CHEYENNE, WYO. — Democrats haven’t won a majority in either chamber of the Wyoming Legislature since 1964 and the statehouse is one of the most Republican.
Wyoming Republicans have nonetheless formed a new political action group, the Wyoming Republican Legislative Trust, in response to Democratic gains in the Montana and Colorado legislatures.
A Wyoming Democratic Party official said the action shows that Republicans are fearful of losing political ground in the state.
The trust’s purpose is to raise money for and funnel money to Republican candidates. Wyoming House Speaker Roy Cohee, R-Casper and chairman of the trust, said Monday that people who donate to the trust can rest assured that their money will help Republicans who need it most.
“We see a lot of that, where entities or individuals will send money to candidates that aren’t even contested. So the thinking was maybe we could put it in this trust and focus on races that are contested,” Cohee said.
Another goal is encouraging Republican legislators to seek re-election. Cohee said the Legislature has a 25 percent turnover rate each election and some extra funding could persuade some legislators to seek re-election.
“We’re trying to do what we can to keep more institutional knowledge in the Legislature,” Cohee said.
Cohee said the initial goal is for the trust to raise $250,000.
State Elections Director Peggy Nighswonger said state campaign finance rules don’t limit the amount that the trust can give to legislative candidates.
Richie Parsons, the trust’s executive director, said he plans to watch closely who files for legislative races next month to try to find out which races are going to be competitive — and where there could be “trouble spots” for Republicans.
Cohee said some House members have been concerned by how Democrats have gained control of the Montana Senate and the Colorado House and Senate in recent years.
In Wyoming, however, Democrats would need to make up a lot of ground to become a majority in either chamber. Republicans outnumber Democrats by more than 2 to 1 in the Wyoming House and by more than 3 to 1 in the Wyoming Senate. Only in one election, in 1936, have Democrats won majorities in both the state House and Senate.
State Republican Party Chairman Fred Parady downplayed any possibility of Democrats making inroads in Wyoming, even given the popularity of Democratic Gov. Dave Freudenthal.
“We’re six years into the Freudenthal administration and he has not had any legislative coattails thus far,” Parady said. “But we don’t want to take anything for granted and we want to earn Wyoming voters’ support.”
Wyoming Republican National Committeewoman Jan Larimer likewise said Republicans don’t intend to give up seats in the statehouse.
“We anticipate that we will do extremely well and actually hope we might even pick up a couple legislative races,” Larimer said.
But Bill Luckett, executive director of the Wyoming Democratic Party, said the very creation of the trust shows that Republicans are fearful of losing ground in the state.
“Their party and their leadership has gotten away from principles that Wyoming people care about and Western people care about. That’s why they’re losing elections in Colorado and Montana, and coming soon, Wyoming,” Luckett said.
