The end of the candidate filing period in Wyoming on Friday saw a number of candidates throwing their name in the ring for state office at the last moment.
Among the last to file were two Democratic candidates for the U.S. House.
Lynette Grey Bull, a Fort Washakie resident, will run again to unseat Republican U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney.
Grey Bull won the Democratic primary in 2020 and took on Cheney in the general election, losing by 44% of the vote. Grey Bull, a member of the Northern Arapaho tribe, has been a vocal leader for indigenous peoples.
Taking on Grey Bull in the Democratic primary in August will be Steve Helling, a Casper resident who also filed on Friday. Helling is an attorney.
On the Republican side, there are now five candidates in the race. Harriet Hageman and Cheney are considered the frontrunners in the race at this time and both filed on Thursday.
Joining those two and State Sen. Anthony Bouchard, R-Cheyenne, who was the first candidate to file for the office, are Denton Knapp and Robyn Belinskey.
Knapp was one of the first candidates to unofficially declare his intention to challenge Cheney for the Republican nomination for the office and he was criticized for not bowing out when Hageman earned former President Donald Trump’s endorsement.
Belinskey is a Sheridan businesswoman who also declared her candidacy very early on.
In the governor’s race, two Democrats also filed this week. On Friday, Cheyenne resident Rex Wilde announced his intention to run. Wilde ran in the U.S. Congress primary in 2020, placing fifth among the Democrats with 7.9% of the vote.
Wilde will take on Worland resident Theresa Livingston in the Democratic primary. Livingston ran for the state Senate in Senate District 20 in 2020, losing to Sen. Edward Cooper, R-Ten Sleep, by more than 6,000 votes.
Brent Bien, James Quick and Rex Rammell will take on Gov. Mark Gordon in the Republican gubernatorial primary.
A new Republican candidate also entered the race for superintendent of public instruction. Rock Springs resident Robert White III is the fourth Republican to enter the race, taking on incumbent Brian Schroeder and challengers Megan Degenfelder and Thomas Kelly.
Sergio Maldonado Sr. is the only Democrat running in the race.
There are many contested Senate and House races on the horizon as well.
Rep. Bob Nicholas (R-Cheyenne) is running for the House in a new district, leaving five candidates in his wake seeking to fill the vacancy in his old district.
House District 25 in Park County and Senate District 26 in Big Horn County have the second-most crowded primary fields with four candidates each.
Longtime lawmakers are also being challenged in a number of different places.
Sen. Ogden Driskill, R-Devils Tower, a member of the Senate since 2011, will have two primary opponents, as will state Rep. Landon Brown, R-Cheyenne, who has been a representative since 2017.
At least three former representatives are seeking to take back their seats: Sara Burlingame in Cheyenne, David Northrup in Powell and Richard Tass in Sheridan.
