Megan Degenfelder’s campaign for Wyoming governor released a video early Thursday of President Donald Trump doubling down on his endorsement of her.
The president endorsed Degenfelder in January, before she declared she was running for the seat.
She now faces three other contenders for the GOP nomination: Marine Col. Brent Bien, state Sen. Eric Barlow, and Curt Blake. The primary election is Aug. 18.
So with about a month before the party nomination standoff hits the polls, the president is issuing a rally cry — which Degenfelder’s team has posted to its YouTube channel and dispatched publicly.
“There’s a very important election coming up in your state, Tuesday Aug. 18, and I’m asking all of you to get out and vote for Megan Degenfelder to be the next governor of Wyoming,” says Trump in the video.
He touts Degenfelder’s work as superintendent of Public Instruction, says she’ll help protect public lands and the Second Amendment, and says she’s served Wyoming “with courage and pride.”
Trump has not endorsed anyone in the hotly-contested U.S. House race, where 10 Republicans vie for the nomination. He also hasn’t endorsed in Wyoming’s Secretary of State race or for other top state executive-branch seats.
He reiterates his support for Degenfelder amid claims by some, including Constitution Party gubernatorial nominee Rebecca Bextel, that Degenfelder and Bien will split the further-right vote and Barlow, who casts himself as a pragmatist and whose foes call him a moderate or leftist, will win the nomination.
Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon, a Republican who is also cast as a moderate, won his first primary election bid against now-Rep. Harriet Hageman and Teton County philanthropist Foster Friess in 2018.
Friess had the Trump endorsement at that time, but in contrast, Trump didn’t endorse Friess until election day.
Gordon has reached his two-term limit. That’s a provision of law that prior court rulings suggest he could have overturned. But he’s chosen not to do that.
