Wyoming’s Democrats are clear they want another term of President Joe Biden in the White House.
The Wyoming Democratic Party held its primary caucuses across the state Saturday, choosing Biden with an overwhelming margin of the vote.
On its surface, the results aren’t surprising. It’s rare for a party to not support its own sitting president in a primary election.
But Wyoming had potential to be one Red state where Biden’s longshot competitors on the Democratic ticket could have potentially made up a little ground when considering the conservative leanings of the state that voted for Trump with a larger margin of victory than any other in 2020.
Other alternative candidates like Independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also have made some inroads in Wyoming this election season, but there’s no reason to believe Wyoming’s support for Trump has waned significantly, if at all.
In 2016, Hillary Clinton only took a small majority of Wyoming Democratic delegates and in 2020, Biden had only wrapped up the party’s nomination about 10 days prior to the Wyoming caucus.
But none of that drama was on display Saturday as state Democrats gave 322 of their 324 state convention delegate votes to Biden. As a result, Biden will get all 13 of the state’s national convention delegates.
Why Support?
Marcie Kindred, communications director for the Laramie County Democratic Party, said all other candidates went out the window for her when considering what is at stake for the 2024 presidential election against former President Donald Trump, describing it as a vote of pragmatism.
“I think we’re at an inflection point in our nation’s 248-year experiment with democracy,” she said.
Although Wyoming Democrats aren’t overly enthusiastic about everything Biden has done during his time in office, Kindred said they support the bigger picture of what his administration represents and fights for.
One person even brought up Biden’s age, she said, which has been a frequent criticism levied on the president.
“I don’t think every Democrat in Wyoming is madly in love in voting for Joe Biden,” Kindred said. “It’s just a no-brainer.”
At Saturday’s caucus, a few spoke up to speak on Biden’s behalf, mentioning his Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, response to COVID-19, and efforts he’s made to address inflation. To date, $3.7 billion in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law money has been announced for Wyoming with more than 214 projects identified, and $1.7 billion has been allocated to Wyoming for clean energy, energy efficiency and power.
No one spoke against Biden at the caucus.
Local Focus
Colorado resident David Olscamp, one of the other Democratic candidates, made an appearance at the Laramie County caucus.
The local party’s rules require that only local party members are allowed to talk at the caucus, so Olscamp was not allowed to speak. No one spoke on his behalf and he received no votes at the county caucus. Olscamp did get a vote in Weston County.
Maryland candidate Jason Palmer also did some campaigning in Wyoming last week but didn’t receive any votes.
There was also a delegate in Campbell County who voted “uncommitted.”
The Laramie County Democratic Party has made a concerted focus in the past year to move away from national topics and focus on local issues, which it hammered out in its local chapter bylaws and resolutions after the caucus vote.
Although much more commonly seen in Republican circles in Wyoming, Kindred said this remains consistent across the board.
“I feel like Democrats are particularly tired of people from out-of-state coming trying to push their agenda here and that’s no different for something brought from our own party,” she said. “There’s not much appetite for that.”
Ultimately, Laramie County Democratic Party Chair Jordan Evans said his local party had no illusions about the lack of impact their vote will make on Biden’s candidacy, which was already wrapped up months ago.
“We’re in agreement that we’re not going to tip the balance of power,” he said.
Leo Wolfson can be reached at leo@cowboystatedaily.com.
