Cy Neff reports on Wyoming politics for USA TODAY. You can reach him at cneff@usatoday.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @CyNeffNews

In less than three weeks, Wyoming voters will head to the polls on Aug. 20 for the state primary to determine the type of conservatism they prefer. On the ballot: the Cowboy State’s single U.S. House seat and one of its U.S. Senate seats.

The regular voter registration deadline is Monday, Aug. 5. Same-day registration is also available on primary day at the polling station.

Who are the GOP candidates running for the U.S. House of Representatives?

Republican incumbent Rep. Harriet Hageman, 61, is a former attorney who unsuccessfully ran for the Wyoming governorship in 2018. Although not a registered member, she makes appearances at Wyoming Freedom Caucus rallies and has held hardline conservative positions on national issues, including her recent labeling of Kamala Harris as a “DEI hire.” The congresswoman was one of eleven members of the U.S.. House of Representatives who brought articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. She also condemned the Biden administration’s new coal policies as anti-Wyoming and served on the House Judiciary Committee investigating the Biden family.

Steven Helling, a former pro-Trump Democrat who ran for the House seat, is now running as a Republican in the primary. He is focusing his campaign on opposing the Bill Gates-backed nuclear power plant that recently began construction in western Wyoming. Helling also supports pro-life policies and favors imposing term limits on the House, Senate, and Supreme Court.

Which Republicans are running for U.S. Senate?

Incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. John Barrasso is running for his fourth term, having held the seat since 2007, and faces challenges from John Holtz, a former judge and lawyer, and Reid Rasner, who has worked as a financial advisor and a realtor.

Barrasso, a longtime figure in Wyoming politics, served in the state legislature from 2003 to 2007 and was an orthopedic surgeon before entering politics.

Recently, the senator supported the Supreme Court’s Chevron and Trump legal immunity decisions while criticizing immigration policies and inflation under the Biden administration.

Reid Rasner drew controversy when he posted photos with Rep. Hageman, which her campaign felt implied an endorsement, and received a cease and desist letter in return. Among other issues, Rasner is campaigning that life begins at conception, support for the Second Amendment, and the enforcement of term limits in Congress.

John Holtz ran for a U.S. Senate seat in 2018 and 2020 but was unsuccessful. In a written statement to USA TODAY, Holtz listed his priorities as reducing the deficit, strengthening the country’s defense, making social security nontaxable, cutting social programs, and exporting resources to Europe and Israel through the Straits of Gibraltar to broaden our opportunities.

Cy Neff reports on Wyoming politics for USA TODAY. You can reach him at cneff@usatoday.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @CyNeffNews

Kirby, Wyoming, population 76, is a virtual no man’s land. There’s a literal ghost town just across the highway, and nearby Thermopolis, population 2,725, seems gargantuan by comparison. The closest city, Casper, is two hours away. If desolate were a place, it’d be Kirby. It’s the last spot where one would expect to find high-quality whiskey.

This remoteness drew former attorneys Brad and Kate Mead, who now operate a 350-head historic cattle ranch just outside the town of Jackson, to Kirby. They originally intended to use the 1,000 acres to isolate their cattle and prevent disease during the winter months.

But as the land sat unoccupied, the Meads decided to do something completely unexpected and open Wyoming’s first whiskey distillery. They enlisted the help of David DeFazio, a lawyer who had worked at their firm, and together vowed to make a spirit that honored the land it came from.

“Everyone who comes to Wyoming understands that nothing is easy here,” says Wyoming Whiskey master blender Brendan Cook. “You have to make a conscious decision to do something. We’re not in whiskey country or bourbon country. There was this willingness and desire to make something happen in a climate that isn’t prime territory for it. And that desire was to make America’s next great whiskey.”

Harsh Extremes Yield Unique Results

Wyoming’s harsh climate is a major factor when it comes to making the distinctive spirit, and it’s critical to how the whiskey is barrel-aged. While places like Kentucky or Tennessee have a fairly mild climate with no major temperature extremes, Wyoming’s seasonal swings can fluctuate dramatically — but the whiskey makers use this to their advantage.

“What we’re able to do as blenders is picture the warehouse as a spice cabinet and think, ‘I want a little of this one, this one, and this one,’ to make something that gives us a variety of flavors,” Cook says. “The temperature swings in Wyoming are quite extreme: We see temperatures of 117 degrees at the top of the warehouse and 60 degrees at the bottom. We have huge temperature differences within a small space, but that allows us to get different flavor profiles depending on where the barrel is picked from,” Cook says.

Unlike its milder counterparts, Wyoming’s climate stays consistently cold from October to April, preventing the warehouses from really warming up at all. Wyoming Whiskey calls this the “dormancy period.” It gives the spirit time to mature and age without the heat that causes cask expansion and contraction during summer months.

“We measure our five-year-old bourbon with summer as its birthday,” Cook adds. “That’s when we see the mature characteristics come from the cask. That’s definitely unique to this part of the world.”

A Taste of Wyoming

To make whiskey, you need water. And finding a viable water source in Wyoming is no small feat. Water from nearby Thermopolis, home to the world’s largest natural hot springs, wasn’t an option because of its high mineral content, which would calcify in the still. Instead, the co-founders were able to tap a 6,000-year-old underground limestone aquifer a mile underground.

“The Meads and their partner, David DeFazio, decided to stay true to Wyoming — to build something from the ground up and celebrate that. It’s about building a sense of community and doing the difficult thing because it’s right. We could source ingredients from somewhere else, but we decided to use our surroundings,” says Cook.

Ingredients like non-GMO corn, winter wheat (they use a variety called “Yellowstone”), barley, and winter rye are sourced from farmers based in Byron, Wyoming, just an hour and a half away. These grains were chosen for their sugar and starch yields, and the variety of corn cultivated matures in 91 days, which is critical for Wyoming’s high elevation and short growing season.

“It truly is like a taste of Wyoming from grain to glass,” Cook says.

Whiskey’s Softer Side

Wyoming Whiskey’s pursuit of perfection carries on through its distillation process. The team uses a combination of two yeasts — one that’s high-yield, as well as a proprietary yeast that produces alcohol with a slightly fruitier flavor.

After being distilled in a Vendome Copper & Brass continuous column still, the whiskey is put into oak barrels and aged for a minimum of five years in one of their six rickhouses. The temperature swings in the warehouse create the bourbon world’s most unique aging environment. The summer heat pushes the whiskey into the barrel’s charred oak, while cooler temperatures force the spirit to contract — almost like inhaling and exhaling — resulting in layers of flavor.

“We have these great caramel, vanilla, and orange notes, then some dark, dried fruits, and big cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger flavors,” Cook says. “When we’re putting a small batch together, we want that creamy orange vanilla with a little bit of grounding notes from the dark dried fruit. There’s this dichotomy of an incredibly extreme environment but a very soft, delicate, and rich spirit, where you might have expected it to be harsh.”

Heading Out West

The folks behind Wyoming Whiskey know how exceptional their state is, from its majestic mountains to its sweeping high plains. Preserving the Wyoming way of life is integral to their craft, which is why they’ve created Wide Open Spaces, a partnership that has worked closely with the National Park Foundation, Yellowstone Forever, and Grand Teton National Park Foundation to help preserve Wyoming’s landscapes.

Each chapter in the series pays homage to Wyoming’s landmarks. The latest release, The Grand and National Parks No. 3, celebrates the Snake River and Grand Teton National Park, home to a 40-mile-long mountain range and native wildlife like bison and bears. Proceeds help support the Grand Teton National Park Foundation’s mission to preserve natural and cultural resources for generations. It’s just one of the many ways Wyoming Whiskey shows respect and reverence for its home.

For those who happen to be near Kirby, Wyoming Whiskey offers distillery tours, as well as tastings at its satellite location in Jackson Hole. For those unable to make it out west, you can explore Wyoming Whiskey’s expressions online.

From the harsh conditions of the 44th state, the distillers at Wyoming Whiskey have done the impossible and caught lightning in a bottle, capturing the intrepid spirit of the West.

This article is sponsored by Wyoming Whiskey.