Infighting Is Tearing The Wyoming GOP Apart
The Wyoming Republican Party is at war with itself.
In the latest strike, the party will consider censuring one of the state’s most prominent legislators at its State Central Committee meeting this weekend.
The last time they censured somebody it was Wyoming Representative to the U.S. House Liz Cheney. There were those in the Wyoming GOP who supported Liz Cheney, but they were few in number.
State Sen. Cale Case, R-Lander, has become a target of the party for allegedly voting and acting contrary to Republican Party values. The party now may ask him to no longer identify himself as a Republican. (Cowboy State Daily).
Mr. Case says he has no plans to change his registration to any other party.
The letter threatens to not recognize Case as a Republican and withhold financial and other mechanisms of support for him in future elections.
What might have started all of this was when Mr. Case tried to recruit an Independent candidate to run against State Rep. Chuck Gray, R-Casper, for Secretary of State in the general election.
Gray easily won the Republican nomination for this position in August. He currently is the only candidate on the ballot in November, so the job is his.
Mr. Case has issues with Mr. Gray and wants a conservative candidate to run as an independent write-in.
But Mr. Case can't find anyone who wants to run against Chug Gray.
Case sits on the State Legislature’s Corporations, Elections, and Political Subdivisions committee. Through that committee, he was able to draft a bill to stop the Secretary of State of their duty to oversee the state’s elections.
'Your recent attacks upon the duly elected winner of the Republican primary election for the Office of Secretary of State coupled with your guest column in the press are not consistent with the message of party unity,' the letter said. 'The idea that an elected “Republican” would undermine the will of the Republican voters of this state is beyond the pale.' (Cowboy State Daily).
The letter accuses Case of abusing his power and position.
While you certainly have every individual right to support whomever you wish to in your individual capacity it is universally understood, as Republicans, we support or do not undermine the Republican winners of the primary race. (Cowboy State Daily).
The story from Cowboy State Daily goes into more detail.
So here we have one side of this GOP battle trying to remove or strip the power from someone the Republicans of Wyoming voted for in the primary.
While the other side of the GOP tries to strip power and party affiliation from their opposition.
The Wyoming GOP holds Wyoming as the reddest red state in the nation. Yet there is infighting that could tear that party apart and make them ineffective.
Welcome to Wyoming politics.