In 2022, I joined a lawsuit against the Wyoming GOP. I never expected to do this.
But after seeing how the Wyoming Republican Party handled the nomination process for Superintendent of Public Instruction, I was furious. The process was rigged, the outcome predetermined, and two of the most qualified candidates were undermined by irrelevant or deceptive attacks.
It was clear that something had changed. And what happened in Sheridan County in 2023/2024 confirmed it: this is not the Republican Party that many of us expected.
The Sheridan County Republican Party’s lawsuit against our County Commissioners was not only unnecessary; it was emblematic. It revealed yet again a troubling pattern within the Party: rewriting the rules to achieve a predetermined outcome, punishing those who refuse to play along, and abandoning the principles of transparency and fairness that once distinguished us.
Here’s how it happened.
Commissioner Allen Thompson informed the Board in early June 2023 that he intended to resign. Before he stepped down, and before any nominations were made, the Sheridan County GOP Central Committee voted to approve up to $20,000 to sue the County Commissioners if they did not “comply with state law.”
The party had anticipated a fight. Not a debate. A fight.
Then came the nominations process. The county party instituted special procedures to ensure that three handpicked candidates rose to the top. When the Board of County Commissioners, consisting of four duly elected Republicans, held a public meeting, they interviewed each nominee in open session.
No nominations were seconded.
County Commission Chair Christi Haswell explained the Board’s reasoning: they wanted someone with budget, infrastructure, and emergency management experience, not just party affiliation.
The next day, I petitioned the Sheridan County District Court for a judge’s decision, becoming the first of three people to do so.
Because we understand how to read the statutes.
The judge appointed Holly Jennings, one of the nominees. Is this done?
Not quite. Nevertheless, the party filed a lawsuit.
Its leaders claimed that the commissioners had violated their duty by refusing to appoint someone, despite the fact that they had followed the law, conducted an open process, and acted in good faith. The party’s case went to trial.
The judge dismissed it.
Why? Two reasons: First, the Party lacked standing. It was not entitled under the statute to file the lawsuit in the first place. Second, and equally important, it failed to establish any wrongdoing by the commissioners.
In fact, the court specifically echoed the concern that if the Party’s position had prevailed, any “discontented individual who disagrees with a commissioner’s decision” could ensnare local government in indefinite litigation.
That is not accountability. That is sabotage.
The irony is difficult to miss. This is the same Republican Party that claims to be a private organization and views any regulation of its internal processes as an attack on free association.
However, when public officials act in public and exercise judgment, the Party complains and seeks legal redress.
That’s not a principle. That is hypocrisy.
Then there’s the money.
The campaign finance report shows a $20,000 payment to Coal Creek Law on September 12, 2023, which matches the Party’s approved legal budget. However, another payment ($12,064.39 on May 13, 2024) is only listed as “consulting.” No votes were taken. No explanation was given. Just one line item.
Worse, nearly $20,000 was raised through four “cash” donations totaling $2,360 to $9,121. Cash contributions are only permitted in a “pass the hat” format, in which the actual donors cannot be easily identified.
These numbers do not pass the smell test. Not for a party that claims to promote fiscal responsibility and the rule of law.
This is not only about Sheridan County. It is part of a larger drift. From nominations to the Uinta and Hot Springs lawsuits, the lawsuit against the Laramie County Clerk, and internal disputes across the state, we see a Party that once valued local control and integrity becoming consumed by centralized control and retribution.
We are better than this.
Republicans in Sheridan County — and throughout Wyoming — deserve leadership that embodies the values we’ve always claimed to uphold: transparency, accountability, and voter respect.
Not factions that punish dissidents. To enforce fealty, no lawsuits or internal tribunals are required.
The solution begins with a question: Will we continue to let a small circle of insiders speak for all of us?
Or will we reclaim the Party in which we believed?
