A Wyoming political action committee (PAC) launched attack mailers this week against Republicans running for two of the rare purple seats in the state Legislature.
Wyoming doesn’t have many swing districts.
But House District 33, which encompasses the Wind River Indian Reservation, Hudson and parts of Riverton, swings frequently from Republican to Democrat.
Rep. Ivan Posey, D-Fort Washakie, holds the seat currently.
Rancher and horse trainer Justin Morgan, a Republican of south Riverton, is challenging Posey in the Nov. 3 general election and was the target of an attack mailer.
In Laramie-based House District 14, Democratic Rep. Trey Sherwood is working to hold her seat against Republican challenger Emily Study. Sherwood succeeded a Republican starting in 2021, and has faced close Republican challengers every general election.
Attack mailers from PAC for a Better Wyoming hit Albany County mailboxes this week, Study confirmed Thursday to Cowboy State Daily.
“It’s false information,” she said about the ads that target her. “It’s almost to a point where it’s close to libel.”
The flier says Study “wants to sell our public lands. She also supports extreme cuts that fuel wildfires, spread invasive cheatgrass, and put public lands at risk.”
Opponent Also Criticizes Mailer
Cowboy State Daily asked Nate Martin, who runs the nonprofit Better Wyoming and said he does consulting for the PAC, where those claims originated.
Martin pointed to Study’s website and a candidate questionnaire, where she voiced openness to limited, transparent public-lands sales.
Study’s website says she believes Wyoming’s public lands should be protected.
“I also recognize that carefully considered land exchanges or sales can sometimes benefit the public,” says the page.
She said a responsible agreement might improve public access, eliminate inaccessible checkerboard parcels, support education and furnish land for housing.
Martin, who is married to Democratic state Rep. Karlee Provenza, of a different Laramie-based district, paused at the word “housing.”
“Her website and her candidate questionnaire explicitly say she supports selling public lands for housing,” said Martin. “Which is the exact same thing (U.S.) Sen. Mike Lee said when he was trying to put a huge public-lands sale in the Big Beautiful Bill.”
Lee’s attempted lands-sale measure of 2025 ignited fury in the American West, prompted Provenza to galvanize bipartisan resistance statewide, and cast her as a champion on public-lands advocacy.
Martin said pushes for public-lands sales to furnish housing are a common excuse, and “kind of a cover to foist them off to the highest bidder.”
Study said that’s not her goal at all.
She pointed to millions of acres in landlocked public lands, and said the public should be involved in decisions concerning those.
“I’m big on transparency,” said Study.
She said she and her husband are in a “hunting family,” and enjoy public lands themselves.
Study said she believes with public involvement, more checkerboarded lands could be accessible to outdoorspeople and others.
Sherwood criticized the mailer, telling Study via a Facebook comment that they both enjoy public lands, and she’s willing to post a joint statement denouncing the ad if Study permits.
"Ugly mailers and attack ads are unbecoming of Wyoming politics," said Sherwood in an email to Cowboy State Daily. "They erode public trust and cause unnecessary division."
She said she and Study are running clean campaigns with civility and kindness.
"II ask those engaged in the election process to do the same," said Sherwood, adding, "I encourage voters to be skeptical of PAC mailers and reach out to candidates directly with their questions and concerns."
Cheatgrass
The flier targeting Study says she supports “extreme cuts that fuel wildfires, spread invasive cheatgrass, and put public lands at risk,” according to photographs she posted to her campaign Facebook page.
“Well. This is weird,” she mused on the page. I’ve never even had a conversation about cheat grass.”
Martin said that statement is tied to Study’s support for Proposition 1, which would add an alternate 50% residential property tax exemption on home structures to Wyoming’s list of available exemptions.
That proposed law change goes before voters Nov. 3.
Prop. 1 would cut residential property taxes, downsizing budgets for weed and pest special districts.
Martin confirmed that the PAC also derided Morgan on the cheatgrass issue. Cowboy State Daily has not yet obtained a copy of the mailer about Morgan.
Because Of Prop. 1
Morgan and Study both denied wanting to hurt cheatgrass management in any way. They both confirmed support for Prop. 1, with Study emphasizing that the tax break only applies to structures, not land and other outside improvements.
“Wouldn’t you – if you were on a fixed income as a senior citizen – wouldn’t you want that?” asked Study during the interview. “If you were hurting?”
Morgan said, “I support lower taxes. I’m Republican. That’s what Republicans are supposed to support.”
Morgan said cheatgrass is far from managed right now. He said he would support a backfill to make up losses in special districts, and also believes local governments need to conserve more to help people reach tax relief.
“But you can’t just keep robbing money from the taxpayers,” said Morgan. “People are taxed way beyond their capabilities.”
He urged governments to be more frugal.
“I’ve had to live on a budget my whole life,” he said, adding that he’s a longtime business owner. “And I have to live within my means.”
He said the government overcharges people for services, and that’s what inspired him to run for office.
Study also said governments could conserve better, and backfill money will inevitably be pulled from elsewhere.
Weed And Pest Says …
Aaron Foster, district supervisor of Fremont County Weed & Pest, said “there’s some truth” to the idea that Prop. 1 will boost the cheatgrass invasion, because it will cut the special districts’ budgets.
Fremont County Weed & Pest lifted about $1.46 million in property tax revenues via its two mills in the recent fiscal year, and expects to lose $250,000 of its next property tax tranche if Prop. 1 passes, he said.
Not all property taxes are residential. Commercial, industrial, and other sources pay into those coffers as well.
But, fluctuating values of minerals, oil and gas, and commercial developments can influence the entity’s budget, as can the rising cost of goods that has kept pace with exploding home prices, said Foster.
In 2007, when the district taxed the region at a lesser rate of 1.5 mills, it made $2 million in property tax revenues, Foster said.
He said the entity’s full budget expenditure in the recent fiscal year was $3.9 million, and contracts with other agencies comprise the roughly $2.5 million difference.
Albany County Weed & Pest could not be reached Thursday for comment. Its voicemail twice said it was full and disconnected the call.
Many proponents of Prop. 1, however, say the Legislature can find a way to make up the difference in lost revenue through other tax schemes, or by pulling from the state’s investments or rainy-day funds.
Opponents call that short-sighted.
The Avid Outdoorsman
Morgan said he’s an avid outdoorsman and wants to see public-lands conservation more than anyone. The cheatgrass claim surprised him, he said.
“Nobody hunts and fishes more and spends more time in the outdoors than I do,” he said.
He bristled at attacks that, he said, claim he’s trying to defund communities and gouge public safety.
Morgan said he plans to run a radio ad on his own behalf, but he won’t “throw negative ads out there about anybody or any organization. I’m not that way. I don’t have that much hate in me. But these people do.”
There’s no sign, nor did Morgan imply, that Posey was involved in the ads.
Posey told Cowboy State Daily he has not yet seen the mailers, and looks forward to meeting Morgan.
Morgan said of Posey, “The only thing I know about him, is people have told me he’s a real super nice guy.”
But, Posey’s voting record isn’t as conservative as his would be, he added.
Special Districts
Martin said Prop. 1 could be devastating. He pointed to firefighters’ and other special districts’ and local governments’ opposition to it.
“Prop. 1 will dramatically harm our public lands, set back a lot of the efforts that have already taken place to fight cheatgrass and other invasive species,” said Martin, adding that many special districts are already struggling.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
