A 35-year-old ex-U.S. Army Ranger and airborne officer announced Thursday that he is jumping into the Republican race to fill Wyoming’s lone U.S. House seat.
David Giralt of Casper, who among other roles has served as a policy advisor for U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis, hopes to replace U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman who is running for the U.S. Senate seat Lummis is vacating at the end of her term.
Giralt said he is a first-generation American who has enjoyed opportunities growing up in Casper that never would have been possible for his parents in their native lands. His father was born in Costa Rica and mother, in Cuba.
“My parents came here with nothing and had to learn English within a year,” he said. “They sacrificed a lot for me and my brothers to grow up and have every opportunity here.”
Following graduation from Kelly Walsh High School in 2009, Giralt attended Colorado Christian University where he played soccer and obtained a business degree. From there he entered the military where he served 12 years of active-duty service that included combat deployments to Afghanistan in 2016-17 and again from 2019-20 as a member of the 75th Ranger Regiment and 82nd Airborne.
He was awarded a bronze star for his combat service. Giralt said he is not in any way a “war hawk” or someone who would promote combat. He said he sees “no reason to send anyone to any conflict unless there is a necessary reason to do so an end state that is defined and a clear exit strategy that the America people can get behind.”
Throwing his name into the race that already has three other candidates has nothing to do with those candidates, he said.
“I’m doing this for the exact same reason that I raised my right hand to serve this country and deploy to Afghanistan in a post 9/11army,” he said. “I believe in defending every freedom and opportunity that this country has given me and my family and this is just a continuation of that service.”
Giralt holds an MBA degree from the University of Wyoming that focused on the energy sector and during his time working for Lummis served as a policy advisor on agriculture, trade, immigration, law enforcement, and national defense.
He also completed graduate studies in legislative affairs at George Washington University that focused on “theoretical and practical knowledge related to the U.S. Congress, general issues in the legislative arena, and instructs students on techniques for advancing legislation,” according to his LinkedIn page.
Energy Insight
Giralt said the nation is in a competition with global adversaries in the energy sector that would “love to see America fall.” Wyoming is positioned to lead the nation and the world in terms of resources such as rare earths, critical minerals, uranium, and coal.
Based on his experiences in Washington, D.C., Giralt believes the Pentagon is “leaning in more heavily on coal” as it looks to the future.
Giralt said as he talks with people, he understands they want “security” and “predictability” in terms of things such as a tax regime for their personal lives and businesses as well as the opportunity to raise their families in a more secure state and world.
He said supporting state and local law enforcement through grants and training from the federal level are also ongoing needs to ensure the state’s residents feel secure.
On a personal level, Giralt is married to Alexandra. He promised to uphold the same values as a congressman that he did as an U.S. Army officer, saying those include service before self, accountability, and a relentless focus on results.
In addition to his work with Lummis, Giralt has served as a Department of Defense legislative fellow and was involved in supporting the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee in advancing defense legislation, including the National Defense Authorization Act.
Giralt said “at the end of the day” he believes Wyoming residents want “doers and not talkers.”
He is planning to do a lot of door-to-door campaigning and expects to tour all 23 of the state’s counties in coming weeks to meet people and get his name recognition going.
“I don’t have any other option than to make it a very grassroots, boot-strap sort-of campaign,” he said. “The state deserves an option to see someone who is willing to raise their hand in a time of war — during our country’s longest war — and come back and want to continue that sort of service to prevent those sorts of things from happening again.”
The Field
The field for Wyoming’s Aug. 18 Republican primary election grows ever fuller in this race.
So far Casper businessman Reid Rasner, Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray, and former state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow have declared bids for the GOP nomination.
State Senate President Bo Biteman of Ranchester told Cowboy State Daily he’s considering a run, but he hasn’t declared.
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
