As a former legislator and someone who continues to attend committee meetings throughout the legislative session, it's not surprising to me that more voters say they are unhappy with how either party is handling core issues like cost of living, housing, health care, and economic security, and do not feel "fully represented" by either major party.
This is true across the country, where attack ads and increasingly sharp politics look more like a grudge match than a problem-solving enterprise. Younger generations, especially, want to think for themselves rather than identify with the red or blue team.
However, Wyoming independents or minor party members who care about this state's future might want to seriously consider re-registering as Republicans by May 13 so you can vote in the election that will decide 90% of our leaders in 2026. You can keep your independent spirit and values – and still show up where your voice will matter most.
If you sit out the primary, you are effectively letting others choose the people who will write our laws on property taxes, schools, and public lands before you ever see a November ballot. That's what happened in 2024, when only 25% of eligible voters voted in the Republican primary.
Those small margins are exactly how blocs like the Freedom Caucus built power inside the legislature: they focused on low-turnout primaries and replaced more pragmatic Republicans with hardline candidates while most independents stayed home or waited for November. When only the most ideological voters show up in August, it is no surprise that the loudest, least compromising voices end up in charge of the agenda.
If you have ever looked at the legislature and thought, "That's not the Wyoming I know," it is worth remembering how few people decide most legislative races here. In recent Wyoming primaries, contested legislative seats have often been won by margins of a few dozen or a few hundred votes – some even by single digits – numbers small enough that a single neighborhood, congregation, or workplace of independents could flip the outcome.
In 2026, there will be real differences among the Republicans running for the legislature on your primary ballot, and this is true as well for the US Senate and House races, and the five statewide elected offices for Governor, Secretary of State, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Treasurer and Auditor. On one side, you will see candidates aligned with the Freedom Caucus and its allies – politicians who have often prioritized national culture-war fights and internal party purges over practical solutions on property taxes, school funding, infrastructure, and responsible energy policy. On the other hand, there will be serious, non-Freedom Caucus Republicans who share the values many independents care about: local control, fiscal responsibility, strong public education, and a focus on Wyoming problems instead of Washington talking points.
Those non-Freedom Caucus-aligned candidates will need every independent-minded Republican vote they can earn to withstand attacks from deep-pocketed, dark money-funded, out-of-state, ideological interests. If you want a legislature that still reflects the neighborly, practical, "work it out around the table" Wyoming we used to know, re-registering by May 13 by dropping by your county clerk or election office is how you earn your seat at that table as there are no more party changes at the polls during early voting or on Primary Election Day. You do not need to prove residency or citizenship if you are already registered.
By re-registering as a Republican before May 13, you keep your independent spirit intact while stepping into the primary that will decide whether our state government reflects the farthest edges of the spectrum – or the common-sense places where most Wyomingites live.
Pete IIloway served as the Representative for House District 42 in Cheyenne from 1999-2012, including as the Chair of House Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions from 2005-2012.
