SWEETWATER COUNTY –– The Freedom Caucus has been ousted from Sweetwater County and much of Wyoming.
According to the unofficial results of Tuesday’s Primary Election, Sweetwater County will see a slate of new representatives in the Wyoming House. In House District 48, Republican Jim Wamsley defeated incumbent Darin McCann after earning 812 votes to McCann’s 552.
In House District 60, incumbent Republican Marlene Brady lost by a nearly 2:1 margin to challenger Tony Niemiec. Niemiec received 1,032 votes to Brady’s 538. Niemiec credited a door-knocking campaign as the difference for voters this time around as Niemiec lost to Brady two years ago.
“I got out and knocked all the doors so voters got reintroduced to me,” Niemiec said.
He described the last days of the race as stressful, only finishing his door-to-door campaign two days before the primary.
“I had about 16 or 18 houses left to do and I finished that up Sunday,” Niemiec said. “Today I was relaxing pretty good until about 6 o’clock, then I started getting pretty nervous of course.”
Niemiec pointed to a wave of Freedom Caucus house members losing their seats and said he hopes a strong Sweetwater County delegation returns to Cheyenne.
“Over two years ago we had a great Sweetwater County contingent,” Niemiec said. “Hopefully we’ll have that again, to help out our county, to attract new business into Sweetwater County which is what we need. So hopefully we’ll continue and carry on.”
Niemiec will face a General Election challenger in United Steel Workers Local 13214 President Marshal Cummings, who is seeking election as an independent candidate.
Brady and McCann were involved in the so-called Checkgate Scandal that occurred earlier this year. A widely circulated photo taken from the House Floor showed McCann accepting a campaign donation check during the legislative session, with Brady in the background clutching a similar check. An investigation by a House special committee found the lawmakers did not accept bribes. McCann was also criticized for not attending interim committee meetings during his term, saying his surgical schedule prevented him from doing so. He later told attendees to a Sweetwater County GOP-sponsored debate in July that he watched the YouTube recordings of his meetings to stay on top of discussions.
The purging of Freedom Caucus members and supporters didn’t end with Brady and McCann. Statewide, many were routed from their districts. According to Wyofile.com, early results showed the caucus losing at least 14 incumbent lawmakers.
Incumbent and founding Freedom Caucus Member Scott Heiner lost to challenger Kenneth Roberts in House District 18. Roberts received 1,222 votes while Heiner received 995. Heiner did win Sweetwater County but was defeated by the larger number of votes coming from Lincoln County. Roberts, the longtime Lincoln County Clerk of District Court, fell ill during the campaign and missed events such as the Rock Springs Chamber of Commerce debates a week before the election. A photo of Roberts in a hospital bed with his grandchildren was posted to his Facebook candidate profile Monday, along with a message assuring his supporters he’s doing fine.
“Hey folks, I’m 100% fine. Looking forward to representing House District 18. I’ll be back real soon. I would be honored to have your vote Tuesday. God bless Wyoming and Go Pokes,” the post reads.
In Uinta County, Freedom Caucus member Joe Webb was defeated by challenger Chad Stephens. Stephens received 1,327 votes to Webb’s 881.
Freedom Caucus leaders also did not fare well during the election. Caucus Chairman Rachel Rodriguez-Williams fell short in her bid for Wyoming Secretary of State. Founder and “Emeritus Chairman” John Bear was defeated in House District 31 by challenger Douglas Moore. Moore received 920 votes to Bear’s 647. In the Senate races, Ogden Driskill narrowly fended off Speaker of the House Chip Neiman for Senate District 1, earning 2,923 votes to Neiman’s 2,705.
