CHEYENNE — If there’s an LGBTQ issue in Wyoming, it’s likely Cheyenne resident Sara Burlingame is involved.
Executive Director of LGBTQ advocacy group Wyoming Equality, Burlingame, a Democrat, is running to get back in the Wyoming Legislature after losing her last two attempts.
“I know how to find common cause with a wide group of people, and I know how to fight for constituents,” she said.
Burlingame is running against Republican Jacob Wasserburger in the general election for House District 11. This is a new district for Burlingame, who previously represented House District 44 from 2019-2021.
After losing two consecutive bids to get her seat back in the 2020 and 2022 elections, Burlingame said she moved to HD 11 in central Cheyenne for nonpolitical reasons.
“I love Wyoming, and you fight for the things you love,” she said. “There is a Wyoming way of life that insists on small government, neighbors showing up for each other, resisting national politics, resisting making enemies out of opponents, and I think that’s something I’m particularly good at.”
Wasserbuger beat Republican challenger Seth Ulvestad in the Republican primary by 91 votes. Burlingame ran unopposed in her primary.
A native of Lusk, Wasserburger, 32, is running for the Legislature for the first time, but has some past political experience and connections. He’s the nephew of former Gillette state legislator Jeff Wasserburger and founded a Young Americans for Liberty chapter while attending Sheridan College.
After seeing what took place during the COVID-19 pandemic, Wasserburger said it made him realize he needed to get back involved with politics.
“I decided it was time to do my civic duty and get involved again,” he said.
These days, Wasserburger works two jobs and attends college online. He’s not worried about having enough time to be a state legislator, mentioning how he ran his primary campaign by himself and works his jobs on a part-time basis.
Wasserburger said that as a blue-collar worker himself, he believes he relates best to the voters in his district, many of whom work paycheck to paycheck.
He also wants to inspire other young people to participate in politics and feels confident he can approach issues in a bipartisan manner.
“I think when you get down to a local level people agree on a lot more things than what they realize,” he said.
Burlingame testified at the Legislature in 2023 and this year against bills prohibiting transgender girls from participating in girls sports in Wyoming and banning transgender medical treatments on minors.
Both of these bills passed into law. She would not directly answer if she plans to try and roll back that legislation if elected.
Freedom Caucus
Burlingame accuses Wasserburger of being a member of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus, which is poised to gain a majority in the state House entering the 2025 legislative session.
Burlingame believes this dynamic could create an opportunity for Democrats to win back a few seats in the Legislature by peeling off Independent and moderate Republicans to support them.
She also believes out-of-state forces are working to change Wyoming’s politics to fit into a cookie-cutter idea of what a red state should look and act like, and that the Cowboy State must figure out what it wants to be.
“They don’t know how to look after their neighbor, they don’t know how to live and let live,” she said. “I think Wyoming has really good values that are being overtaken.”
Wasserburger has not been endorsed by the Freedom Caucus and denies that he’s a part of the group in any way. Instead, Wasserburger said he’s committed to his party’s values.
“I have no plans of joining the Freedom Caucus or becoming a member of them,” Wasserburger said. “I’d like to see Republicans that support the Wyoming Republican Party platform, so for people to call me a Freedom Caucus Republican is inaccurate. What I am is a platform Republican.”
That said, most of his political views align with members of the Freedom Caucus.
Burlingame believes he’s not associating with the group because HD 11 “is a very independent-minded district.”
“I don’t think that my opponent represents that independence,” she said. “I think he represents a dependence on a national caucus, and I don’t think that’s what people are looking for.”
Wasserburger said he wants to run a clean campaign and would not directly criticize Burlingame.
He did, however, mention how he’s been endorsed by Second Amendment groups Gun Owners of America and the National Rifle Association.
“I think that says a lot,” he said.
Property Taxes
Providing more property tax relief is the highest priority for Wasserburger even though he doesn’t own a home.
The issue may not affect him most directly, but Wasserburger said it’s the biggest concern for people in his district.
“I’ve had Democrats and Republicans both talk about the issue of property taxes,” he said.
Wasserburger wants property taxes to be assessed based on acquisition value in Wyoming or have residential properties assessed at 50% of their value.
Burlingame believes the Legislature has already made legitimate progress on providing property tax relief and that the topic has become overly politicized.
Being more fiscally conscious and creative with broader policies, she said, is a better way to put money back in the pockets of taxpayers, mentioning how she opposed a tax on groceries while serving in the Legislature.
Abortion
Burlingame is firmly pro-choice on abortion and believes the government should not restrict access to this procedure. She said seeking outside counsel on a decision like this is acceptable, but not for lawmakers to decide on.
“Never the Wyoming Legislature, never,” she said. “It’s offensive to me how invasive they want to be in people’s private, personal decisions.”
Even though the Legislature passed by an overwhelming majority a law banning most forms of abortion in 2023, Burlingame believes most pro-choice and pro-life Wyomingites are not actually far apart on this topic.
Even though Wasserburger is pro-life on abortion, he said he would prefer a different approach than having the government restrict access to it. He said he would rather see promotion and expanded access for adoption services as well as increased child tax credits.
“That’s the one issue Republicans on a national level are losing on is the abortion stance,” Wasserburger said. “Instead of just banning it, we should have really good tax incentives to encourage it (pregnancies) to help lower the rate of abortions.”
Other Issues
Wasserburger is particularly interested in term limits and would support legislators being restricted to serving 16 years. There are 16 states in America that have term limits for their legislatures, including nearby Colorado.
He also believes every vote should be done on roll call, which would require taking individual votes for every amendment and bill considered rather than taking voice votes.
On energy, Wasserburger said he isn’t opposed to green energy as long as it’s not subsidized with public money.
Burlingame said Wyoming’s energy future should look as diverse as possible while continuing to support the state’s legacy industries like coal and oil. But she also believes it’s unrealistic to hope that coal will rebound to its former levels of production.
Wasserburger supports school choice, the concept of giving public money for private and charter school education, and he wants to see it expanded in Wyoming.
Burlingame doesn’t believe it’s a right fit for Wyoming or constitutional and will defund public education in the state.
“They can’t tell me how it won’t defund public education because it does,” she said.
The District
HD 11 makes up central Cheyenne and is represented by Rep. Jared Olsen, R-Cheyenne, who is running for the Wyoming Senate.
Democrats have run in every election in HD 11 for the last 12 years and have been consistently competitive, but unable to win since former legislator Mary Throne was reelected in 2014. Throne lost her 2016 bid to Olsen by 62 votes.
Burlingame may have the best chance of winning since Throne’s last campaign because of her name recognition with voters.
But her popularity could also be a downfall as she has become a target for many conservatives in the state and those who oppose expanding LGBTQ rights.
Outside Pressures
Burlingame said Wasserburger only knows what to say when he’s scripted and that it's impossible for lawmakers to fight issues like property tax relief and inflation if they're working for groups outside their constituents.
This is reference to the State Freedom Caucus Network, which oversees the Freedom Caucus in Wyoming and pays the salary of its state director, Jessie Rubino.
“In a nutshell, the reason Laramie County voters should reject my opponent Jacob Wasserbruger and should reject the Freedom Caucus is that they are bought and paid for by a D.C. lobby,” she said. “When the Freedom Caucus gets up to the microphone they have a script. They have their marching orders.”
Make Liberty Win, a Virginia-based Libertarian group connected to Young Americans For Liberty, spent $9,766 on behalf of Wasserburger’s primary campaign.
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers PAC, based in Ohio, gave $300 to Burlingame’s campaign.
Burlingame has done well with her fundraising efforts for her campaign, raising $13,650 headed into the general election. Wasserburger has raised $5,784.
Editor's note: This story previously reported Jacob Wasserburger's uncle was a founding member of the Freedom Caucus. That is not correct, and this story has been corrected.
Leo Wolfson can be reached at leo@cowboystatedaily.com.
