Wyoming’s Nov. 3 general election ballot grew more crowded this week as minor-party candidates were certified to appear alongside major-party nominees in several of the state’s top races, headlined by a governor’s contest that already ranks as the most expensive of the primary cycle.<\/p>\n
In the governor’s race, Republican Eric Barlow and Democrat Kenneth Casner will be joined on the general election ballot by the Constitution Party’s Rebecca Bextel. Bextel drew attention during this year’s legislative session by hand-delivering checks from a Teton County donor to Republican lawmakers on the House floor after the chamber had adjourned for the day. Her campaign platform includes a “First 100 Days” pledge to review every major executive agency and its funding, and positions her as an alternative to the Republican nominee. “Having an R by your name doesn’t mean you stand for Republican values. My campaign is about giving voters a choice in November,” her campaign website states.<\/p>\n
Barlow, a state senator from Gillette, won the Republican primary for governor on Aug. 18 with 45% of the vote, defeating current Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder, who finished second with 29%, and Brent Bien.<\/p>\n
A review of campaign finance reports filed ahead of the primary shows the governor’s race generated more spending than any other contest on the ballot. Barlow and Degenfelder each spent more than $1 million pursuing the state’s chief executive seat. Barlow’s campaign reported total expenditures of just under $1.5 million, including $400,000, or 26.3%, on television advertising, $300,000, or 20%, on consulting, and $225,000, or 15%, on digital advertising.<\/p>\n
Barlow also set a new statewide record for individual fundraising, surpassing the previous mark before the primary was even decided. Of the $1.7 million his campaign raised, $1.3 million came from individual donations contributed by roughly 1,700 donors across all 23 Wyoming counties, representing 76% of total contributions. The campaign also received $240,000, or 14%, from political action committees, including $168,250 from the Civil Leadership PAC, along with nearly $150,000, or 9%, from immediate family members.<\/p>\n
Degenfelder’s campaign reported total expenditures of just under $1.3 million, with a different spending mix than Barlow’s: $670,000, or 52%, went to advertising, $370,000, or 29%, to consulting, and $135,000 to digital advertising. Her campaign raised just above $1.3 million, including $522,000, or 40%, from immediate family and personal funds, $385,500, or 29%, from Wyoming PACs \u2014 including $290,000 from the Fight Wyoming Fight PAC \u2014 and $377,000, or 28%, from individual donors.<\/p>\n
Bien’s campaign reported total expenditures of $167,216 during the primary, with $100,000, or 60%, spent on advertising and $31,000 on yard signs and other campaign merchandise. Of the roughly $200,000 his campaign raised, $171,000, or 85%, came from individual donations.<\/p>\n