You can quote me on this: “I have seen the future. It is just like the present, only different. Oops, it just changed again. Never mind.”
So here we are in another presidential election where Donald Trump is the overwhelming favorite here in Wyoming for the third election in a row.
In 2016, he won big in Wyoming and won narrowly across the USA. In 2020, he won big in the Cowboy State but lost to Joe Biden in the national election. Today, in 2024, he will again carry Wyoming by a big margin but may very well lose again in the national election.
You would think we would be getting “Trump fatigue.” Isn’t it time to check someone else out?
Well, no.
Especially when the candidate from the other side is Kamala Harris, who is perhaps the most liberal presidential candidate in history and who represents those California values that irritate about 66 percent of the voters here.
Trump will beat Harris here by a bigger margin, I predict, than he defeated Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020.
Those Crazy Leftist Notions
The majority of Wyoming people do not believe we are imperiled by climate change. The idea of late term abortions is abhorrent to most folks. Folks here are offended by the idea of boys competing against girls.
An excellent Cowboy State Daily column by Dave Simpson pointed out that many of the ideas considered “far right” (and crazy) by liberals across America actually seem to reflect common sense.
Wyoming, almost by definition, is the epitome of common sense.
Harris is on record of being very much against fossil fuels and she is a typical California advocate of notions like the Green New Deal and the government paying for everything.
From most Wyomingites’ perspective, she represents everything that is wrong with this country.
How Others See Us
From the Financial Times: “Despite Harris’s nationwide lead in some polls, Wyoming’s overwhelmingly conservative electorate aligns strongly with Trump, making it unlikely for Harris to perform well there. Wyoming's small population grants it just three electoral votes, which have consistently gone to Republicans for decades.
“Wyoming voters tend to prioritize issues such as energy policy, especially given the state's reliance on fossil fuel industries like coal and natural gas. Trump's stance on deregulation and his advocacy for traditional energy sources resonate deeply with many Wyomingites, who see Democratic environmental policies as a threat to their livelihoods. Harris's support for renewable energy and climate action, while appealing to a broader national audience, is less likely to garner traction in Wyoming.”
The Liz Cheney Effect
Wyoming people know how to hold a grudge. And Liz Cheney has been feeling it.
Cheney has been criss-crossing the country hand-in-hand with Harris as the former U. S. Representative continues her grudge match against Trump. Frankly, she looks ridiculous to most Wyomingites.
Here is this gal who voted to impeach President Trump while 240 other Republican Senators and Congresspersons chose not to. When she did this, she gave up all that clout she had accumulated and robbed Wyoming on an almost unbelievable amount of influence. Had she not done that, there is no doubt she would have been the Speaker of the House.
For most Republicans abortion is a big issue. And yet here is Cheney going coast-to-coast campaigning for the single hardest-working pro-abortion person in history. Harris really has nobody to compare to on this issue.
In a recent Newsweek story, Cheney tried to explain how a person who is pro-life, such as herself, can support Harris. It was pretty convoluted.
I always was a big supporter of Liz Cheney and her family. Alas, no more.
Center Of Political Universe
We can’t talk about Liz without recalling what a wonderful political season we had here in Wyoming two years ago.
Today, we are not the center of the political universe like we were two years ago. The battle is the same. Only different.
Electoral College
Wyoming voters are the most powerful in the county, thanks to how our country’s founders set up the electoral college.
Our three electors represent about 173,000 voters each. In California, for example, it takes 722,000 people to represent each of its 54 electoral votes.
I plan to vote early to avoid the crowds. Hope to see you all at the polls.
You Will Not Like My Prediction
When the dust clears after election day, I fear that the Democrats will have pulled off a miracle.
Right now, Fox News is claiming victory while all the liberal media are singing the blues. This is probably premature.
The forces pushing Kamala Harris control the media, the marketing, and the internet in this country. Those efforts plus the fact that a percentage of some 20 million illegal immigrants, armed with driver’s licenses and social security cards, will be allowed to vote in selected key precincts around the country.
I hate writing this but I predict Harris will win narrowly. Damn.
