State Rep. Chuck Gray, R-Casper, has won the Secretary of State race over State Sen. Tara Nethercott, R-Casper. The Associated Press called the election with Gray holding a more than 9,000 vote lead and 73% of the state’s precincts reporting.
This race garnered some of the most attention in Wyoming leading up to primary election day, with mudslinging occurring between both candidates.
Gray has served in the Wyoming Legislature since 2017. Now, he will oversee the state’s elections.
There are no Democrats running for Secretary of State.
Gray vowed to ban all ballot drop boxes in the state if elected. Nine counties used these boxes during the 2020 elections in Wyoming.
Gray also said he will make ballot harvesting a felony in Wyoming. This would have to take place through action made by the Wyoming Legislature, as this body is responsible for making laws in the state.
Nethercott had said she would not make changes to election security law in Wyoming, a point Gray attacked her for during the campaign.
There have been four cases of election fraud prosecuted in Wyoming since 2000.
During the campaign, Gray hosted free screenings of the “2000 Mules” movie. This movie alleges that ballots were stuffed in key battleground states during the 2020 presidential election. No footage from Wyoming was shown in the movie.
Gray has also pledged to institute runoff elections, performing hand count audits of elections and other measures.
He also said he will do a back of the house audit to see if Wyoming’s trust laws are being abused as a tax haven by foreign oligarchs.
Gray accused Nethercott of being an insider and being under investigation by the Secretary of State office for campaign finance violations, a claim the office denied.
Nethercott said Gray wasn’t transparent about his sources of campaign funding in his 2021 U.S. House campaign.
State Rep. Cyrus Western, Big Horn, won his primary bid for a third term against Bryan Miller in a very close race decided by 137 votes. Miller is the chairman of the Sheridan County Republican Party.
