A state legislator of nearly 24 years is Wyoming’s next superintendent of public instruction.
Steve Harshman, who also served two terms as state House speaker, defeated Democratic challenger Ana Cordova on Tuesday to become the state’s top educator.
Harshman, 62, won the GOP nomination Aug. 18 by defeating Chad Auer and state Rep. Tom Kelly, despite the latter winning the state Republican Party’s endorsement.
On the campaign trail, Harshman called for undoing the recent recalibration of Wyoming K-12 schools. The new system isolates funding increases to classroom educators, so that money cannot be used for other staff, activities, equipment or programs.
It also reshaped the way Wyoming funds school activities. Middle schools are due for more money, but small high schools within large districts face painful activities cuts.
Cordova and Harshman aligned in opposition to the school-choice vouchers Wyoming passed in 2024 and bolstered in 2025. The Steamboat Legacy scholarship fund offers $7,000 in private-school or homeschool vouchers to qualifying families.
It was originally paused by court order when some parents and the Wyoming Education Association challenged it, but the Wyoming Supreme Court reversed the pause in May.
More About Harshman
Harshman was born in Wyoming, raised in the small Natrona County town of Midwest, and has taught and coached for decades in the state’s public schools.
A husband of 39 years and a father to four children, he holds a double major bachelor’s degree from Black Hills State University in Spearfish, South Dakota, and his master’s degree of exercise physiology and exercises science from what is now Western Oregon University, he said.
During House floor debate, where proper nouns are generally disallowed, Harshman’s fellow House members call him “the good coach," a reference to his Hall of Fame coaching career.
He's led the Natrona County High School football team for 36 seasons, including this one: A 10-0 record and berth in the Class 4A state semifinals Friday.
He told Cowboy State Daily when he declared for office that he’s “been really blessed to help, really, thousands of kids cross the finish line” to graduation.
He also worked in the traditional energy sector in the past, and said that has informed him about “what powers this state and has built our schools.”
The Property Tax Champ
Harshman brought a blockbuster bill in 2024 to eliminate most property taxes.
That bill had a $1 million cap for its exemption, and it contemplated a backfill using a 2-point sales tax hike, calculated by property values just like property taxes.
The bill failed, but first brought controversy and fanfare for weeks.
Harshman then helped pass a 25% exemption on up to $1 million in home value, a 4% tax growth cap, a 50% exemption for longtime homeowners over 65, and an expansion of the state's refund program.
Still this year, he opposed Proposition 1, a proposed 50% sales tax cut to qualifying home structures, with no value limit.
Harshman told Cowboy State Daily that to compare Prop. 1 to his bill is an "apples and oranges" likening, because it doesn't have a value cap or backfill.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
