By Wendy Corr, Cowboy State Daily
Less than 100 votes separated incumbent Sandy Newsome from opponent Nina Webber in the race to claim the seat in Wyoming House District 24, which represents a significant portion of Park County.
When all votes were counted, Newsome came out the winner in the primary, with 1,810 votes to Webber’s 1,727. No Democrat filed to run for that seat, so Newsome will be unopposed in November’s general election.
Newsome and Webber had run a tight race, and it was anybody’s guess who would come out on top once precincts started reporting in around 7:30 p.m. Tuesday night.
Webber, who is the current Wyoming Republican National Committeewoman and president of the Wyoming Federation of Republican Women, ran against Newsome and former legislator Scott Court for the same seat in 2020.
During the most recent race, Webber, the former Hot Springs County Clerk, called Newsome “in the dark” and “out of touch” with her constituents.
Newsome, who was first elected to the seat in 2018, told Cowboy State Daily that property tax reform and education are the issues that are at the top of her list.
“We need to deal with property tax reform, for sure,” she said. “I mean, that’s top on the list of things to get done. And then, I’m on the education committee, and we need to really work on getting our kindergarten through third graders to be able to read.”
In the 2022 legislative session, Newsome advanced several bills that would fund scholarship programs, create cash reserves for public education and investment funds for community colleges, and support programs devoted to childhood reading development.
“I just want to thank the voters of House District 24,” she said after election results had been posted, “and I’m grateful that they chose me to represent them once again.”
Newsome expressed her gratitude to her campaign team and donors who contributed to her campaign.
“I look forward to serving two more years,” she said.
