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<title>Daily Cartoon: Tuesday, February 4, 2025 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Daily Cartoon: Tuesday, February 4, 2025

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily reporter, Dale Killingbeck

Dale Killingbeck

Crime & Courts

Courts

CASPER — A 31-year-old man who tried to burn down his ex-boyfriend's house after they argued last summer — while saving his own pet snake from the fire — was sentenced Monday to serve six to eight years in prison.

David Lee Wilkinson appeared in Natrona County District Court with his attorney Dylan Rosalez before Judge Daniel Forgey and listened as the ex-boyfriend tell the judge how Wilkinson “destroyed everything in my life.”

Wilkinson entered a plea deal with the Natrona County District Attorney’s office on Feb. 19 where both a first-degree arson charge for the July 16 fire and a domestic battery charge for an Oct. 11 incident were admitted via an Alford plea. 

The prosecution agreed to cap the prison sentence request at eight years.

The Alford plea mean Wilkinson did not plead guilty but admits there is enough evidence that would convict him of the charges if taken to trial.

A third-degree arson charge and domestic battery charge from July 16 were dropped.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"‘Great’ And ‘Terrible’ "}]

Wilkinson’s ex told the court that his relationship with Wilkinson was “great” and “terrible” at the same time and that Wilkinson during their relationship had threatened violence against both him and his family.

“I tend to look for the best in people,” he said. “The abuse he inflicted on me was generally after the influence of alcohol.”

After Wilkinson’s arrest for the arson of his home, the ex-boyfriend said they remained in relationship while he was out on bond until Wilkinson was arrested in October on suspicion of domestic battery.

“I was addicted to my relationship with David and feared for my family,” he said. 

The ex-boyfriend said his house and garage suffered more than $200,000 worth of damage and is still not “habitable” due to conflicts between his contractor and insurance company.

He asked the judge to impose a sentence that would help Wilkinson become rehabilitated and overcome his addictions, as well as help him deal with past trauma that occurred in his life.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"'Terrible Crime'"}]

Natrona County Assistant District Attorney Patrick LeBrun told the court that arson is a “terrible crime” because it it takes away “our own space” and “castle” that people look forward to retreating to after a day at work.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Fire also puts others in danger, he said."}]

“When you set fire to someone’s home you destroy it,” he said. “It’s extremely dangerous … (firefighters) are going to go in there and risk their lives. Firefighters die doing their job.”

LeBrun said that a prison term was appropriate and asked the judge to impose a sentence of 6.5 to eight years. 

He also asked the court for $1,100 restitution for the home insurance deductible that his ex-boyfriend had to pay.

Rosalez told the court that his client is “remorseful about what happened” and the conduct that led to the fire.

“Alcohol played a significant role to his actions,” he said. “He wants a chance to make this right, a chance to show that he is law abiding.”

Rosalez asked the court for a suspended sentence of four to six years in prison, as well as well as three years of supervised probation that would include time in an addiction treatment center.

Wilkinson told the court that he wanted to “apologize” for his actions.

“I have taken steps to ensure this will not happen again,” he said. “I can’t fix what happened.”

Forgey said that after reviewing the case and the pre-sentence report, probation was not appropriate.

“Incarceration is appropriate due to the circumstances in this case,” he said. 

Forgey then sentenced Wilkinson on the first-degree arson charge and gave him credit for 234 days served in jail as an appropriate sentence for the domestic battery charge.

Forgey ordered Wilkinson to pay the $1,100 restitution.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Background"}]

The arson charge against Wilkinson stems from a 911 call at 3:42 a.m. reporting the house fire fire in the 2200 block of Sagewood Avenue on July 16, 2025. 

A responding Casper Police Department officer found Wilkinson at the home with his pet snake.

“David stated he smoked a cigarette in the garage earlier and then went inside,” a police affidavit states. “David was in the living room when he noticed the residence getting cloudy. 

"David grabbed his snake and tried to look for his two cats. David then called his mother … and exited the residence.”

When his parents arrived at the house, he told his mother, “I promise, I didn’t do anything,” the officer says in the affidavit.

Wilkinson initially told police he lived at the home with a 31-year-old male who was supposed to get off work at 2 a.m. and speculated the other man might be with an ex-boyfriend.

The affidavit states Mills Fire Chief Wil Gay investigated the blaze and reported the fire started in the garage and moved into the kitchen area. 

Wilkinson told the fire chief that the owner was his boyfriend and was at work. He admitted to smoking in the garage and was unsure where he put his cigarette out. 

Wilkinson told the chief that the fire was burning where there was a bunch of clothes in the garage, the affidavit states.

During an interview with the 31-year-old homeowner on the afternoon of July 16, the chief reported that the he said he and Wilkinson had an argument when he arrived home at 2 a.m. and attempted to kick Wilkinson out of his house and put all of Wilkinson’s clothes in the garage.

He told the fire chief that Wilkinson went to the garage to smoke, came back and then made a comment along the lines of, “Well, have fun with that, your garage is on fire,” the affidavit states.

The homeowner found a fire burning in a metal clothes basket, put it out with a fire extinguisher and told Wilkinson to leave. 

When Wilkinson continued to argue, the homeowner left the residence about 3:15 a.m. and went to his parents’ home. He then got the text from Wilkinson at 3:24 a.m. saying that his house was on fire but did not see the text until the next morning, the affidavit states.

After Wilkinson’s arrest on the arson and a battery charge for his actions on July 16, he was released on bond.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Then A Fight"}]

Then on Oct. 11, officers were called at 7:39 a.m. to the 200 block of South Kenwood Street for the report of a suspicious person. 

A woman reported a man in a ripped black shirt and shorts came onto her porch and rang her doorbell. 

He then opened her door, and she told him to sit on the porch as she called police, the affidavit states.

The affidavit states the man walked back to the house across the street. 

As officers arrived at the scene, they heard a “bang” from inside and the 31-year-old who owned the Sagewood Avenue home, and who Wilkinson identified as his “ex-fiancé” in the arson case, was seen by police walking out the door of a residence across the street with a bruised eye.

Another officer found Wilkinson in the home. 

The boyfriend told police they had agreed it would be their last night in a romantic relationship, and that if their relationship continued, “Wilkinson would kill (the boyfriend) due to domestic violence,” the affidavit states.

The boyfriend said they drank alcohol and smoked marijuana until he blacked out. At 7 a.m., he felt pain on his face. He then armed himself with a kitchen knife to get away from Wilkinson.

“Wilkinson stated that (the boyfriend) became ‘scary’ so Wilkinson beat him up,” the affidavit states.

Wilkinson told police that the boyfriend grabbed the knife after he beat him, and had threatened him with it.

Police also found a leafy green substance in the home and multiple glass pipes with residue, the affidavit states.

David Wilkinson and burned house 6 2 26

<title>Casper Man Who Tried To Burn Down Ex’s House — But Saved Snake — Gets 6-8 Years | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A Casper man who tried to burn down his ex-boyfriend’s house last summer — but made sure to save his own pet snake — was sentenced Monday to six to eight years in prison. The man “destroyed everything in my life,” the ex told the judge.

Casper Man Who Tried To Burn Down Ex’s House — But Saved Snake — Gets 6-8 Years

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

Law Enforcement

A Gillette man bought a handgun and a box of ammunition at a sporting goods store there, then drove 11 hours and hundreds of miles across Colorado and, less than 24 hours later, allegedly opened fire on strangers in the Western Slope city of Montrose before taking his own life, the Montrose Police Department reports.

Authorities have identified the man as Eduardo Garcia Barrera, 42, a part-time resident of Gillette, and say they have no motive for why he opened fire on random motorists and a pedestrian, or why he did so in Montrose.

In an incident that unfolded over roughly 35 minutes Saturday morning, Montrose police say Barrera fired at moving vehicles as he entered the western Colorado city.

He then shot a 22-year-old pedestrian before crashing his vehicle at a local burger joint and dying from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, Montrose police report.

According to the Montrose Police Department, officers were first dispatched around 10:16 a.m. after reports that a man driving a green Honda sedan with Wyoming license plates was shooting at vehicles while driving westbound on U.S. Highway 50 into Montrose.

Police say Barrera was driving erratically and approached vehicles from behind before firing shots.

The occupants of the first vehicle reported to police that they were not hit, and investigators found no damage to their vehicle.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"‘Risk To Public Safety Was High'"}]

Over the next several minutes, dispatchers received numerous reports of the Honda weaving through traffic and passing vehicles as it traveled along East Main Street.

At about 10:21 a.m., police say Barrera pulled alongside a 22-year-old man walking in the 200 block of North San Juan Avenue and fired through the passenger-side window of his car, hitting the pedestrian in the lower left side of his body.

He then crashed into a restaurant called Crash Burger, where Barrera was found with a gunshot wound.

Cowboy State Daily reached out to the restaurant manager Tuesday morning, but they said none of the employees saw the shooting take place. 

The pedestrian was taken to a hospital and was reported to be in stable condition, police wrote. 

Having a motorist driving around town shooting at people apparently at random was a very dangerous situation, Montrose Police Chief Blaine Hall 

“The risk to public safety was high from multiple incidents, including the first report, where it was reported there was shooting at vehicles on our highway,” Hall told the Daily Press. “We’re fortunate the suspect hit the (decorative) gas pump instead of going through the building. We could have had potentially more injuries, even fatalities.”

The chief also called out the actions of bystanders who provided medical help to the shot pedestrian until emergency responders could arrive.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Gun Bought The Day Before"}]

Cowboy State Daily spoke with Montrose Police Department spokesman Paul Eller on Monday. Eller confirmed Barrera was a "part-time" resident of Gillette and said the case remains under active investigation.

Eller said investigators have not found evidence that any vehicles were struck by gunfire. He also declined to say whether anyone other than the wounded pedestrian may have been struck during the incident.

He would not discuss whether investigators have identified any significant events in Barrera's life leading up to the shootings. 

Investigators say Barrera bought a 9 mm handgun and a box of ammunition at a sporting goods store in Gillette on May 29, one day before the shootings.

Eller also declined to identify the sporting goods store where the gun was bought.

According to police, Barrera left Gillette that evening and traveled south through Wyoming, then through Colorado Springs and Pueblo before continuing west on Highway 50 toward Montrose.

At about 10:34 a.m., officers were dispatched to a crash at 646 E. Main St., where they found Barrera's Honda resting against a raised concrete platform, a bollard and a decorative gas pump.

Police say Barrera was alone inside the vehicle and dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Montrose investigators said they have found no identifiable ties between Barrera and the city.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Searching For Answers"}]

Police say they are continuing to interview victims and Barrera's family members in an effort to determine what prompted the shootings.

Cowboy State Daily found no criminal cases filed against Barrera in Wyoming's court system dating back to 2000.

Many details about Barrera's background and his reason for traveling to Montrose remain unclear, police say.

Authorities have not released any evidence suggesting the victims were targeted for a specific reason, and police have not announced a motive.

The investigation remains active, and officials say additional information will be released as it becomes available.

Montrose Press Crash Burger Montrose Press 6 2 26

<title>Gillette Man Goes On Shooting Spree In Colorado Town Before Shooting Self | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Police in Montrose, Colorado, say a Gillette resident bought a gun in Wyoming, drove hundreds of miles and unleashed a shooting spree before taking his own life. “The risk to public safety was high,” police say, adding they don't know why he did it.

Gillette Man Goes On Shooting Spree In Colorado Town Before Shooting Self

Mac Watson

Daily Video News

It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming for Tuesday, June 2nd,  I’m Mac Watson

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"– "}]

A Torrington family is in shock after finding their mutilated dogs partially submerged in the North Platte River. Cowboy State Daily’s Kolby Fedore reports that Angelica Garcia said two people made the grisly discovery of her dogs in the river. 

“The Garcia family says that they let their dogs out Friday morning, and they escaped, which was a common occurrence. They were known to get loose and wander about town. Angelica Garcia says that most of the time people would just bring the dogs back, and it kind of became a running joke in the community. The dogs went missing in the afternoon, and were discovered in the early evening by a woman walking with her young son. She found the dogs half submerged in the North Platte River. There were two Rottweilers, and it looked like they'd been blasted by a shotgun, one was missing its head, the other was missing its neck and its chest.”

Goshen County Sheriff Kory Fleenor confirmed Monday that his office has an open investigation into the incident, but declined to comment on whether investigators have determined a cause of death or whether any suspects or persons of interest have been identified.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"–"}]

The poll U.S. House candidate Chuck Gray touted Monday leveled disparaging claims about opponents Reid Rasner and Steve Friess. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that the poll, conducted by Fabrizio, Lee, and Associates, claims Friess “never had a real job” and Rasner acted like a “Hollywood celebrity” during a marriage to “his gay husband.”  

“They concluded that Gray was leading with 21% of the vote if the election were held mid May, but there was also a push poll phase, and I received screenshots shortly after reporting the favorable poll with very charged, very loaded attacks on Reid Rasner and Steve Freese. The commentary about Rasner was dredging up things from his 2020 to 2022 divorce proceedings, including a subjective comment saying he had hyphenated his name like a celebrity.  The prompts about Steve Friess were calling him an elitist and calling him out of touch with Wyomingites.”

The survey was a poll of 400 Wyoming Republican voters from May 13-16th and reveals Secretary of State Chuck Gray leads a crowded GOP U.S. House race with 21% support. Casper businessman Reid Rasner is second at 14%, and Teton County's Steve Friess is third at 10%. 

The family of a woman killed by a distracted driver in downtown Sheridan a year ago said they feel slighted by the 60-day sentence he got Friday. Cowboy State Daily’s Jen Kocher reports that the woman’s daughter says the sentence brings “deeper grief,” not closure.

“Kate Gladden, her daughter does not feel like justice was served, and they were quite disappointed because they had been hoping that the judge might take into consideration their victim statements and charge him with the full penalty under the law, which would be up to a year and $2,000 fine, but that did not happen. She stuck with the plea agreement for 60 days.”

65-year-old Julie Fitzsimmons was visiting her daughter Kate Gladden and her husband Nate, in Sheridan. Julie died of blunt force trauma to the head after being struck and thrown more than 7 feet by the vehicle. 

A 27-year-old man accused of shooting another man and leaving him bleeding in a Cheyenne street after a blowup over a former girlfriend pleaded not guilty Monday to attempted second-degree murder. Cowboy State Daily’s Greg Johnson reports that Adrian Maggos allegedly asked police how “the guy I shot” was doing.

“He sat quietly along with 11 other inmates from the jail, they all were wearing the bright orange jumpsuits, the orange proxy, he had his legs were shackled together, and when it was his turn, he got up and didn't say much to the judge, just answered his questions, ‘yes sir,’ ‘no sir,’ and when he, when the judge asked him for  how he pleaded to the charge of attempted secondary murder, he said, ‘not guilty.’”

The judge then set an Oct. 6 trial date for Maggos, while his attorney informed Judge Hibben that a motion to reduce his $250,000 cash-only bond would be filed in writing.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"italic"}],"text":"– "}]

I’ll have more news from Cowboy State Daily right after this.

Cowboy State Daily News continues now….

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"},{"type":"italic"}],"text":"–  "}]

A Wyoming barrel racer was stunned to learn that the teen girl accused of stabbing three horses in Las Vegas over the weekend tried to borrow one of her horses last month. Cowboy State Daily’s Julie Mankin reports that Laura Nichols says “It makes my skin crawl to realize she was stalking my horses, too.”

“She said we need to back up about a month ago at a big show in Utah. After that show, I got a message from a random girl out of the blue that wanted to know if I'd let her run one of my horses, and I wanted to help. I didn't really have one, and she just kept asking about these specific horses of mine, and, and so this weekend I looked to see if that was the same person, and it was the accused from Las Vegas, so it's just chilling.”

Nichols, who has earned more than $400,000 competing on the half-brother of one of the stabbed horses, said she’s especially horrified by the attack.

A Cody-based search and rescue team helped coordinate the search for the body of “Alaskan Bush People” star Matt Brown. Cowboy State Daily’s Jen Kocher reports that Brown’s body was found Sunday after he went missing four days earlier after allegedly shooting himself along a Washington state river.

“Bill Dohse, who founded Find 911 and OSAR, which is a national search and rescue group with many different partners from around the country. And so what Dohse did in this particular instance was work with his partner agencies to deploy assets to the scene in Washington, which was extremely remote and near the Canadian border, and the sheriff's department and family were very grateful to have those assets on the ground. Dosey was able to work from his incident command center on the side of the road because he was en route to Washington to get there when Brown was found.”

Dohse, a former Fremont County Deputy Sheriff and Wyoming Highway Patrol trooper, founded the Cody-based search and rescue group founded in 2015 that specializes in finding missing people and pets.

This year's election climate could make the perfect storm for Libertarian Shawn Johnson to win Wyoming's U.S. House seat, politicos say. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that experts say if Johnson can court conservatives, and the winner of the GOP primary is hugely unpopular, he could have a shot. 

“Sean Johnson gave a speech at his Sunday nomination at the Libertarian Party convention, that was, I mean, it was visibly electrifying to the attendees, and I got to thinking about it later. It very much resembled the Declaration of Independence, where there was this list of grievances, grievance after grievance of tyrannies that the people have endured, and it ended with this, this call for revival, and this pledge of one's own honor to the cause. And I asked him Monday, did you mean to structure that like the Declaration of Independence? He's like, no, he was just speaking from the heart.”

Johnson will face the lone survivor of a hotly contested 10-person GOP primary contest, and the winner of a two-way Democratic primary election. Both major party primary elections are set for Aug. 18.

Fifty years ago, the cameras rolled on “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” at Devils Tower after a handshake between a then-unknown Steven Spielberg and rancher Jesse Thomas Driskill. Cowboy State Daily’s Renee Jean reports that a high school student named Ogden Driskell (who would later grow up to be a current state senator) remembers Spielberg was adamant about not telling anyone about the movie before it debuted.

“It was a funny story that Ogden told Spielberg swore them to secrecy about the movie because he didn't want the public to see that tower before the movie came out. He was just sure, you know, that nationwide people had not seen, did not know about this tower, and he knew the kind of impression it was going to make. His dad's the one who made the deal with Steven Spielberg, and Spielberg's like, ‘I don't want anybody to know about that tower. Nobody knows about that tower. You have to keep it secret. Don't let anybody know what's going on.’ But you know, so August, like, well, they thought he was kind of crazy.”

Close Encounters of the Third Kind was a blockbuster science fiction movie that was released in 1977. Written and directed by Steven Spielberg, it  would go on to completely reshape tourism in northeast Wyoming.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"—"}]

And that’s today’s news. Get your free digital subscription to Wyoming's only statewide newspaper by hitting the Daily Newsletter button on 

 - and you can watch this newscast every day by clicking Subscribe on our 

 channel, or listen to us on your favorite podcast app.  Thanks for watching - I’m Mac Watson, for Cowboy State Daily.

News image 6 2 26

<title>Cowboy State Daily Video Newscast: Tuesday, June 2, 2026 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Tuesday's headlines include:
* Rottweilers Mutilated Near Torrington
* Chuck Gray Leads House Candidates In Poll
* Rodeo Community Stunned By Horse Stabbings

Cowboy State Daily Video Newscast: Tuesday, June 2, 2026

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's general assignment reporter, Clair McFarland.

Clair McFarland

Politics

Government & Politics

U.S. House candidate Chuck Gray’s recent campaign poll contained subjective attacks, 

images of the poll questions provided to Cowboy State Daily, coupled with an interview,

 that Gray sent a poll by high-profile pollster Fabrizio, Lee & Associates, which worked with President Donald Trump’s campaigns.

The poll showed Gray leading at 21% support, with nine other candidates trailing at 14% and less. There also were 33% who registered as “strong undecided."

The poll also contained a push phase, where recipients received “information” about Gray and two of his opponents, Casper-businessman Reid Rasner and Teton County philanthropist Steve Friess, according to a methodology breakdown included in the poll memo Gray sent Cowboy State Daily.

After the “information” dump, Gray’s percentage points doubled, while Rasner’s and Friess’s sunk.

The “information” comprised bizarre and subjective campaign attacks, a survey recipient told Cowboy State Daily soon after the 

Former state Rep. Ember Oakley, a Republican and former legislator who now lives in Kemmerer, was one of those who took the poll. She sent Cowboy State Daily screenshots she said she took while answering the May 13 survey.

[{"type":"text","text":"'His Family's Wealth'"}]

“Steve Friess is a Jackson Hole elitist who has never held a real job and has lived his entire life off his family’s wealth,” one screenshot says. “The same out-of-touch privilege that leaves him completely disconnected from the struggles of working families in Wyoming.”

[{"type":"text","text":"Friess told Cowboy State Daily prior that he’s worked in finance."}]

He has been active as a philanthropist, and helped form executive order drafts to offer to Trump upon the president’s first inauguration in 2017.

Friess and his wife also founded a Christian school, Jackson Hole Classical Academy, in 2014.

[{"type":"text","text":"Oakley said she found the push poll’s information laughable."}]

“That was straight irony,” she said. “Chuck Gray, as far as I know, and I’ve asked, hasn’t had a career or a real, legitimate job before he got into Wyoming politics."

Gray, who is 36, told Cowboy State Daily prior that he worked in his father’s radio business. He has been in Wyoming politics since at least 2017, when he joined the Wyoming House of Representatives.

“His campaign money and everything, his finances, have been 

,” said Oakley. “To write that Friess is out of touch because he’s lived off his family’s wealth and hasn’t had a real job is, like, describing Chuck.”  

[{"type":"text","text":"Oakley then laughed. "}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Friess’s campaign manager declined to comment Monday."}]

The “information” the poll reportedly dispatched about Rasner contained more objective information, but at least one subjective theory and some loaded framing.

“Reid Rasner married his gay husband in New York, hyphenated his name like a Hollywood celebrity, then divorced him in Wyoming and hit him with a strict gag order — banning his ex-husband from using his name mentioning his job, or even referring to details of their marriage on podcasts or social media,” says one of the screenshots.

While many of those facts are correct, nothing in the court documents that underpin them accuses Rasner of behaving “like a Hollywood celebrity.”

Rasner had married a man in New York, New York in 2012, and the pair divorced in 2020, Wyoming court documents show.

 the pair not to make derogatory comments about one another. After the ex-husband took to his podcast and the Internet to talk about Rasner, the judge ordered the 

 man to show cause, then issued a stipulated order in 2022 containing numerous specific bans.

“Defendant shall never insinuate any facts about plaintiff that would negatively impact his type of employment as a financial planner” or say other, certain salacious things about him, the judge ordered.

Rasner’s campaign spokesman did not respond by publication to a text message request for comment.

[{"type":"text","text":"‘Propaganda’"}]

Gray told Cowboy State Daily on Monday that the “information” in the poll included “different points on our records.”

Later when confronted with the screenshots, Gray didn’t outright confirm the content, but he said that the initial ballot test — from which he scored 21% 

 from the 400-person hypothetical election the poll posits — was given “before any prompts.”

“The initial ballot test is the key,” he said. “This is the standard in all polling.”

[{"type":"text","text":"Oakley called it propaganda.  "}]

“I think the technical term is called push polling,” she said. “It’s just done for propaganda and for campaign reasons.”

In the prompts, said Oakley, “they clearly were just writing things that were inflammatory.”

[{"type":"text","text":"Too Early Anyway"}]

Rob Wallace, a longtime Wyoming politico, cast skepticism on a poll conducted so early in the race even before the screenshots with the bizarre prompts surfaced.

Wallace served as assistant secretary to the U.S. Department of the Interior during the first Trump administration and years prior worked multiple political campaigns as an advisor for the late U.S. Sen. Malcolm Wallop. 

He also ran for Congress in 1994 and finished second in a crowded primary to Rep. Barbara Cubin.

“Polling this early in the campaign is like endorsements,” he said. “It’s good to have favorable information, but the real part of the race isn’t going to get going until probably after the Fourth of July.”

The filing period for candidates ended Friday, and the primary election is Aug. 18.

Wallace also hesitated to attach significance to the poll since the “information" the Fabrizio team gave voters was unknown.

“Without really understanding all the pieces of the poll, it’s hard to give a complete assessment of what it means,” he said.

Now that the filing period has ended, the other nine candidates in the Republican U.S. House primary race are going to burst into public view as much as they can, Wallace said.

Between the poll and the filing deadline, two more candidates registered: Keith Goodenough and Richard Dodson.

[{"type":"text","text":"That puts the primary race at 10 contenders."}]

Whoever wins that race will have to face the Democratic candidate, plus the Libertarian nominee Shawn Johnson, who 

“There are a couple reasons for putting a favorable poll out” at this phase, said Wallace. One reason could be to dissuade others from running; and another could be to reassure one’s base and supporters.

The poll U.S. House candidate Chuck Gray touted Monday leveled disparaging claims about opponents Reid Rasner and Steve Friess. It claimed Friess "never had a real job" and Rasner acted like a "Hollywood celebrity" during a marriage to "his gay husband."
 

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