House Minority Floor Leader Mike Yin, D-Jackson, found himself in an unenviable position during this year’s Wyoming legislative session, the lone “no” vote on numerous bills considered by the two legislative committees he serves on.
It’s hardly surprising that Yin was on the losing side of votes considering he’s one of only six Democrats in the 62-member House, and only Democrat on the House Labor, Health and Social Services and Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions committees.
In the past, these committees had more moderate Republicans who would occasionally side with Yin and even leverage him into the majority on rare occasions.
Not this year.
With the Wyoming Freedom Caucus taking over leadership in the House, Speaker Chip Neiman, R-Hulett, stacked most of the committees, including Yin’s, with a Freedom Caucus majority or lawmakers philosophically aligned with the group. The Freedom Caucus represents the more conservative and populist wing of the Republican Party that’s generally opposed to Democratic viewpoints.
Of the 70 total bills his committees voted on this year, Yin was the lone voice of dissent or support on 28 where he was outvoted 8-1 and 7-1. In addition, Yin was joined by other members on the losing side of votes five times.
Lone Ranger
Yin sees his duty as the lone voice to alert the public to what’s going on in the Legislature, “where we’re actually making it harder to get maternal health services, we’re pushing doctors out of he state, we’re making it harder for businesses to actually succeed, and we’re making it harder for people to live here,” he said.
“To make those changes in our legislative composition, it requires letting people know what their legislators are currently doing right now,” Yin added.
He also said because of the structure of Wyoming’s primary system, a number of Republicans are afraid to speak out for what they really believe in, something he tries to assist with.
“I don’t have that issue. I don’t have a Republican primary where I have to cater to far-right folks,” he said. “So, I can speak to what I believe, frankly a majority of Wyoming citizens are in favor of.”
Yin’s top priorities include adding more high-quality jobs and business start up opportunities, improving health care access, more housing opportunities for families, and bodily autonomy. No progress was made in this year’s Legislature on the issue of affordable housing.
A lack of housing opportunities is a serious problem in Yin’s Teton County that has started to expand throughout the state since the COVID-19 pandemic.
The question of bodily autonomy has also been a hot button issue in this year’s Legislature, with many Republicans supporting bills that put more control on the health care decisions and individuals make and spaces they can enter.
Familiar Territory
As one of six Democrats in the Wyoming House, Yin has lots of experience with being on the losing side of votes.
A member of the Legislature since 2019, Yin knows that if he wants to get deals done and bills passed, he has to work across the aisle.
“I particularly craft most of my legislation to be bipartisan,” he said. “The intent is to get it through both chambers to make sure things work.”
Along this line, he also tries to add what he can to Republican bills to make them more beneficial and palatable to his community. Although Wyoming as a whole is a deep red Republican state, Yin represents the blue enclave of Teton County, the only county in the state where Democrats have a clear majority.
Yin moved to Wyoming about 10 years ago and first got into politics in 2016 after President Donald Trump’s first election, spurred by a desire to make a change at his local level.
A software developer by trade, Yin said he’s passed up advancement opportunities in his field to keep serving in the Legislature, a one- to two-month commitment each year in addition to summertime interim committee meetings.
The Democrats are at a relative low point for membership in the Legislature amid a 10-to-15-year drought, although they did add one member in the 2024 election.
To gain back numbers, Yin believes Wyoming Democrats shouldn’t be hanging their hat on national hot button issues and should stay more locally focused.
“It should be relevant to the problems that we face in the state,” he said.
Leo Wolfson can be reached at leo@cowboystatedaily.com.
