Better Wyoming A+R focused on two races for legislative seats in the 2024 general election—and with the help of our grassroots people power, both candidates we supported are headed to the capitol in January.
RETAKING THE RESERVATION
Native-led actions formed the bedrock of the campaign that led Democrat Ivan Posey to defeat Freedom Caucus Republican incumbent Sarah Penn, delivering the district that represents most of the Wind River Reservation back into tribal hands.
BWAR played a critical support role, co-organizing canvassing efforts in off-reservation portions of the district, where volunteers knocked on the doors of hundreds of voters and nonvoters alike.
Meanwhile, BWAR volunteers executed a data-driven action to send “voting reports” based on public record to all Democrat and Independent voters who had cast ballots in 2020 but not 2022, urging them to get to the polls this year. This proven tactic reached more than 400 low-propensity voters on and off the reservation, spurring turnout in what ended up being a decisive victory for Posey.
A DEMOCRAT RETAINS A GOP DISTRICT
Rep. Trey Sherwood, a business-minded Democrat who prioritizes affordable housing and education, has represented the district covering north Laramie and rural Albany County since 2020. This is despite the fact that the district’s political makeup leans considerably GOP.
In 2020 and 2022, Sherwood faced challengers whose campaigns ran according to the old style of Wyoming politics—relatively sleepy, civil, local affairs.
But with the rise of the Freedom Caucus and the out-of-state money and politics it has brought to our state came a new challenge for Sherwood: an aggressive campaign centered around expensive attack mailers and advertisements that resembled those that helped defeat many moderate GOP incumbents in the 2024 primary.
Sherwood’s far-right challenger, Joe Giustozzi, outspent her by a nearly two-to-one margin. This is in addition to the independent expenditures by the Freedom Caucus’ PAC and the Albany County GOP, which both dedicated significant sums on mailers and advertisements.
While Sherwood ran her own robust campaign, BWAR provided the support of two separate days of action, where dozens of volunteers delivered more than 2,000 flyers promoting the incumbent with tailored messaging that separately appealed to GOP and Democrat voters.
In the end, Sherwood won by fewer than 200 votes. Every bit of support her campaign received mattered, and partly as a result of BWAR’s grassroots work, Sherwood will be returning to the Wyoming Legislature to fight for affordable housing, healthcare, support for small business, and quality public education.