The Park County Republican Party Central Committee voted Thursday to send Republican state Senate candidate RJ Kost a letter of no confidence, over a newspaper advertisement Kost placed telling people how to change their party affiliation, and to “be aware” that “your voting options are limited if you’re not registered Republican.”
The letter to Kost says, “Encouraging individuals to change their political affiliation solely for the purpose of influencing the outcome of an election undermines the foundational principles of a constitutional republic.”
The letter enters an ongoing controversy over whether Democrats are, or should, be registering as Republicans to influence the Republican primary election. Both parties’ primary elections in Wyoming are set for Aug. 18.
A couple of “meek” nay votes did not overcome the overwhelming majority vote on the question at the roughly 64-person meeting, Park County GOP Chair Vince Vanata told Cowboy State Daily in a Tuesday phone interview.
Kost funded an advertisement in the Powell Tribune last month urging people to vote for him.
“Not sure if you’re registered to vote in the August 18 Primary Election?” asked the ad, which went on to list the county clerks’ phone numbers in Big Horn and Park counties.
“To change your party affiliation, go to your county clerk’s office or in Powell at the annex by May 13,” says the ad.
May 13, this Wednesday, is the last day in which voters can change their party affiliation, because of a 2023 Wyoming law barring party affiliation changes after the filing window for partisan candidates opens.
The candidate filing window opens Thursday and closes May 29.
“Be Aware,” the ad continues, “Many Primary Election ballots have only Republicans to consider, so your voting options are limited if you’re not a registered Republican.”
The advertisement concludes: “Vote for RJ Kost/ A proven conservative leader/ A voice for the Big Horn Basin.”
Vanata in his Tuesday interview cast the ad as a pitch for Democrats to masquerade as Republicans and vote for Kost.
Kost countered, saying it was a call especially meant for unaffiliated candidates, especially those who may be unaware that Wyoming’s primary election is the most decisive contest, and the Republican ballots in red counties contain more choices than the others.
“There are 387 unaffiliated voters in the Powell area, which is part of my district. There are 671 unaffiliated voters in District 19,” said Kost. “And those are all not connected to the Republican or the Democratic Party. I wanted to make sure they understood the change in the date to become affiliated, so that they could vote in the election.”
Kost continued: “I also wanted them to know that a lot of the candidates for different positions are all Republicans, and not Democrats. Which is a fact.”
Crossover
Conversely, Vanata said that “hell yes,” he interpreted Kost’s ad as a call to crossover Democrats.
“You read that second (portion of the ad),” said Vanata. “If that isn’t saying change your party and vote in the Republican primary, I don’t know what the hell else does.”
This is a fraught topic in Wyoming, where the GOP registrations sit at about 77% and Democratic registrations total about 11%.
Cowboy State Daily columnist Gail Symons wrote in an April 5 column that people who don’t hold strong Democratic convictions or live in Wyoming’s few blue areas will find the most electoral power by registering as Republicans and voting in the GOP primary.
The Wyoming Democratic Party fired back, urging against the practice.
Rep. Karlee Provenza, D-Laramie, countered yet again, saying people should vote in whichever election they want.
And Rep. Tom Kelly, R-Sheridan, called the practice of crossover dishonest, in a May 4 interview with Cowboy State Daily.
It’s happening in Park County, Vanata asserted.
“I can say there are a large number of people who are registered as Republicans in Park County, who would typically not be registered Republicans,” he said. “They register as Republicans to participate and have an influence on the Republican primary.”
Vanata said Republicans across the state have called it an issue in their areas as well.
“You know, if Mr. Kost wants to have the brand of an ‘R’ after his name, then he should be at least abiding by 80% of the (state GOP) platform,” said Vanata. “What he did in his ad is not what a conservative person does.”
The Wyoming Republican Party recently passed a bylaw saying its leadership committees will vet candidates to ensure they agree with at least 80% of the state party’s platform.
What Is A Conservative?
Kost during his interview was reticent, saying he didn’t want to start the practice of “slinging mud.”
He said his ad was about voter turnout, and anyone wanting to understand Vanata’s claim about what a conservative person does should first “have an understanding of what his definition of conservative is.”
Kost said his run for election isn’t about party leadership’s opinion, but that of local constituents.
“This really doesn’t have any bearing on what they’ve done, and for me to say anything, it’s not going to change their perception,” said Kost of Vanata’s claim. “My whole intent in running for senator for District 19 is to represent the people, the constituents of District 19 to the best of my ability.”
More About This Vote
Sen. Dan Laursen, R-Powell, who is the incumbent in the district Kost seeks to represent, raised the motion to send him a vote of no confidence, said Vanata in his Tuesday interview.
But because Laursen is not seeking reelection, “there was no conflict” with his motion, the chair added.
Laursen, who did not immediately return a Cowboy State Daily voicemail request for comment, has endorsed Rep. Paul Hoeft, R-Powell, in the latter's Senate run against Kost.
Kost held the seat for one term prior to Laursen, starting in 2019. Laursen then defeated Kost in a three-person primary election race in 2022.
The Censure That Didn’t Happen
Park County GOP precinct committeeman Martin Kimmet asked the central committee Thursday to censure Powell City Councilman Troy Bray, who is also a precinct committeeman.
Bray drew consternation from retired judges and justices April 28, after writing on Facebook that “The only way Wyoming is going to have freedom is to start hanging bad judges.”
That was a response to a post about a Natrona County judge temporarily blocking Wyoming’s newest abortion ban from being enforced.
Days later, the Powell City Council voted 4-1 – with Bray voting nay – to condemn and reject “any and all statements which threaten or support political violence, including threats toward judges in our courts.”
Kimmet confirmed Tuesday to Cowboy State Daily that he brought his censure motion because of Bray’s comment about judges, as well as what Kimmet cast as prior hateful rhetoric by Bray.
“What he does is wrong and detrimental to the party, both Park County and the state Republican Party,” said Kimmet. “I think if a Democrat would have done that, we’d have called it hate speech and been all over it… If we’re going to hold Democrats accountable, more so should we hold ourselves accountable.”
What CJ Wrote
The Powell Tribune reported that parliamentarian Andris Vaskis called Kimmet’s Thursday motion out of order since it referred to a member rather than a topic of debate.
Vanata ended the debate on the motion to censure Bray, the Tribune reported, adding that “second later,” Committeeman Tim Lasseter called for the removal of one of the party’s officers “for cause.”
The party entered into executive, meaning non-public session.
“The Tribune later learned he was attempting to remove Kimmet from the state committeeman position,” the paper reported. “That effort ultimately failed.”
As for the no-confidence vote regarding Kost, Kimmet told Cowboy State Daily he supported it.
Kimmet said he doesn't like the labels and factionalism pervading the Wyoming Republican Party right now. And he'd also like to see Wyoming trend more toward a robust two-party system.
He said people who claim to be Republicans but aren't, are running "smoke and mirrors" operations that hurt both major parties in the end, to the detriment of Wyoming as a whole.
"What he did was in my view wrong," said Kimmet, adding, "Run as a Democrat, RJ, if that's what you want to do."
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
