ROCK SPRINGS — Interest in the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office exploded Friday as the Republican Primary Election will see five candidates for the position.

Joining Ozzie Knezovich and Rich Fischer in seeking the Republican nomination are Randall Tryzbiak, Matthew Wharton and Richard Kaumo. No Democrats have registered for any county elected positions thus far. If that trend continues, it may result in the Republican Primary being the election that decides who wins the various positions in county government. Aside from the new candidates for county sheriff, there haven’t been any new filings for county and municipal offices since Thursday.

For state and federal races, Harriet Hageman filed to run for U.S. Senate, creating a three-way primary that may see more candidates filing to run. For U.S. Representative, Democrat Lisa Kinney of Laramie has filed for election. Two more candidates have filed for Wyoming Superintendent of Public Instruction as well, creating primary contests on both the Republican and Democratic ballots in August. Ana Cordova will face Sergio Maldonado for the Democratic nomination, while Tom Kelly will take on Chad Auer on the Republican side.

In state legislative races, Republican Bob Davis of Baggs has filed to seek election in Senate District 11, while Sen. Stacy Jones, also a Republican, has filed to run for another term in her Senate District 13 seat. For the House, Republican Cody Wylie has filed for reelection in House District 39, while Tony Niemiec has filed to challenge Rep. Marlene Brady for the Republican nomination in House District 60.