The chair of the Hot Springs County Commission switched from Republican to Constitution Party last week.
So did his wife, who was a top campaign staffer for GOP gubernatorial candidate Brent Bien, and who helped push a proposed 50% residential property tax cut onto the Nov. 3 general election ballot.
Hot Springs County party-change reports spanning from the Aug. 18 primary election to Tuesday show that Hot Springs County Commission Chair Bob Aguiar, his wife, Cheryl, and another woman who is not a public official and asked not to be identified all changed from Republican to Constitution Party affiliation on the same day: Sept. 14.
They all made the switch within two minutes of one another, the records show.
The move follows a decision by Republican activist Rebecca Bextel, of Jackson, to switch to the Constitution Party in mid-May so she could challenge GOP gubernatorial nominee Eric Barlow in the general election.
Bextel, a frequent critic of Barlow, framed her campaign as “an insurance policy against Eric Barlow.”
The Aguiars did not respond by publication to Wednesday-morning voicemail requests for comment.
Resignation, Replacement
They both held leadership positions in the local Republican Party as well, and forsook those with the change.
Cheryl Aguiar was the state committeewoman for the party, meaning she represented it at State Central Committee meetings. And Bob Aguiar held a precinct committeeman position, which is a local voting role.
Cheryl resigned but Bob did not, Party Chair Joe Martinez told Cowboy State Daily in a Wednesday phone interview.
But changing parties vacated the role for Bob Aguiar anyway, Martinez added.
The party nominated and elected a married couple who are often at odds with the Aguiars to replace them.
It chose Shurie Scheel to be its new delegate to the state meetings. And it elected Shurie’s husband, Phil, to fill Bob Aguiar’s precinct committeeman seat, said Martinez. That term expires in January.
The party also nominated Phyllis Baker to fill Cheryl Aguiar’s local precinct committeewoman seat, but has not yet elected her because a vetting process under the bylaws is still underway, said Martinez.
Phil Scheel is already Cheryl Aguiar’s counterpart: The state committeeman. So he’s been vetted, Martinez noted.
‘Disappointing’
Martinez did not opine on the situation.
Phil Scheel did, in his own interview.
“Bob’s change in party affiliation is pertinent because he’s serving as county commissioner for another two years,” he said. “He was elected as a Republican. Hot Springs County people, just like every other place in Wyoming, are extremely Republican.”
Phil Scheel opined that Bob Aguiar, who defeated him for the commission seat in 2024, would not have been elected as a third-party candidate.
Phil Scheel called the switch “disappointing.”
Now, having won his primary election bid for another county commission seat, Phil Scheel advances to the general election with the Republican nomination.
The Aguiars break more toward alignment with the Wyoming Freedom Caucus wing of the Republican Party, while the Scheels tend to oppose it.
Their move also follows a nearly statewide rout of caucus-aligned candidates in legislative races in the primary election, with sparse exceptions.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
