Current:Home > ScamsPolitical newcomers seek to beat U.S. House, Senate incumbents in Wyoming-DB Wealth Institute B2 Reviews & Ratings
Political newcomers seek to beat U.S. House, Senate incumbents in Wyoming
lotradecoin trading competition updates View Date:2024-12-25 16:34:34
Republicans will decide in Wyoming’s primaries Tuesday whether to stick with long-serving U.S. Sen. John Barrasso and the first-term congresswoman who ousted Liz Cheney two years ago, Harriet Hageman.
As in the Republican primary, Democratic candidates with no previous political experience are running for U.S. House and Senate. Unlike in the GOP contests, those two Democrats are unopposed.
Meanwhile, the primary in super-conservative Wyoming — the state that has voted for Donald Trump by a wider margin than any other — is also the first time Democrats are barred from switching party registration at the last minute to participate in the livelier Republican contest. A new law bans “crossover” registration at the polls and for three months before primary day — potentially cementing the Republican dominance that has rendered Democrats nearly extinct.
The Republican-dominated Legislature passed the law in 2023 amid GOP grumbling that Democrats changing parties skewed GOP primary outcomes.
The Republican races have been low-key affairs compared to two years ago, when Hageman took on Cheney and denied her a fourth term by a more than 2-to-1 vote margin.
Cheney lost Republican support in Wyoming as a critic of Trump in a race watched far and wide. Recruited and endorsed by the former president to run against Cheney, Hageman went on to win office handily.
She’s served on the House Natural Resources and Judiciary committees in her first term.
Now, Steven Helling is running against Hageman in part as an opponent of new nuclear power amid plans to build a sodium-cooled reactor outside Kemmerer in western Wyoming.
This is Helling’s second run for Wyoming’s lone congressional seat. In 2022, he ran as a pro-Trump Democrat. He finished a distant third in the Democrats’ three-way primary.
Barrasso is seeking a third, full term after rising to prominence in the Senate.
He is chair of the Senate Republican Conference, the third-ranking position among Senate Republicans, and a ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
He’s been an outspoken critic of President Joe Biden’s administration’s policies on immigration, fossil-fuel development and air pollution regulations.
An orthopedic surgeon and former state lawmaker from Casper, Barrasso is challenged by Reid Rasner, a financial adviser from the Casper area.
Rasner has been campaigning on a platform similar to Barrasso’s but argues for term limits. He criticizes Barrasso’s donations from defense contractors and refusal to debate him.
Scott Morrow of Laramie is the Democratic candidate for Senate and Kyle Cameron of Cheyenne the Democratic candidate for U.S. House.
Local races of note include Cheyenne’s mayoral primary, where the five candidates challenging Mayor Patrick Collins include local library employee Victor Miller, who calls himself the “meat avatar” for a ChatGPT-based artificial intelligence chatbot he says he created and calls “VIC.” Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray has said an AI candidate might not be able legally to run in Wyoming but local officials have allowed VIC, in essence, to appear on the ballot as Miller.
The top two vote-getters in the mayoral primary will face each other in the general election.
Polls statewide open at 7 a.m. and will close at 7 p.m.
veryGood! (16)
Related
- Collin Gosselin Says He Was Discharged from the Marines Due to Being Institutionalized by Mom Kate
- Turning dusty attic treasures into cash can yield millions for some and disappointment for others
- Mystery drones are swarming New Jersey skies, but can you shoot them down?
- 'The Voice' Season 26 finale: Coach Michael Bublé scores victory with Sofronio Vasquez
- Judge tells Google to brace for shakeup of Android app store as punishment for running a monopoly
- Atmospheric river and potential bomb cyclone bring chaotic winter weather to East Coast
- What Americans think about Hegseth, Gabbard and key Trump Cabinet picks AP
- Our 12 favorites moments of 2024
- Wildfires are growing under climate change, and their smoke threatens farmworkers, study says
- Chiquis comes from Latin pop royalty. How the regional Mexican star found her own crown
Ranking
- Sofía Vergara Responds After Joe Manganiello Says Her Reason for Divorce Is “Not True”
- Syrian rebel leader says he will dissolve toppled regime forces, close prisons
- Hate crime charges dropped against 12 college students arrested in Maryland assault
- Stock market today: Asian shares advance, tracking rally on Wall Street
- A weatherman had a panic attack live on air. What it teaches us.
- 'Vanderpump Rules' star DJ James Kennedy arrested on domestic violence charges
- Mystery drones are swarming New Jersey skies, but can you shoot them down?
- Chiquis comes from Latin pop royalty. How the regional Mexican star found her own crown
Recommendation
-
Andrew Shue's Sister Elisabeth Shares Rare Update on His Life Amid Marilee Fiebig Romance
-
North Dakota regulators consider underground carbon dioxide storage permits for Midwest pipeline
-
This house from 'Home Alone' is for sale. No, not that one.
-
'Maria' review: Angelina Jolie sings but Maria Callas biopic doesn't soar
-
Charlie Sheen’s Daughter Sami Sheen Undergoes Plastic Surgery for Droopy Nose
-
See Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon's Twins Monroe and Moroccan Gift Her Flowers Onstage
-
Video shows drone spotted in New Jersey sky as FBI says it is investigating
-
Taylor Swift makes history as most decorated artist at Billboard Music Awards