A censure against Gov. Mark Gordon was narrowly advanced by a Wyoming Republican Party committee Friday afternoon.
The move to issue a formal rebuke of the governor passed on a razor-thin 11-10 vote by the party’s Resolutions Committee.
Big Horn County GOP Committeeman Scott Brown spoke in favor of the censure.
“I’m not happy with how the governor has been acting,” Brown said. “I don’t feel like he’s representing the will of the people.”
The formal condemnation advances for the whole party to consider and vote on at its state party convention Saturday in Cheyenne.
A spokesperson for the governor declined to comment on the censure advanced Friday.
Push To Censure
The censure originated in Park County, where the county Republican Party there passed a censure resolution against the governor earlier this month for a slate of vetoes Gordon made to bills passed in the 2024 legislative session.
It was this resolution that was acted on by the committee Friday.
The crux of the censure resolution is focused on three actions Gordon made on bills from the most recent legislative session, and most notably his killing a property tax relief bill that had been popular with legislators.
Brown believes the governor purposely waited until the Legislature adjourned to make his vetoes, which he described as a “sweet little political trick." But the veto Gordon made to Senate File 54 was done on the last day of the session. It was the choice of legislators to adjourn.
Brown is also against some of the positions Gordon has been taking about wanting to reduce the state’s carbon output to fight climate change. He was disappointed when the governor declined to debate the issue when invited by state Sen. Cheri Steinmetz, R-Lingle, last winter.
“I was very disappointed when the governor weaseled out,” Brown said.
State Party Is Torn
The close vote on the censure shows that Gordon hasn’t lost all support from Wyoming Republicans.
Natrona County Republican Party Committeewoman Kim Walker was against the censure resolution. She believes Gordon’s comments on carbon have been taken out of context and that the governor supports the state’s legacy industries.
Walker also mentioned how Gordon was reelected by a large margin of the vote in 2022.
“He’s our party’s elected governor and I think that deserves respect,” she said. “The mission of our party is to get Republicans elected and support them, not censor candidates or counties because you feel they are not Republican enough."
Sheridan resident Jeff Wallack, a major supporter of former President Donald Trump, also voted against the censure.
“I think the censure of the governor is a waste of time as it will not make a difference,” he said.
No Regret
If the censure passes, Gordon would be the highest profile Wyoming politician censured since former congresswoman Liz Cheney.
Wallack said he sees the Cheney censure as a completely different situation as she was still up for reelection after opposing Trump at the time. Gordon is in his second term as governor and isn’t expected to run for a third.
Although he has remained respectful, Gordon hasn’t expressed any regret for his vetoes.
“Governor Gordon stands behind his decision to veto the flawed legislation referenced in this document,” said Michael Pearlman, a spokesperson for the governor, in response to the Park County resolution earlier this month. “Republicans want true tax reform, not temporary wealth redistribution.”
Brown said he isn’t concerned if the party damages its relationship with Gordon.
“I don’t care if it ruins our relationship with him because he’s not a true Republican,” he said. “If you don’t stand for something, you fall for anything. We have to stand for our principles."
Softened
Although the Resolutions Committee passed the resolution, it made a few changes to it.
A stipulation encouraging the party to disinvite Gordon from the ongoing convention was removed. Pearlman confirmed to Cowboy State Daily that the governor would not attend the convention.
Also removed were statements that the governor “clearly has no empathy for the average Wyoming citizen and homeowner.”
Kept in was a statement that he “falsely uses and weaponizes conservative language against his own citizens while behaving, spending and delivering outcomes like a liberal.”
Leo Wolfson can be reached at leo@cowboystatedaily.com.
