A southwest Wyoming write-in campaign for the state Legislature is coming under fire from the new chair of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus over claims the candidate is misusing the logos of the Wyoming Legislature and Freedom Caucus.
On Tuesday, state Rep. Rachel Rodriguez-Williams, R-Cody, recently elected chairman of the Freedom Caucus, filed an official complaint with the Legislative Service Office and Secretary of State’s office on the write-in campaign of Rep. Jon Conrad, R-Mountain View.
Rodriguez-Williams accuses Conrad of improperly using logos of the Wyoming Legislature and Freedom Caucus in his write-in campaign mailers and yard signs.
Conrad lost his Republican primary election to challenger Joe Webb in August. Since that time, Conrad mounted a write-in campaign to try and beat Webb again. Webb is politically aligned with the Freedom Caucus and has publicly issued support for the group. Conrad is a member of the Wyoming Caucus, which opposes the Freedom Caucus.
What’s It About?
Conrad used the Wyoming Legislature logo in a Sept. 24 letter he sent out to constituents as part of his write-in campaign, where he blasted Webb for “outright lies” and “falsehoods” made about him during the primary campaign.
In addition, Conrad interlaid the Freedom Caucus logo in his political yard signs to describe his opponent as “Washington DC Freedom Caucus Joe Webb.”
In her complaint, Rodriguez-Williams points out that legislative rules forbid lawmakers from using the Legislature’s logo in campaign materials.
Conrad said this issue was already brought up to him in a letter from Senate President Ogden Driskill, R-Devils Tower, and House Speaker Albert Sommers, R-Pinedale, to which he responded and apologized for using the logo on Oct. 3.
As far as the Freedom Caucus logo, Conrad did not deny that he used it and had no further comment on Rodriguez-Williams’ complaint.
Rodriguez-Williams also pointed out that the letter did not state who it was funded by. All electioneering communications in Wyoming require a financial disclosure.
“Representative Conrad should focus his time serving the people of Uinta County with the little time he has left as a representative instead of trying to undermine their decision to go with a true conservative,” Rodriguez-Williams told Cowboy State Daily. “The people have proven they’re tired of Cheney Republicans.”
Conrad responded that “the letter was authored by myself.”
Cinderella Write-In
Conrad lost his reelection bid to Webb by about 230 votes in August.
The two previously faced off in the 2022 general election, where Conrad easily beat Webb, who was a write-in candidate at the time.
Now, the roles have reversed and Conrad is running an organized write-in campaign that he says matches the effort he put into his primary election campaign this year.
Write-in campaigns are generally seen as longshot efforts that rarely produce wins due to the difficulty of having to get voters to physically write a candidate’s name in rather than fill in a bubble next to their printed name. However, Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski made history in 2010 when she won her U.S. Senate seat through a write-in campaign.
One of the biggest reasons giving Conrad hope he could win this type of election was the relatively low turnout seen in Wyoming and his county in the primary election. Presidential elections tend to draw a much larger turnout, which Conrad is banking on for a few more votes, although he acknowledges winning will be an uphill battle.
He’s also being spurred by some of the comments Webb made about him during the primary race. Specifically, Conrad said Webb spread misinformation about him voting against property tax relief three times. Webb also falsely claimed Conrad is a Democrat, and said that the Legislature has done nothing to provide property tax relief. The last claim is inaccurate at best as the Legislature did pass a handful of bills providing varying levels of property tax breaks and relief.
“I’m running as a write-in candidate because not doing so would concede and reinforce his lies,” Conrad said.
Conrad also criticized Webb’s attendance at the U.S. Capitol on the day of Jan. 6 Capitol Riot. Webb has said he’s proud of his attendance at this rally.
“Having someone represent my county with these views on the insurrection and say they’re proud of that day- I can’t accept that,” Conrad said.
Leo Wolfson can be reached at leo@cowboystatedaily.com.
