Kenneth Roberts, Lincoln County's clerk of district court and the only man holding that job in any Wyoming county, is headed toward a new job in Cheyenne after unseating House Majority Floor Leader Scott Heiner in Tuesday's Republican primary for House District 18.
Unofficial results from Lincoln, Sweetwater and Uinta counties show Roberts received 1,118 votes to Heiner's 861, winning the three-county district by 257 votes.
Roberts' home county made the difference.
Heiner carried both of the district's other counties, beating Roberts 395-278 in Sweetwater and 196-110 in Uinta, but Roberts overwhelmed Heiner 730-270 in Lincoln County, building a 460-vote advantage that Heiner couldn't overcome elsewhere.
The victory puts Roberts on track to move from overseeing Lincoln County's District Court records to serving in the Wyoming House.
From The Courthouse To The Statehouse
Roberts was elected Lincoln County clerk of district court in November 2022.
The job put him at the center of the county's court system, where the clerk's office maintains records involving felony criminal cases, major civil cases, domestic disputes, juvenile cases, probate and adoption proceedings.
On Tuesday, Roberts' Lincoln County voters turned out heavily for him.
He took nearly three-quarters of the Republican votes cast in the Lincoln County portion of HD18, giving him the cushion he needed as returns came in from the rest of the district.
By comparison, Heiner won Sweetwater with 58.52% of the vote, 395-278. He also carried Uinta 196-110.
Neither was enough.
Taking Out A House Leader
Roberts didn't defeat just any incumbent.
Heiner entered the Legislature in 2021 and rose to majority floor leader after the 2024 election, when the Wyoming Freedom Caucus and its allies took control of the House.
When Heiner sought the leadership position, he said he wanted rank-and-file Republican lawmakers to have greater control over what legislation reaches the House floor.
“I will make it so the agenda is set by the majority caucus as a whole, not just the Majority Leader,” Heiner told Cowboy State Daily.
Heiner's leadership position subsequently put him near the center of battles over Wyoming's budget, public-school funding and the University of Wyoming.
During debate over proposed UW funding cuts in February, Heiner defended lawmakers' ability to use state funding as leverage.
“The only real leverage we have is the power of the purse, Heiner said.
“Sometimes it takes a big lever … to negotiate.”
Roberts' Night
But Tuesday's election wasn't decided in Cheyenne.
It was decided overwhelmingly in Roberts' home territory.
His 460-vote advantage in Lincoln County more than erased Heiner's combined advantages in Sweetwater and Uinta.
Across the district, Roberts finished 257 votes ahead, taking about 56.5% of the two-candidate vote.
Roberts has spent the past four years keeping the records of Lincoln County's District Court.
Now voters are sending him to Cheyenne to help write Wyoming's laws.
