CHEYENNE, Wyo., Aug. 19 (Cheyenne Times) — State Sen. Eric Barlow won the Republican nomination for Wyoming governor in the Aug. 18 primary, according to an Associated Press race call and unofficial results reported after the election. He will face Democratic nominee Kenneth Casner in the Nov. 3 general election for an open seat.
The contest is to succeed Republican Gov. Mark Gordon, who is barred from seeking another term because of term limits. Every statewide elected office in Wyoming is currently held by a Republican, according to the Associated Press, making the Republican primary a pivotal contest in the state’s governor’s race.
What happened in the Republican primary?
Barlow defeated three other Republican candidates: State Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder, retired Marine Corps Col. Brent Bien and professional bull rider and rodeo producer Curt Blake.
The Associated Press called the race for Barlow. Reports citing unofficial results put him at 58,820 votes, followed by Degenfelder with 38,739 and Bien with 30,843. One report listed those candidates at 45%, 29.7% and 23.6%, respectively, with 99% of votes counted. The supplied results do not include a final vote total for Blake.
The reported timing of the AP call differs among accounts. WyoFile reported that the race was called at 8:54 p.m., with 21% of the vote counted. NTD reported a 10:54 p.m. Eastern time call, when Barlow led Degenfelder by about 16 percentage points.
The figures are not presented here as certified results. The supplied material does not include a Wyoming Secretary of State results page, county canvass or official certification document.
Who is Eric Barlow?
Barlow is a Wyoming state senator, former speaker of the Wyoming House, rancher and veterinarian from Gillette. His primary victory made him the Republican nominee for the state’s top elected office, according to the AP call and reports of the unofficial count.
Degenfelder, the state superintendent, had been endorsed by President Donald Trump, according to the Associated Press preview and other reports. Bien had been endorsed by the Wyoming Republican Party, according to the supplied coverage.
Primary endorsements do not determine the general-election result. They are signals of support from political figures or organizations, while the election result is determined by votes counted and certified by election officials.
Who is Kenneth Casner?
Casner is the Democratic nominee and is scheduled to face Barlow on Nov. 3. The supplied reports identify Casner as being from Casper, but they do not provide a detailed campaign platform or official biography.
Several reports also identify Constitution Party nominee Rebecca Bextel as a general-election candidate. Bextel was quoted by WyoFile as describing her campaign as an “insurance policy against Eric Barlow.” The supplied material does not include an official general-election candidate list or filing record, so the final field should be confirmed through Wyoming election authorities.
Why does the race matter?
The governor’s contest is an open-seat race because Gordon is term-limited. Wyoming’s statewide offices are all held by Republicans, so Barlow starts the general election as the Republican nominee in a state where the party holds every statewide elected position.
That political context describes the state’s current officeholders; it does not decide the November election. The general election will determine whether Republicans retain the governorship and whether Barlow succeeds Gordon, or whether Casner wins the office for the Democrats.
The next major date in the contest is the Nov. 3 general election. Until election officials complete their count and certification, the primary figures remain unofficial as presented in the supplied reports.
