Reid Rasner won’t run to be the next governor of Wyoming, he told Cowboy State Daily in a Friday text message.
“Stay tuned for news next week, the best is yet to come,” Rasner added.
The comments emerged during an interview about Rasner’s campaign finance account, which he established under the office of governor.
He never officially announced a run for governor, however.
The report says Rasner’s governor’s account raised, spent, and has a balance of zero dollars.
Rasner terminated that account Friday, the same day he filed the financial report pertaining to it.
Rasner advertises prolifically, including with Cowboy State Daily as well.
Those aren't campaign ads, he wrote in a text message response to an inquiry about which account had been funding them.
The ads don’t directly promote anything political, only that he’s a "fourth-generation Wyomingite” and a “trusted leader."
Rasner, a Republican, ran unsuccessfully in 2024 for the U.S. Senate seat long held by Republican incumbent Sen. John Barrasso.
Rasner floated a reported bid this year to buy social media giant TikTok, but later announced that effort was suspended.
In July he sued former state Sen. Anthony Bouchard, R-Cheyenne, on claims that Bouchard defamed him on Facebook and damaged his business interests.
That case is ongoing.
Governor’s Office
Gov. Mark Gordon is at the end of his two- term limit, though he may be able to reverse the limit if he challenges the law in court.
He filed a campaign report Dec. 27, showing $47,962.29 in money carried over from prior revenues, less expenses.
Gordon has not declared a 2026 run for any office, saying he wants to focus on doing his job heading into the 2026 legislative budget session.
Brent Bien, whom Gordon defeated in the 2022 Republican primary election, has announced his run for the office in 2026.
His report, filed Dec. 19, shows $11,220.59 carried forward.
Joseph Kibler also declared for the office as a Republican, but has since announced he's leaving the party to run as independent. He did not file a Wyoming Campaign Finance Information System account for his gubernatorial campaign.
State Sen. Eric Barlow, R-Gillette, who declared his run for the governor’s seat in August, filed a Dec. 31 report showing $391,710.14 carried forward.
In a Friday afternoon statement, Barlow’s campaign reports it’s raised more than $500,000 so far, saying Barlow is “on pace for one of the strongest fundraising efforts of any Wyoming gubernatorial race in Wyoming history."
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
