Wyoming Republican voters delivered a pretty unmistakable message Tuesday: endorsements are nice, PAC money can buy plenty of advertisements, but voters still get the final say.
State Sen. Eric Barlow captured the Republican nomination for governor with 58,820 votes, according to unofficial results, defeating Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder, who received 38,739 votes, and retired Marine Corps Col. Brent Bien, who finished with 30,843.
Barlow now advances to the Nov. 3 general election, where he will face Democratic nominee Kenneth Casner and Constitution Party nominee Rebecca Bextel.
“Kelly and I are grateful, and it’s been a remarkable experience this last year,” Barlow said in a Tuesday phone interview. “We’re blessed and grateful, and there’s more work to do, of course.”
There certainly is, but Barlow just cleared what may have been his biggest political obstacle.
The result is especially notable because Barlow wasn’t exactly swimming in establishment endorsements. President Trump endorsed Degenfelder in January, while the Wyoming Republican Party’s state central committee endorsed Bien in July.
Apparently Wyoming Republicans had other ideas.
Barlow also had to contend with significant outside spending during the closing stretch of the campaign. Wyoming’s Turn PAC and Women For Responsible Government PAC targeted him, including claims from Wyoming’s Turn PAC that Barlow sought fuel tax increases in 2013 and 2020. According to the information provided, legislative records showed that Barlow instead worked to keep fuel taxes down during both years.
“There’s been a lot of out of state money and agendas and voices trying to tell us things that aren’t true,” Barlow said. “And today Wyoming showed up, and showed us that Wyoming’s voice matters most.”
That may be the defining theme of Barlow’s victory. Political endorsements can matter, especially when they come from someone with President Trump’s influence among Republican voters. But an endorsement isn’t a royal decree, and Republican primary voters aren’t obligated to march into a voting booth and follow instructions.
Barlow, for his part, isn’t looking to turn the result into some dramatic feud with President Trump. He said he looks forward to working with the president and pointed to his own record of advancing the Wyoming Republican Party’s platform.
His campaign also emphasized the decidedly old-fashioned political strategy of actually meeting voters.
Barlow said his victory “comes down to the work. I’m appreciative of all the folks who knocked on doors and hosted coffees or took a chance by introducing us to family, friends, neighbors – whoever came along during the campaign.”
“As I’ve said, we’re running for Wyoming, not against anybody.”
That approach seems to have paid off.
Barlow entered the Wyoming Legislature in 2012 and became House speaker in 2021. After serving as speaker, he won election to the state Senate in 2022. Among his notable legislative accomplishments was a 2023 measure establishing a path for nonviolent felons to regain gun and civic rights.
Degenfelder, meanwhile, conceded graciously and called for Republican unity heading into November.
“I am also grateful to my opponents and their supporters,” she said. “We debated the issues that matter to the future of our state, and I believe that conversation made Wyoming stronger. I congratulate our Republican nominee, and I believe it is now our responsibility to come together, move forward, and continue fighting for the state we all love.”
That’s probably exactly what Wyoming Republicans will need to do now.
Barlow won without the biggest endorsement in the race, despite organized opposition and despite outside groups spending money to hammer him down the stretch. He didn’t squeak through, either. Based on the unofficial totals provided, he defeated his nearest rival by more than 20,000 votes.
Now the primary signs come down, the intraparty elbows presumably get tucked away, and attention turns toward November.
Barlow says he intends to continue having “meaningful conversations across Wyoming, to understand how best to serve Wyoming. That’s what we believe in: serving our community and our state.”
After Tuesday’s result, Wyoming voters have given him the opportunity to make that case as the Republican nominee for governor.
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