State Sen. Charles Scott is on track to keep his Senate District 30 seat for a record 14th term in the Wyoming Legislature after beating two Republican primary challengers Tuesday.
Scott, 78, took 1,438 votes, or 47.65% of Natrona County votes, beating out his main opponent, Scott Hendry, who took 1,179 votes or 30.07% Tuesday night.
Charles H. Schoenwolf came in a distant third with 394 or 13.06% of votes.
Scott did not return a phone call from Cowboy State Daily seeking comment from him on his win.
There is no Democratic opponent for Scott in the November general election.
Hendry told Cowboy State Daily he was proud of the race he ran, saying it was a clean race where candidates didn’t go after each other personally.
“It’s tough to go against somebody who’s been there for 46 years,” Hendry said. “One thing about it, though, I made him go back to work. He was going door to door, and he was working at it. We were both working at it.”
Hendry acknowledged having some baggage to contend with, such as his vote on wind towers north of town and voter perceptions surrounding the 2020 sale of the Wyoming Medical Center.
“I was on the commission when we sold the hospital,” Hendry said. “We sold the hospital but not the business. Wyoming Medical Center sold the business, and people just don’t understand that there’s a difference.”
Scott Among America’s Longest Serving Lawmakers
Scott was already the longest-serving legislator in Wyoming history. A new term makes Scott one of the nation’s longest serving legislators as well.
The current title holder is South Carolina state Sen. Nikki Setzler, who has served two years longer than Scott, but plans to retire at the end of this year.
The all-time record belongs to a Wisconsin state senator who retired in 2020 after serving 64 years.
Scott has been the voice of experience for a long time in the Wyoming state legislature and is often consulted by young and old lawmakers alike because he does his homework.
Scott told Cowboy State Daily in June that understanding the basics is a relatively simple task. But understanding all of the coalitions, and fully grasping the process that some refer to as making sausage usually takes two or three terms.
Still Work To Do
Scott had told Cowboy State Daily in February 2023 he wasn’t sure how many more years he would continue as a state lawmaker.
“Age is starting to wear on me,” he said then. “I’ll be up for re-election in 2024. I’ll have to decide if I’m going for another term.”
By June, Scott had made up his mind that there was still work to be done, telling Cowboy State Daily he has unfinished business in the legislature, particularly when it comes to public education.
He believes the state can and should raise the bar on its students’ reading scores.
“This is the most important thing that the state and local governments do,” he said. “Keeping the districts effective and doing a good job is an ongoing struggle, but it’s a particular struggle right now, and setting the ongoing reforms I think is doable in the next term.”
Scott points to a report conducted by an outside firm for the Legislature three years ago that concluded Wyoming’s per pupil funding is among the highest in the country, and it’s getting its money’s worth based on test scores.
“If the local administrators set that priority and are competent, they can do a pretty good job,” he said.
Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.
