Under the awning of the Lions Park Amphitheater, a chair reserved for state Rep. Dan Zwonitzer, R-Cheyenne, sat empty at the Laramie County Republican Party’s Politics in the Park forum Wednesday evening.
His Republican primary opponent Ann Lucas was there, however, making a point to note his absence and go after him about comments she said Zwonitzer has been making against her on the campaign trail.
“I have not called him ‘cancer’ and I have not called him a ‘liar,’ although I have been called both,” she said.
Zwonitzer, the second longest serving member of the Wyoming House, said he’s never in his political career been the target of as many personal attacks as this campaign with Lucas. In contrast, he said he hasn't put out any negative political advertisements about her.
“Nobody should have this kind of animosity for a human being,” he said. “They just enjoy zinging me left and right.”
During the forum, Lucas said she has stuck to criticizing Zwonitzer on his voting record in all her campaign messaging about him.
On Thursday, she posted to Facebook that she was contacted by someone who claimed to be a Reagan Republican and cited Reagan's famous "never speak ill of another Republican” phrase. The man then went on to publicly call her and others politically aligned with her "far-right Nazis.”
Zwonitzer is running against Lucas for reelection to an 11th term in office. He is a member of the Wyoming Caucus, a group of Republican legislators who have organized to oppose the farther right Wyoming Freedom Caucus.
Lucas has been endorsed by the Freedom Caucus and told Cowboy State Daily in May she plans to vote with that group on most issues.
‘Cancer’ And ‘Liar’?
The “cancer” comment Lucas refers to was from a June WyoFile story Zwonitzer was interviewed for, where he described the Freedom Caucus as a cancer in Wyoming politics that Lucas seems to be a part of.
As far as accusing Lucas of lying, he stands by it.
“She’s an abject liar,” he said. “It’s pathological at this point,” he said.
One of the main examples he uses is a mailer Lucas put out claiming Zwonitzer voted against a bill that would have prevented non-U.S. citizens from getting driver’s licenses in Wyoming.
Even with a license, these people still can’t vote in Wyoming elections, but Lucas claimed the bill would have prevented them from voting. She also made up a headline without any source attached to it on the mailer that says, “Zwonitzer supports giving illegals the right to vote.”
Zwonitzer said he voted against the bill because it was part of a package of bills that Freedom Caucus members tried to bring to the House floor after they had already died in various committees a few days prior, not because of the content of the actual legislation.
“This was a game played this election cycle by the Freedom Caucus on a couple different votes,” he said.
About Those Mailers
Zwonitzer said a similar approach was taken on a mailer accusing him of voting to keep former President Donald Trump’s name off the election ballot, a claim made on many mailers targeting Freedom Caucus opponents in state races this primary season.
This was a false reference to Zwonitzer’s vote for a budget footnote that would have prevented Secretary of State Chuck Gray from filing out-of-state lawsuits shortly after he filed an amicus brief with private money in Colorado.
“It’s not even lies at this point, they’re categorical falsehoods,” Zwonitzer said. “They’re promoting things and hoping people won’t follow in the process and learn how things actually work.”
One mailer depicted Zwonitzer riding a rhinoceros in reference to the acronym RINO, (Republican in name only). Another mailer displays his photo between former congresswoman Liz Cheney and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
“Some of the stuff I said, OK, that’s a little edgy, but that’s beyond the edge,” Zwonitzer said.
‘It’s Just Not Right’
Lucas countered that there have been various letters to the editor written about her, accusing her of spreading lies with the help of out-of-state, dark money sources.
According to her campaign finance report, Lucas has not received any money from any political action committees.
Zwonitzer, on the other hand, received $26,400.
There were some out-of-state PACs that sent out mailers against Zwonitzer on Lucas’ behalf, however. These out-of-state PACs often operate without coordinating or giving money to the candidates they support.
Zwonitzer said there have been at least 18 separate attack ads and mailers put out against him throughout the course of the campaign. He wishes his opponent would stick to his voting record and said he’s never seen someone withstand 18 hit pieces in a Wyoming election and win.
“I wish she would discuss more of that and not call me the Satan Incarnate,” he said. “It’s just not right.”
But Lucas said all of her criticisms of Zwonitzer are built around exactly that, the policy decisions he’s made.
“That’s all I use, voting records and the consequences of a voting record,” she said.
Why No Show?
Zwonitzer said he didn’t attend Wednesday’s forum because of who was moderating the event.
That was Stacey Leach, the mother of Jessie Rubino, Wyoming state director for the State Freedom Caucus Network, the parent group of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus. The campaign arm of the Freedom Caucus has been extremely critical of Zwonitzer and has put out its own mailers against his campaign.
“When the mother of the executive director of the Freedom Caucus is hosting and asking questions about banning library books and public health mandates, it just wasn’t legitimate to attend,” Zwonitzer said.
Leach donated $100 to Lucas’ campaign March 2, according to campaign finance reports.
Leach did not immediately respond to Cowboy State Daily’s request for comment.
She has mostly posed the same slate of questions when moderating the Politics in the Park events. Although many of these questions came with a conservative slant, that’s not shocking when considering only Republican candidates participated in the forums.
Lucas said she was disappointed Zwonitzer didn’t show up as the two haven’t participated in a single candidate forum together.
Leo Wolfson can be reached at leo@cowboystatedaily.com.
