State Rep. Eric Barlow glided from the Wyoming House of Representatives to the Senate in Tuesday’s general election.
Barlow, of Gillette and the Republican nominee for the Senate District 23 seat in the same region, beat Independent challenger Patricia Junek with more than twice the vote.
Barlow could not be reached by phone for comment Tuesday.
He served in the House for nearly a decade, attaining the highest possible rank for the chamber: Speaker of the House. He announced toward the end of his term he was leaving the chamber and moving on to “whatever comes next.”
The next thing for Barlow is a Senate term in the Gillette seat now held by resigning Sen. Jeff Wasserburger, R-Gillette.
Primary First, General Second
The win marks Barlow’s second victory over Junek, who ran a failed write-in campaign against him in the Aug. 16 primary election.
At the time, Junek said Barlow wasn’t conservative enough and that he’d voted against the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act.
Other legislators, however, said Barlow shut the bill down because it came in after the deadline for Senate bills to be heard in the House.
Multiple legislators, including Rep. Lloyd Larsen, R-Lander, faced backlash for their votes not to introduce the bill after deadline in the cramped budget session.
Larsen told Cowboy State Daily that he believes the bill will surface again, and he plans to vote in favor of it.
