Wyoming’s Republican race for U.S. House is now up to at least $8.1 million in loans and donations, counting just candidate committees and victory funds.
Millions more sit in independent political action committees (PACs) helping certain candidates.
U.S. Federal Election Commission filings as of July 29 show philanthropist Steve Friess has loaned himself another $1 million since Cowboy State Daily’s last campaign funding recap.
Casper businessman Reid Rasner has loaned his campaign account $1.87 million. Secretary of State Chuck Gray has loaned his candidate account $1.377 million.
This leaves Friess with the biggest war chest: about $3.56 million, counting his campaign fund and victory fund.
Rasner has the second largest receipts line: nearly $2.33 for his candidate committee. That puts Gray’s candidate committee in third, at $1.62 million.
The Protecting Wyoming Values PAC, which distributes numerous ads for Gray, has raised nearly $1 million as of July 29, exclusively from Gray’s father.
The fourth most affluent campaign account belonged to a candidate who has since dropped out of the race: Moran-based attorney Frank Chapman.
Top Spenders
Friess has now eclipsed Rasner as the top spender in the race: His campaign account has spent nearly $2.49 million as of July 29. His victory fund has sent another $62,170 to two other PACs: the Outriders PAC, which is partially funded by Friess’s mother, and the Freedom, Responsibility, Integrity, Economic Strength & Security PAC.
Rasner has spent $2.26 million from his candidate account as of July 29, followed by Gray at $1.38 million.
The same Friess-Rasner-Gray pattern continues in other metrics.
Friess has more than double Gray’s cash on hand and more than 10 times Rasner’s, at $797,126.
Gray’s candidate committee sits at $240,146.39 cash on hand; Rasner’s at $79,152.
Friess has garnered the highest figure in contributions, at $468,841. Rasner is second: $452,581 and Gray third: $243,291.
Friess’s campaign spokesman Tim Edson said Friess “is investing heavily in his own campaign because he wants to serve and give back to community and country like he and his family have always done.”
“He isn’t seeking office to enrich himself or climb the political ladder,” said Edson. “He’s running to solve problems where career politicians have failed and bring a fresh perspective to Washington.”
Next Up
After Friess, Rasner and Gray, the war chests descend in this order:
- Former U.S. Army ranger David Giralt: $213,243.53
- Former Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow: $180,501.21
- State Senate President Bo Biteman: $115,130.06
- Combat veteran and Apache Attack helicopter pilot Kevin Christensen: $35,951.50
- Former state legislator Keith Goodenough: $2,034.69
- Richard Dodson – report not available.
Christensen claims to have inordinate momentum for his buck.
“I made a decision up front, I wasn’t going to take money from PACs and outside money,” he said. “I would finance my campaign from people in Wyoming, and that’s exactly what I’ve done.”
Christensen said 2026 isn’t all about big ads packages. It’s about the word-of-mouth network on social media.
“The most authentic thing you can get in a campaign is for people to believe in you and advocate for you – and that genuine advocacy doesn’t cost a lot of money,” said Christensen.
He said he’s loosely monitored an exponential effect on social media: when one person takes his messaging to heart, that person may expose his or her vote of confidence to hundreds, even thousands of other people, who then may replicate it.
“If I win, there’s a national news story here,” said Christensen in a nod to his lower budget.
He also said he hasn’t done any fundraisers.
Proportions
Biteman has by far the largest proportion of contributions from individuals, at 99.53%.
“I think it speaks to the kind of campaign we’re running,” he said. “Our support comes from individual Wyoming citizens who are investing in the campaign because they believe in me.”
Biteman said that’s an important measure of support.
“And I’m proud that we’re being funded by people, not special interests, and you know — then we’re not just trying to buy it,” he said.
The second highest proportion of individual contributions belongs to Goodenough (63.1%), then Christensen and Giralt (both nearly 50%).
The two lowest proportions of individual contributions ascribe to Friess (13%) and Gray (14.85%) – figures diminished in proportion to their substantial self-loans.
Rasner’s proportion of individual contributions is 19%.
Money From Jackson
Gray and Rasner have both pointed to Friess’s Jackson-area residency in a negative light.
Jackson’s Teton County votes most reliably for Democratic candidates and is, with the purple Albany County in consideration for second, easily Wyoming’s bluest county. It's also Wyoming's richest county and routinely ranks among the nation's richest.
Friess has countered his opponents’ implications by saying he’s “behind enemy lines” as a rare conservative activist in Teton County.
He’s referenced his past fight with the Teton County government, in which he went to the Republican state Legislature to secure what he calls fairer zoning rules for private schools.
Friess has invited Gray to give back what Jackson residents have donated to Gray's campaign.
Gray’s contributions show the highest proportion from Jackson residents: 21%, at $52,000, his FEC reports as of July 29 show. Some of those are from Daniel and Carleen Brophy, consistent donors to Republican causes and candidates.
Gray responded to Cowboy State Daily’s request for comment on his Jackson funding by accusing the outlet of “lying” and propping up Friess.
He alleged the outlet has a “conflict” because Friess’s late father gave seed money to Cowboy State Daily in 2019.
“Maybe one day Cowboy State Daily and Claire (sic) McFarland will report the news instead of propping up Steve Friess,” said Gray. “When your questions read like Steve Friess campaign talking points, Wyoming voters have every right to wonder whether you are a journalist or a Friess Campaign hack.”
The inquiry Cowboy State Daily’s request sent Gray on Friday, to which his comment refers, had said:
“I note that of contributions, you have the highest percentage (21%) from Jackson. Since this has become a campaign issue for you, would you like to comment?”
More About Jackson
Friess shows the next highest proportion of Jackson donors, at 17.7%, or $83,052.
Christensen and Goodenough have received no donations from Jackson residents as of July 29, the reports say.
Rasner received $185.95 from a Jackson woman whose X.com posts indicate conservative ideology.
Biteman received $307 from a Jackson man.
Giralt received $1,000 from Kasey Mateosky, a Jackson resident who ran as a Republican for the Teton County Commission and campaigned on simplifying the region’s tightly regulated housing market.
Balow received $23,082 from Jackson residents, including a portion from former Republican legislator Ruth Petroff, who’s another proponent of giving more leeway to the free market in Teton County’s housing regulations.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
