Wyoming

Who’s running for federal office in Wyoming? Who will be on the congressional ballot

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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





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