A recent poll obtained by Cowboy State Daily shows that stopping illegal immigration tops the list of most important issues for Wyoming Republicans.
The National Public Affairs survey of 403 self-identified Republican primary voters contacted earlier this week shows that 43% consider stopping illegal immigration their most important issue. Republicans hold an overwhelming majority in Wyoming, representing at least 75% of the voter base.
The second most important issue among those surveyed is jobs and the economy at 17%, followed by oil, coal and natural gas production at 15%.
Stopping illegal immigration is a topic that U.S. Sens. John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis have both addressed, and U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman has most notably been championed.
Hageman has vocally condemned the actions of President Joe Biden’s administration in its management of immigration and specifically criticized the job performance of Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, who she targeted in blistering testimony last year.
She doubled down on her stance Thursday evening at a town hall meeting in Rock Springs, where she said the border crisis is the No. 1 threat to the United States.
Hageman has been named an impeachment manager in the event that the Senate holds a trial on the two articles of impeachment drafted against Mayorkas. Earlier this week, Lummis urged Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, to push for an impeachment trial.
Although the presence of illegal immigrants hasn't been a significant issue handled in Wyoming, numerous national reports show people have become more in tune with national issues because of the rising presence of social media and cable news.
On Monday, the Wyoming Senate passed an amendment allowing the governor to offer $2 million to Texas to secure its border.
Energy
Overall, 82% of respondents said they want their elected officials to champion legacy energy production such as oil, coal, natural gas and rare earth minerals, regardless of the Biden administration’s preference for green energy, and 11% said they want elected officials to reduce Wyoming’s production and use of fossil fuels and prioritize a carbon-reductive approach to energy resources.
Gov. Mark Gordon has staked a middle ground on these fronts, advocating for an “all-of-the-above” energy policy that embraces both legacy energy industries and new alternative energies. Although he has strongly criticized the Biden administration’s approach to energy, he’s also advocated that Wyoming participate in various matching funds programs with the federal government to serve its energy needs.
When it comes to mineral rights in Wyoming, 76% of respondents want a state’s rights approach, expressing a desire for elected officials to reduce the federal footprint in Wyoming by returning land and mineral rights to the state. A similar 11% want elected officials to cooperate with the federal government and continue the status quo. Nine percent of respondents say they are unsure.
Thoughts On Biden
The survey also shows that Biden remains unpopular with Wyoming Republicans.
A total of 77% respondents said they are at least somewhat less likely to support a candidate that has partnered with the Biden administration, and 71% say they are much less likely.
Former President Donald Trump is largely expected to win the Republican nomination for president. In 2020 and 2016, Trump won Wyoming by a larger margin than any other state.
A Wyoming Republican Party poll released last November showed that 70% of the state’s Republicans support him in his 2024 presidential run.
Barrasso and Hageman are both up for reelection this year, while Lummis is not up for reelection until 2026. All three have endorsed Trump’s campaign.
National Public Affairs is run by Bill Stepien, a noted GOP consultant who assisted with Hageman’s 2022 campaign.
Leo Wolfson can be reached at leo@cowboystatedaily.com.
