As campaign season heats up, we are seeing more aggressive tactics in legislative races. Much ink has been spilled on the influx of dark money and special interest groups supporting various candidates.
The drama of the ongoing conflict between the Freedom and Wyoming Caucuses in the Wyoming House of Representatives fills headlines and, while certainly entertaining, continues to do damage to the Wyoming Legislature.
I am thankful that the Wyoming Senate hasn’t suffered the same level of divisiveness and dysfunction, though we have clearly gone the wrong direction in the last year and a half.
In all the noise, it is easy to miss a significant increase in current senators disregarding standards of conduct in ways that were unthinkable until recently.
One of the last unwritten rules that was largely adhered to until this year is to not publicly interfere in the primary elections of other legislators.
There is wisdom in working to reestablish that standard. Unlike special interest groups who routinely endorse candidates, lawmakers have the responsibility to work directly with whoever is elected to the legislature on a wide range of issues.
That is much harder to do if you previously made it clear that you don’t think certain legislators should even be there.
Most importantly, interfering in the primary of one of your current or future colleagues reflects a certain lack of trust in the voters to decide for themselves who should represent them.
We’ve already seen the vitriol of the campaign trail spill over into the Senate Chamber as members violated this rule in previous elections. The result has been a noticeable deterioration in our ability to function as a deliberative body.
Decisions in the Senate Chamber should be based on what is best for the state, not emotion or a desire for revenge.
The most recent example is a campaign mailer in Casper that features a few sitting Wyoming Senators endorsing one of the candidates.
This instance is notable in that it is clearly a coordinated effort by multiple members. This aggressive and questionably effective behavior pushes our institution in the wrong direction.
Our current presiding officer’s involvement in this mailer is especially belligerent, given the responsibilities of the office he will occupy for a few more months.
Ultimately, this action all but requires a similar response from the other candidate in the race. Now that this line has been so overtly crossed by so many current members, it will be difficult to go back.
I urge my fellow senators to remember you will need the votes of the folks you are campaigning against today in order to be effective once we get to Cheyenne.
One’s conduct as an elected official during campaign season has ramifications for the institution we should all be working hard to improve.
By exhibiting restraint now, we will be better prepared to repair the damage that has been done to the Wyoming Senate over the past year and a half. The folks we are meant to serve should expect nothing less.
Senator Brian Boner (Converse, Natrona) is the Chairman of the Wyoming State Senate Republican Conference. He is a sixth generation Wyoming rancher and Air Force veteran who lives with his family outside of Douglas.
