Freedom Caucus contender Darin McCann, R-Rock Springs, beat State House District 48 Rep. Clark Stith in a stunning upset in the Republican primary race in Sweetwater County that turned heated over accusations of “crossover voting.”
The loss for Stith, R- Rock Springs, the speaker pro tempore, was tough to swallow for the legislator who was seeking a full fourth term in office.
"Serving in the Wyoming Legislature was the honor of a lifetime,” Stith told Cowboy State Daily.
“Voters in my district want change and change they’ll get,” Stith added. “They will get anti-government change. I expect less support for the University of Wyoming, less support for public schools and probably less support for social programs.”
McCann aligns with the far right of the Republican Party and supports issues like term limits. He has publicly criticized Stith for not supporting Second Amendment rights enough.
McCann has also openly embraced the support he has received from Make Liberty Win, a Virginia-based conservative group that spent more than $370,000 in Wyoming elections this year.
Some Republicans like Rep. John Bear, R-Gillette, distanced themselves from the group after it was revealed a Wyoming chapter associated with the group supports the legalization of marijuana.
“I feel relieved. Glad it’s over with. Now I’m going to take a breather,” McCann said.
McCann said he tax reform is one of his top priorities.
“Part of the reason I got in the race is all of the deceit going on with the incumbents in Sweetwater,” McCann told Cowboy State Daily. “They’re all blowing smoke and mirrors.”
In the final stretch of this month’s race, Stith, a big proponent of parental rights, took the gloves off, claiming that his House District 48 opponent shouldn’t be eligible to vote.
Stith engaged in a back-and-forth with Secretary of State Chuck Gray over his interpretation of a 2023 law that prohibits registered voters from changing party affiliation after the candidate filing period opens.
Gray spearheaded the House Enrolled Act 70 law, which was designed to prevent the practice known as “crossover voting,” when a voter switches party affiliation to impact the result of another party’s primary election.
This was part of an effort by supporters of the bill to prevent Democrats and Independent voters from changing their party affiliation to vote in Republican primaries, something that proponents of the law claimed had impacted the result of the 2018 Republican gubernatorial race.
Since McCann didn’t vote in the 2022 general election, he was automatically cleared from the state’s registered voter rolls, per Wyoming law.
According to data from the Secretary of State’s Office, McCann didn’t register as a Republican until May 22, about four days after the candidate filing period opened. He registered his campaign three days after that.
McCann told Cowboy State Daily that Stith was doing “dirty deeds” with his claims and making a “radical interpretation” of the law on the books that “should really hurt him with his liberal supporters.”
McCann played hardball, himself, on the crossover voting issue. He pointed out Stith’s past support for former congresswoman Liz Cheney. During Cheney’s 2022 campaign, which Stith supported, she sent out mailers explaining to voters how they could change their party affiliation.
Pat Maio can be reached at pat@cowboystatedaily.com.
