U.S. Sen. John Barrasso officially announced Wednesday that he’s running for reelection to a fourth term in office.
“I want to continue fighting for you, working for Wyoming, getting results,” Barrasso said in a video announcing his reelection. “Our state has an important story to tell.”
Barrasso was first appointed to the Senate in 2007 after former Wyoming Sen. Craig Thomas died in office.
If he were to serve out an entire fourth term, Barrasso will have held office for 23 years, just shy of former longtime Wyoming delegation partner Sen. Mike Enzi, who retired after 24 years in office.
Not Surprising
Barrasso’s announcement isn’t a surprise, as he had been laying the groundwork for his reelection campaign for quite some time.
He had a successful fundraising year in 2023, dominating campaign fundraising among the Wyoming delegation with $4.2 million raised last year and through the first quarter of 2024, according to Federal Elections Commission data.
A Barrasso billboard was put up in a prominent location along I-80 outside Cheyenne late this winter, and in March he announced his intention to run for Republican whip in the Senate, the No. 2 position in that chamber.
Former U.S. Sen. Al Simpson was the last Wyoming senator to hold this position. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, considered one of the frontrunners for the Senate leader position, gave a total of $380,666 to Barrasso’s campaign in 2023.
Barrasso’s wife Bobbi Barrasso, a well-known figure in many Wyoming circles, died from brain cancer in January. In his announcement video, Barrasso thanked the public for the support his family has received since.
In a letter to his fellow Republicans, Barrasso said Bobbi’s death has brought him both sadness and perspective.
“This last year has been a difficult one for me and my family,” he wrote. “Losing your best friend and partner in life brings with it a lot of sadness and also valuable reflection about what has been and God’s plan for the future.”
Future Plans
Barrasso said Wyoming has a bright future he wants to continue fighting for, mentioning its energy, education and military sectors.
“I’m more excited about Wyoming’s future right now than I’ve ever been before,” he said.
Barrasso said he wants to continue fighting against President Joe Biden’s immigration policies by closing the southern border and “stopping the invasion now.”
“Every state, including Wyoming, is now a border state,” Barrasso said. “This means drug trafficking, human trafficking and crime.”
He also said he wants to push back on Biden’s energy policies. A significant portion of revenue from Wyoming’s energy industries goes to fund the state’s public schools.
“In the Senate, I led the fight against Joe Biden’s America-last energy policies, which put America last,” Barrasso said. “I worked with President Trump for America to be energy independent and put Wyoming energy first. We’ll do it again.”
Barrasso has also consistently blamed Biden for the relatively high inflation that has persisted throughout his time as president. He said it now costs Wyoming families more than $1,000 per month to cover their usual expenses.
“With Biden’s out-of-control spending, every person in Wyoming is literally paying the price for his weak leadership,” Barrasso said.
Lowering regulation and government spending, Barrasso said, is the key to cutting inflation.
Trump Connection
Multiple clips were shown in Barrasso’s announcement video with him standing or sitting next to former President Donald Trump. Barrasso has had a sometimes rocky relationship with Trump, but in March, Trump offered an endorsement of the Wyoming senator.
“I know John very well — he will never let you down,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “John Barrasso has my complete and total endorsement!”
Casper resident Reid Rasner is Barrasso’s lone opponent so far in the Republican primary, building much of his campaign around his support for Trump, and even using the same style and color font in his logo as the Trump campaign.
Rasner claims there are multiple straw polls around the state showing him beating Barrasso, but did not respond to multiple requests from Cowboy State Daily to provide information about these polls.
Barrasso won 67% of the vote in the general election race for the U.S. Senate in 2018, and 65% in the Republican primary.
Prior to serving in the U.S. Senate, Barrasso represented Natrona County in the Wyoming Senate. During his 24 years as an orthopedic surgeon in Casper, Barrasso served as president of the Wyoming Medical Society and was named Wyoming Physician of the Year.
Leo Wolfson can be reached at leo@cowboystatedaily.com.
