LANDER — Lander’s sitting state representative of nearly 12 years defeated his most recent challenger Tuesday, with 54% of what started as a very close vote.
Republican Rep. Lloyd Larsen beat Republican challenger Tina Clifford 1,435 to 1,208 in Tuesday’s primary election, winning the Republican nomination for the seventh time.
He had been losing by about 85 votes earlier Tuesday night in the House District 54 race, and it looked like a potential Clifford win before absentee ballots arrived and rescued Larsen.
It was narrower than he’d prefer, said Larsen, who said the “nasty mailers” some groups sent out, falsely claiming he voted to keep former President Donald Trump off the ballot among other misleading claims, likely had an impact.
“I think both the House and the Senate will have a much different look,” Larsen said. Some of his colleagues, like Republican Reps. Ember Oakley and Clark Stith, lost their bids for reelection to social-conservative newcomers Tuesday night. “Regardless of how it looks you go down there to serve the constituents that elected you in – so that’s my job,” Larsen said.
Larsen said he goes into every election cycle thinking he’ll lose, so he wasn’t overly nervous while he was losing early in the count.
“Had I lost – OK. My life is not consumed with the Legislature; I have a wife and a family and many other things,” he said. “I’m elected for two more years, so I’ve got to figure out some things to do, and it’ll be interesting.”
After The Prayer
Clifford said she prayed that God would do what was best, “and this was His answer,” she told Cowboy State Daily in a post-count interview.
She thanked those who voted for her, who supported her, who campaigned with her and who took the time to meet her.
“I’ve met some wonderful, wonderful people here in Lander, so that’s been a blessing,” she said.
Clifford said she’s not sure what’s next for her – but at the very least, a rest.
About Lloyd Larsen
Larsen has carved out his legislative identity as an expert on the Wyoming budget, a strategist of state and tribal cooperation, and an advocate for mental health support and infrastructure.
His occupational background is in construction in the oil and gas sector.
He serves on the Appropriations Committee, the most powerful committee in the state Legislature, and chairs the Mental Health and Vulnerable Adult Task Force. He has chaired multiple committees throughout his tenure, including the Fremont County-focused Select Committee on Tribal Relations.
Larsen oversaw a massive remodel of the Lander-based Wyoming Life Resource Center, which celebrated the project’s completion in 2022.
Like many longtime lawmakers in the state, Larsen has identified a Wyoming Supreme Court mandate making the Legislature prioritize K-12 education funding as an Achilles heel during budget time. In leaner years, Larsen has said, the state should be allowed to scale back from its “Cadillac” school funding model.
That Wyoming Supreme Court mandate is under review in the Laramie County District Court.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
