Even after adjusting for Teton County’s higher median income, its contested House District 23 race is still the most expensive legislative contest in Wyoming’s general election, with nearly $67,000 spent since mid-August.
Republican nominee Shannon Brennan raised $87,925 in the general election — 10 times the amount of her opponent, the incumbent Democratic Rep. Liz Storer, at $8,921.11.
And Brennan has spent $50,204.79 to Storer’s $16,635.55 since mid-August. (Overages are possible here because of primary-election carryover.)
Teton County is Wyoming’s wealthiest, and ranks among the richest counties in the nation.
But even adjusting the numbers down based upon a comparison of Teton County’s median income to Wyoming’s median income (multiply by 61.3%), this race remains the priciest among state legislative contests.
That adjustment sends the candidates’ combined general-election contributions down from $96,846 to $59,412, and their combined expense down from $66,840 to $41,004.
The two women didn’t have primary-election challengers, so unlike most other contested general election races this season, they could also count their primary election expense as part of their duel.
Storer spent $10,609 in the primary election to Brennan’s $38,735.
GOP Pitches In $52,000
Brennan’s local Teton County Republican Party gave substantially to her general-election race, at $45,000, or roughly half of her contributions for that race.
The Crook County Republican Party decided to help too by giving $5,000. Democratic presence is scant in Crook County, leaving the northeastern Wyoming party committee with less conflict of its own during the general election.
And the state GOP gave Brennan $2,000.
Teton County GOP Chair Kat Rueckert did not return a late-day voicemail for comment.
Brennan did not respond to a midday voicemail by publication.
Storer told Cowboy State Daily in a text message that, “It’s a free country and our campaign finance laws allow political parties to make unlimited contributions.”
“But,” Storer continued, “this election should be about who is the best person to represent Teton County — not advancing the Freedom Caucus’s priorities.”
The Wyoming Freedom Caucus is a populist leaning faction in the state House that also represents one wing of Wyoming’s massive, but divided, GOP concentration.
The Teton County GOP has not formally declared itself an arm of the Freedom Caucus.
Storer noted that her unsuccessful 2022 opponent outspent her as well.
Runners Up
The next most expensive general election state legislative race is for Cheyenne-based House District 11 between Republican Dan McIntosh, Democrat Britney Tennant and Libertarian Ryan Schollenberger.
The three have raised a collective $29,266 since mid-August, and spent a collective $29,771. Adjusted downward to account for Laramie County’s slightly-higher-than-state median income (multiply by 95%), those figures are $27,807 in contributions and $28,287 in expenses.
McIntosh was the biggest spender in that equation at $22,730 before adjustment.
These figures don’t count the primary election where each ran unopposed, so essentially (though not technically) against each other.
Another expensive general-election race among legislative candidates unfolded in the Laramie-based House District 45 contest between Rep. Karlee Provenza, a Democrat, and Republican nominee Ross Davenport.
Provenza spent $10,768 to Davenport’s $4,129, for a total of $14,897.44.
Adjusted to the state-level median income, the total expense would be $18,328.
Technically, the race for Campbell County’s House District 31 yielded more expense, but that’s before adjustment. Gillette-based Republican Doug Moore spent $20,556 to independent Dave Hardesty’s 82 cents.
Moore had significant rollover from his primary-election account, where he took on Freedom Caucus leader and incumbent Rep. John Bear.
Adjusted down for income comparison, this race’s total general-election spending comprised $17,423.
The race between Republican Luke Reiner against Democrat Brenda Lyttle for Cheyenne-based House District 8 cost $17,239 in the general election cycle alone — $16,380 after adjustment.
Republican Brian Costello’s struggle against Democrat Betsy Erickson is another for the books, at $16,029 total, or $16,922 after adjustment.
Erickson spent the most, at $11,552 to Costello’s $4,477 in the general election.
Rep. Bob Nicholas’s race to hold Cheyenne-based House District 7 against Democratic nominee Gavin Lobmeyer has cost them a total of $14,857 in the general election. That’s $14,116 after adjustment.
Nicholas was the bigger spender there, at $11,013.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
