Where Are Wyo Congressional Candidates Getting Their Money?

As the candidates for Wyoming's lone seat in the house of representatives rake in the money for their campaigns the question is continually raised, where is that money coming from? 

The worry is that out-of-state money from special interest groups would lead to loyalty problems. Would the elected politician be loyal to the people who voted for them or the person or group who gave them the most money?

Let's have a look at some of the candidates and what we know so far about where their money is coming from.

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Each candidate must fill out an FEC report quarterly report on what they have raised and spent on their campaign. Part of this information comes from there and special thanks to Cowboy State Daily for their excellent reporting.

Darin Smith reported raising $177,058 so far with $171,000, coming from individuals. Another $5,550 were loans.

State Sen. Anthony Bouchard, R-Cheyenne, raised an impressive $209,635 from individuals in the second quarter of the year. That brings his total to $543,800 for the year. The question that is continually asked is are some of those donations from out-of-state people? Does that matter?

Rep. Chuck Gray, R-Casper, has $221,054. But most of Gray’s second-quarter money of $165,194. Chuck's second-quarter donations totaled $55,860, most of which, almost $54,615, came from individuals. Chuck's campaign’s total loan amount for the year to about $298,300. (Cowboy State Daily).

Liz Cheney pulled in another $1.7 million, with about $1.5 million coming from individuals. But Cowboy State daily reports that so far this year, Virginia residents have donated $225,646 to Cheney, making the state the top contributor in the nation for the Republican. Wyoming, with a donation total of $53,750, comes in at seventh place — behind Virginia, Washington, D.C., California, New York, Maryland, and Florida.

At the back of the pack, so far in reporting is Bryan Miller, whose report shows he has raised $3,665 so far this year, all in loans.

There are several other candidates out there, but they are almost never heard from and we don't have information at this time about how much, if anything, has been raised.

Having the most money does not guarantee victory. I love to remind people that in the last gubernatorial election in Wyoming two billionaires ran. They both lost.