A Lingle-based state representative is challenging Wyoming Treasurer Curt Meier for his seat.
Republican Rep. Scott Smith’s name surfaced on the unofficial registration tally for prospective Wyoming political candidates sometime this week.
Three weeks earlier, Virginia-based group Make Liberty Win publicly endorsed Smith for the seat, though he hadn’t declared an interest in it at that time.
At $371,260, Make Liberty Win spent more money on Wyoming’s 2024 primary election than any other political organization, and tended to back Wyoming Freedom Caucus-aligned candidates.
Smith is a Wyoming Freedom Caucus member.
He voiced some surprise at the early endorsement when questioned by Cowboy State Daily on May 8.
He did not outright deny his intention to run at that time. He also cast it as an uncertainty.
“I have heard of the same rumors across the entire state. Not sure who is spreading them,” said Smith at the time. “Whether the rumor (of my run) is true or not, no one can keep a secret in Wyoming.”
He added: “If I was running for a statewide office why have I not declared earlier to allow myself to speak before the GOP state convention or other well attended Republican events?”
The Wyoming Republican Party convention had unfolded April 23-25 in Douglas, days before Make Liberty Win published its endorsement.
Smith said he’s not sure who the contact for Make Liberty Win is, and that he hadn’t had contact with the group since 2022 when he filled out a survey.
“They have not been known for their accuracy with having wrong candidate photos on mailers, etc.,” he said.
But, Smith added, he hadn’t then declared his intentions “one way or another,” and would do so during the filing period.
The filing period opened May 14 and ends Friday at 5 p.m.
Smith did not immediately return a voicemail request for his post-filing comments by publication.
He declared his candidacy via Facebook on Wednesday, saying he’s running to increase Wyoming’s wealth, “afford” the Legislature and seek tax reform.
He said he also wants to safeguard Wyoming lands, give the public full transparency over Wyoming resources.
“My voting record proves that I am a man of the people, protecting our Wyoming traditional values,” he said in a commercial. “I firmly believe in the timeless truths of the Wyoming Republican Party Platform.”
Meier
With a day and a half remaining before the filing deadline, Meier and Smith are the only two candidates registered to run for state treasurer.
Both are Republicans, so they’ll face off in the Aug. 18 primary election.
Meier reacted to Smith’s declaration in a Thursday phone interview, saying, “He says he’s going to do the same thing I am.”
But beyond that, said Meier, “I’m not going to talk about my opponent, what he can or can’t do. I can tell you what I can do, and it’ll be the same thing I’ve always done — and that’s make money for the state of Wyoming, follow the law and follow the Constitution.”
Meier said he wants to cut some of the red tape that hampers Wyoming’s investments success.
A former state senator, Meier in 2018 defeated Leland Christensen for the GOP nomination for that seat before going on to nearly triple the vote count of his Democratic opponent, Chris Lowry.
Meier has won reelection once since, beating GOP challenger Bill Gallop in 2022.
He declared his reelection via a press release in March with a followup press release in May.
Both times, News Letter Journal Publisher Bob Bonnar sent the press releases to Cowboy State Daily and other media outlets on Meier’s behalf, and both times Bonnar touted Meier’s prior work.
“As the saying goes in sports, when you’ve built a championship team — you run it back,” says Bonnar’s May email. “That’s exactly what Wyoming State Treasurer Curt Meier is doing.”
Meier made headlines in October for posting record-high investment earnings of $1.86 billion for Wyoming in the 2025 fiscal year.
A Little More About Smith
Smith is a two-term state House of Representatives member, first elected in 2022.
His legislative profile lists him as an administrator and small business owner.
In the most recent Legislature, Smith served as a member of the House Appropriations Committee, which builds the state’s draft budget before the full Legislature advances and passes it.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
