Wyoming stands at a crossroads. As we choose our next governor, we have an opportunity to select a leader who understands not just where our state has been, but where it can go.
Eric Barlow offers exactly that: a refreshing, forward-looking vision for a Wyoming where opportunity abounds in every corner of the state, not just in our largest cities.
Barlow's story is, in many ways, Wyoming's story.
He's a Marine, a veterinarian who has spent decades serving ranchers and producers, and a rancher himself. On his ranch, oil and gas peacefully coexist with cattle, sheep and yak.
He served as Speaker of the Wyoming House of Representatives before moving to the State Senate. That is not a résumé built in a political consulting firm, it's one built on the ground, in the state he now hopes to lead.
When Barlow talks about Wyoming, he isn't reciting talking points. He's describing the life he has actually lived here. He’s talking about his friends and neighbors.
What sets Barlow apart in a crowded field of gubernatorial candidates is the optimism at the center of his campaign.
Where other candidates lean into grievance and division, Barlow is running on the idea that Wyoming's best days are ahead of it — if we have the leadership to get there.
His vision centers on strong communities where families can build good lives, where businesses can grow, and where our children and grandchildren have real reasons to stay and build their futures here rather than looking elsewhere.
It's not enough to preserve what we have. We need to build toward something better.
Barlow’s forward looking approach shows up in how Barlow talks about the economy.
He isn't interested in choosing between Wyoming's traditional industries and its future ones.
He talks about taking care of our minerals, energy, and agriculture sectors while also growing tourism and diversifying opportunity so that every part of the state benefits, not just the counties with the deepest natural resource base.
In a state where too many of our young people feel they have to leave to find opportunity, that kind of balanced, statewide thinking is exactly what's needed.
Barlow also brings a reverence for the Lord and a strong sense of family to everything he does. He committed to running a clean campaign, and he has criticized negative campaign advertisements, even when directed at his opponents.
There are high-dollar out of state PACs spending thousands of dollars to distort Barlow’s record. Let’s set the facts straight.
Barlow never voted to spend tax dollars on illegal immigrants (HB 135, 2016 – voted against introduction. Never became law), voted for bill banning sanctuary cities that became law (HB 105, 2018), voted for banning males from female sport (SF 133, 2023), voted to ban sex change operations on minors (SF144 2023, SF99 2024), voted for parental control over sexual education of their children (SF9, 2024), has never voted to raise fuel taxes, and cosponsored the bill to lower severance tax on coal (HB 75, 2025).
Ask yourself why these political operatives would spend thousands of dollars trying to undermine a candidate who wants to build a future for our children and grandchildren.
Perhaps most importantly, Barlow has campaigned on the idea that leadership begins with listening. Over months crisscrossing the state, he has said the best ideas start with the people living the challenges every day.
That is the kind of humility Wyoming needs in its next governor: someone who sees the office not as a platform for personal ambition, but as a chance to serve people he has spent his life among.
Eric Barlow offers balance.
Not a promise to turn back the clock, and not a promise to remake Wyoming into something it isn't, but a genuine, grounded vision of a state that keeps its character while expanding what's possible for the people who call it home.
Wyoming voters have a real choice to make this election cycle.
In Eric Barlow, they have a candidate whose life story, temperament, and vision line up with the kind of steady, opportunity-focused leadership our state needs right now. I am proud to ask you to vote for my friend, Eric Barlow.
He does not promise easy answers.
He offers something better: a clear-eyed, hopeful path toward a Wyoming where opportunity truly does abound, for every family, in every corner of the state.
Tony Ross is a life-long resident of Wyoming. He started practicing law in Cheyenne in 1979. He served in the Wyoming legislature for 25 years, and as Senate President from 2013 to 2014
