The Wyoming Democratic Party is hopeful a newly announced series of town halls in districts considered Republican strongholds will prove to Wyomingites it is not backing down in the face of fierce Republican opposition.
Democrats currently hold a combined eight seats in the state legislature, with two in the Senate and six in the House. The party holds no representation at the federal level as Wyoming’s entire congressional delegation belong to the Republican Party.
The party is also facing funding struggles as its State Central Committee currently operates at a loss. Party officials estimated in June they could be left with only two weeks’worth of funding by the end of 2025.
State Democratic leaders are now pushing back through a series of listening events scheduled in red districts across Wyoming. Areas scheduled to host these sessions include Cheyenne, Casper, Lander and Park County, with more sessions planned.
State Democratic Party leaders say they’re storming into red counties to show voters that they’re not disappearing or shrinking away despite the growing dominance of the conservative Freedom Caucus in state government.
“We’re really hoping that people will understand that the Democratic Party is here for the state of Wyoming and basically send a [message] that ‘we’re not disappearing, we’re not gone, we’re still here, we’re still fighting the good fight to represent Wyoming working families and values,’” Wyoming Democratic Party chair Lucas Fralick, told Cowboy State Daily.
Republican leaders, however, said the sessions reek of desperation.
Wyoming Republican Party chairman Bryan Miller, in an email, said “these town halls are an attempt by Democrat leaders in Wyoming to try to get back in touch with the grassroots citizens of Wyoming they lost touch with so many years ago.”
The events, hosted by state Reps. Mike Yin, D-Jackson, and Karlee Provenza, D-Laramie, will allow the party a chance to “connect with local communities and hear directly from residents about the challenges and opportunities they face,” according to a party release issued Wednesday.
Yin has been planning the town hall series since at least June 1, when he told Cowboy State Daily that listening to what matters to Wyomingites could be key for Democratic candidates and public officials going forward.
Recurring fractures among Republican state lawmakers also indicate opportunities for Democrats to gain a foothold, Yin added at the time.
Briefly this summer, Provenza became a figurehead for Wyomingites across the political spectrum, as the most vocal elected official opposing a highly unpopular congressional bill that sought to sell off public lands.
Here For Good
Visitors to the Wyoming Democratic Party’s website are greeted with a large blue banner reading “here for good,” a sentiment that is ingrained in its decision to host the town hall events.
Fralick said part of the reasoning behind the listening sessions is to give Democrats a chance to take back the narrative about what their party stands for after being long impacted by straw man attacks from Republicans.
“We’re really tired of the Republican Party telling us what we are as opposed to us telling who we are,” Fralick told Cowboy State Daily via phone. “This is a good opportunity to get around the state and talk about why we’re here and what we do.”
Fralick added the listening sessions also serve as an opportunity to prove the party still has a foothold in the historically deep red state.
The decision to specifically target red districts, Fralick added, has nothing to do with the voting preferences of those living there.
“If we show up in these districts, we’ll show up in all districts,” he said. “It doesn’t matter who represents them currently because if we’re there now, it shows that we’re showing up for them regardless of their party because we’re here for all Wyomingites, not just Democrats.”
Fighting Oligarchy
The plan feels somewhat reminiscent of a similar playbook being adopted by federal Democratic lawmakers across the country in the wake of a decisive win for Republicans in the 2024 presidential election.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, in November 2024 partnered for a series of “Fighting Oligarchy” rallies in red congressional districts across the country.
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-California, held town halls in three of California’s Republican districts in March. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wisconsin, also held similar events in GOP districts in his home state earlier this year.
Fralick, however, said he has paid no heed to these events as his focus remains solely with Wyoming.
“What they do at the national level is their business,” Fralick said. “I’m focused on Wyoming and so are our legislators.”
Staying Relevant
Republican state leaders did not seem too fazed by the Democratic incursion into deeply conservative areas.
Miller told Cowboy State Daily the listening tour appears to come at a time of heightened desperation for the state’s Democratic Party.
“The Democrats in Wyoming and across the nation have to do something to stay relevant as President Trump and Republican electeds down the ballot reap win after win for America and here locally in Wyoming,” Miller said.
Democrats, Miller said, appear to be “simply imitating” the success found by state Republicans, such as Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyoming, Secretary of State Chuck Gray and Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder, who hosted similar events in the past.
The town halls, he added, are equally likely to represent an attempt to remain a major relevant party in the eyes of state voters. Wyoming election code states that in order to be considered a “major political party,” a given political organization’s candidate must receive 10% of all votes cast in elections for U.S. House, governor or secretary of state.
There are 31,888 registered Democratic voters in Wyoming as of August 2025, according to data from the secretary of state’s latest voter registration report. That figure accounts for 11.6% of all registered voters.
Such a plight, Miller claimed, represents a near-extinction threat for the party.
"The Wyoming Democratic Party has struggled to remain relevant in Wyoming for years,” Miller wrote. “It is no surprise to me that they face extinction here just as the National Democratic Party seems to be doing considering both are so out of touch with public sentiment these days.”
