After the Wyoming GOP voted to defy a state law prohibiting the party from backing one Republican over another before the primary election, statewide candidates are split on whether they would accept such an endorsement.
Some told WyoFile they agree with the party鈥檚 decision and will seek out an endorsement, while others said they oppose a political party breaking election law. A few said they were taking a wait-and-see approach.
鈥淛ury鈥檚 still out on this one for me,鈥� Wyoming State Auditor Kristi Racines said Wednesday.
For years, the Wyoming Republican Party has argued that because it is a private organization, state laws that govern its organizational structure and prohibit it from endorsing or financially backing candidates in opposed primary election races are unconstitutional.
At its last weekend, the party took things into its own hands, voting to adopt bylaws establishing a process for vetting, endorsing and spending money to support candidates ahead of the primary.
Supporters of the new bylaws point to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling from 1989, which struck down California鈥檚 ban on political party endorsements, ruling that the law violated the First Amendment鈥檚 guarantees of free speech and association. Opponents, meanwhile, raised concerns at the convention about the bylaws breaking the law, litigation costs and unintended consequences.
The new bylaws are widely expected to spark lawsuits, while the Wyoming Republican Party has said it plans to file its own legal challenge against the state.
In the meantime, the new bylaws lay out a process for evaluating candidates based on 鈥渃ommitment to the Wyoming Republican Party Platform, demonstrated loyalty to the Party鈥檚 principles, legal eligibility to hold office, and for incumbents, their voting record.鈥�
The state party will consider candidates running for Wyoming鈥檚 state-elected officials 鈥� including governor, secretary of state, superintendent of public instruction, treasurer and auditor 鈥� as well as congressional candidates. Otherwise, county parties 鈥渕ay vet all other races on their respective County Ballots,鈥� according to the new bylaws.
The state party, as well as each county party, 鈥渟hall each create and oversee a Candidate Vetting Committee empowered to review and recommend approval or disapproval of candidates based on established criteria,鈥� the bylaw states. 鈥淭he Committee shall provide candidates an opportunity to respond to concerns prior to issuing a recommendation.鈥�
Candidates
Brent Bien, who is running for governor, told WyoFile the bylaw changes are 鈥渁 long time coming,鈥� pointing back to the 1989 ruling.
鈥淚 think we just got to make sure we get those folks that truly believe on the Republican side of the equation, who truly believe in the platform and what Wyoming stands for,鈥� Bien said. 鈥淎nd I just don鈥檛 think there鈥檚 been any enforcement mechanism to do that.鈥�
At the convention, Bien was a clear favorite among many attendees who wore his campaign buttons and t-shirts. Still, Bien said he wouldn鈥檛 be surprised if he didn鈥檛 get the party鈥檚 endorsement.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 get Trump鈥檚 endorsement,鈥� Bien said. 鈥淎nd some of these legislators around the state, you know, they haven鈥檛 endorsed me.鈥�
Bien鈥檚 take isn鈥檛 shared by all the gubernatorial candidates.
鈥淐ontested primaries should be decided by voters,鈥� Gillette Sen. Eric Barlow wrote in a statement. 鈥淭he role of the state party is to unite Republicans around shared values and help grow the party, not decide elections before voters have had their say.鈥�
鈥淯nder current law, the state party should not choose sides in Republican primaries, and I will not ask them to start now,鈥� he wrote. 鈥淢y job,鈥� running for governor, 鈥渋s to earn the trust of Wyoming voters directly.鈥�
At the convention, supporters of the bylaws said the party had tried to get the Legislature to change state statute. Barlow directly pushed back on that argument.
鈥淎s a legislator for the past 14 years, this issue has never come before us,鈥� Barlow said. 鈥淚f it had, it would have ensured all Wyomingites could weigh in and decisions would have been made openly and transparently 鈥� not in the courts and not a few months before an election.鈥�
Secretary of State Chuck Gray, who is running for U.S. House, told WyoFile he supports the new bylaws.
鈥淚 will participate in the Party鈥檚 vetting process and will seek their support because I鈥檓 the only candidate in this race with a proven record of standing up for conservative principles 鈥� even when it wasn鈥檛 popular with the media and the insiders,鈥� he wrote in a statement.
As secretary of state, Gray is Wyoming鈥檚 chief election officer and oversees statewide election administration. Asked if he wanted to comment in his official capacity on the Wyoming Republican Party鈥檚 decision to defy state law, Gray did not respond by publishing time.
U.S. House candidate David Giralt took a more cautious approach when asked for his opinion on the new bylaws.
鈥淚 trust Wyoming Republicans to make good decisions for our party, and I鈥檒l let the process play out,鈥� Giralt said. 鈥淚鈥檓 focused on getting in front of as many Wyoming voters as possible and making the case for why I鈥檓 the right person to represent this state in Congress.鈥�
Kevin Christensen, another U.S. House candidate, said he wanted to see how fair, transparent and consistent the process played out before weighing in.
鈥淭he Wyoming people are the ones that make the determination in the primary, not the party,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat being said, if this is about supporting candidates and determining who is really a Republican and who鈥檚 just putting an 鈥楻鈥� next to their name, that seems like that would be consistent with being the Republican Party.鈥�
Jillian Balow, yet another candidate for U.S. House and former superintendent of public instruction, said she 鈥渨ould be honored to accept an endorsement and money from the state party only if it is in accordance with Wyoming and federal law.鈥�
鈥淭he contingency of our party at the convention knew the changes they made defied state law and they curtailed delegate discussion to pass new by-laws anyway,鈥� Balow wrote in a statement. 鈥淪ome delegates were appalled, some were gleeful, and many were silent, because they were silenced. This is not the way Wyoming does business.鈥�
U.S. House candidate Reid Rasner also pushed back on the new bylaws.
鈥淎s a pro-Trump conservative, I always expected the political establishment to try and stop our campaign,鈥� he wrote in a statement. 鈥淏ut, after making over 200 stops across our communities, one thing is clear: people are tired of the political games.鈥�
Sheridan Republican Rep. Tom Kelly, who is running for superintendent, said while he opposes 鈥渢he idea of parties having the power to disallow anyone from running under their banner,鈥� he thinks 鈥減arties should be able to express publicly which people they would like to represent them.鈥�
Though he鈥檚 not actively seeking endorsements, Kelly said he would accept support from the state party.
鈥淔inancial backing? Absolutely,鈥� Kelly said. 鈥淐ontrary to a popular false narrative, I have no wealthy D.C. donors bankrolling me.鈥�
And if the party endorsed one of his opponents, Kelly said he would tell them, 鈥淐ongrats. I should have done a better job presenting myself.鈥�
WyoFile reached out to other statewide Republican candidates, including those running for governor, secretary of state, superintendent, U.S. House and U.S. Senate. They did not respond by publishing time.
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