The endorsements and donations rolling in for Wyoming Legislature races continue to raise ethical and legal concerns for some.
State Sen. Brian Boner, R-Douglas, on Thursday penned an op-ed, criticizing the endorsements nine state senators made for Sen. Jim Anderson, R-Casper, in a recent campaign mailer.
Boner believes moves like these pave the way for unnecessary divisions down the road when senators start endorsing candidates during primary election campaigns.
“We’ve already seen the vitriol of the campaign trail spill over into the Senate chamber as members violated this rule in previous elections,” he wrote. “The result has been a noticeable deterioration in our ability to function as a deliberative body.”
"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," Boner continued, referring to Senate President Ogden Driskill.
Anderson is taking on Casper resident Bryce Reece, a candidate philosophically aligned with the farther right contingency of state House Republicans known as the Wyoming Freedom Caucus.
Endorsing Anderson on the mailer are Senate President Ogden Driskill, R-Devils Tower; Sens. Tara Nethercott, R-Cheyenne; Bill Landen, R-Casper; Mike Gierau, D-Jackson; Ed Cooper, R-Ten Sleep; Wendy Schuler, R-Evanston; Chris Rothfuss, D-Laramie; and Cale Case, R-Lander.
Driskill believes his endorsement of Anderson is justified and he stands by the senator’s voting record.
“When in the world is it a bad idea to support someone you think is doing an effective job and you like?” Driskill questioned. “Why would I replace somebody that I know is good with somebody’s that a total unknown that … decidedly comes from the far right, who has a track record of doing really silly stuff as proved in the budget this year?”
Driskill said seven sitting senators endorsed his first campaign in 2010, and he has also endorsed candidates challenging Republican incumbents in the past, supporting Cheyenne Republican Sen. Anthony Bouchard’s 2020 primary opponent Erin Johnson.
Still, he said Boner is also being hypocritical, accusing him of working with a group of legislators who challenged his leadership during the 2024 budget session.
“What I really don’t like seeing is coalitions getting made behind the scenes that challenge leadership because they don’t like the way it works,” Driskill said. “That’s exactly what he did last session.”
Boner doesn’t dispute this claim.
“The dynamic in the past year was unfortunate,” he said. “Legislators chose one side or another.”
Questionable Donation
Also catching attention is a $25,000 donation the Crook County Republican Party made to the Wyoming Freedom political action committee, the campaign arm of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus.
Some like Driskill believe the donation was illegal.
“I think it’s absolutely deplorable,” he said. “The party is supposed to be neutral in the primary. There’s not one candidate they’re allowed to be giving to as a party.”
Boner also opposes the donation.
“I remember a time when the Republican Party officially stayed out of picking sides in the primary,” he said. “I look forward to moving past this.”
Wyoming Statute 22-25-104 discusses restrictions on using political party money in primary elections. The law states that no political party funds shall be spent directly or indirectly in the aid of the nomination of any one person as against another person of the same political party running in the primary election.
The Crook County GOP donation wasn’t made directly to a single candidate, but the Wyoming Freedom PAC is endorsing certain candidates in their Republican primary campaigns. Of the 13 candidates the PAC has publicly endorsed so far, all have Republican opponents in their primaries.
However, the words “any one” in the law also could possibly be construed as giving the party protection, as the Wyoming Freedom PAC has endorsed a slate of Republican candidates this year rather than just a single one.
Sherry Davis, Crook County state committeewoman, said the county party conferred with an attorney before making the donation. She said it’s completely legal as it wasn’t given directly to any candidate.
“A PAC is not a candidate,” she said.
Choosing Sides
Many county Republican parties in Wyoming have less than $25,000 in their entire budgets, much less that kind of money give to a single group.
The Crook County GOP also gave $27,000 to candidates around the state for their general election campaigns in 2022, drawing irritation from Driskill at the time.
The leadership of the Wyoming Republican Party has encouraged members to support candidates they see as representing the farther right of their party in the primary, but usually has stopped short of openly supporting or opposing certain candidates.
As far as why the Crook County GOP chose the Wyoming Freedom PAC to give its sumptuous donation, Davis said the answer is simple.
“If they support the Republican platform, we support them,” she said. “We would not want to support a PAC that doesn’t support the platform.”
A lawsuit was filed against the Wyoming Freedom PAC on Thursday for allegedly committing defamation and false light when it sent out in mailers against two Rock Springs Republican state legislators, accusing them of voting to keep former President Donald Trump off the ballot.
The fact that these legislators are receiving calls about those mailers, Wyoming Freedom PAC Chairman Kari Drost said, is proof that her group’s efforts are working.
“That is exactly the grassroots, transparent voter engagement that the WY Freedom PAC is advocating,” she said. “If these individuals feel their votes were a true representation of the people they serve, then they should have no trouble defending their records to their constituents.”
Leo Wolfson can be reached at leo@cowboystatedaily.com.
