Rep. Chip Neiman, of Hulett, represents House District 1 in Crook and Weston counties as a Freedom Caucus leader.

Neiman is currently Speaker of the House, the most powerful role in that chamber. In the 2026 elections, he is trying to move up to the Senate by running for Senate District 1.

By the numbers 

During the Legislature’s 2026 budget session, Rep. Neiman voted for all 10 of the Freedom Caucus’ priority bills. He voted along with Freedom Caucus chair Rachel Rodriguez-Williams 79% of the time on bills tracked in Better Wyoming’s 2026 Grassroots Accountability Report.

During the 2025 general session, Neiman voted for all of the Freedom Caucus’ priority bills (28 in all), and he voted with Rep. Rodriguez-Williams 90% of the time on bills tracked in Better Wyoming’s 2025 Grassroots Accountability Report.

'Checkgate' recipient

Neiman was one of several high-profile Freedom Caucus members who accepted campaign checks inside the capitol from Freedom Caucus fundraiser Rebecca Bextel at the start of the 2026 budget session.

Other Freedom Caucus lawmakers took checks from Bextel on the floor of the House, which became a major scandal that tarnished the Legislature’s reputation.

Neiman initially kept his receipt of a check secret. He mentioned nothing about his involvement even when the House voted to have the speaker—Neiman—select members of an investigative committee to look into the incident.

“My commitment to you is to try to make sure we do this in a fair and impartial fashion,” Neiman told his colleagues before selecting his own jury.

Voting against economic diversification

The Freedom Caucus, with Neiman’s leadership, has attempted to defund many of the state agencies that work to develop and diversify Wyoming’s economy.

Neiman led the effort in 2026 to dismantle the Wyoming Business Council, which is the state’s main economic development organization. The WBC invests in infrastructure to attract new businesses and grow current enterprises, planning to help communities grow, and support for human resources like daycare centers. These include projects in Neiman’s own district, like expanding the Sundance Daycare Center so working parents have options for their kids.

Ultimately, the Freedom Caucus effort to dismantle the Business Council failed after significant popular pushback.

Cutting UW’s Budget

Neiman also supported huge cuts to the University of Wyoming’s budget, despite it being our state’s only university, a way for Wyoming children to stay in-state, and a huge driver of workforce training and economic development.

Neiman backed an initial proposal in 2026 to cut $40 million from UW, which like the proposed cuts to the business council was a wildly unpopular idea across the state.

The Freedom Caucus buckled to popular pressure and backpedaled as negotiations in the House and with the Senate proceeded during the 2026 budget session.

Neiman voted at first for a $20 million compromise cut in the House. But the House ultimately backed down to the Senate and no major cuts to the university went through by the time the governor signed the budget.

Defunding afterschool sports and activities

During the 2026 budget session, the Legislature was responsible for “recalibrating” Wyoming’s public education funding model.

Facing pressure from the courts for unconstitutionally underfunding schools for decades, Wyoming lawmakers increased the overall amount that districts receive, despite Freedom Caucus desires to use “recalibration” to defund education.

Neiman, a member of the Recalibration Committee, led the effort to remove local control from school districts in this process by putting in place “silos” in school budgets that restricted how money could be spent.

One major consequence is that smaller rural Wyoming districts—like those Neiman represents—are unable to use funding for school sports and after school activities.

During the 2026 budget session, legislators warned the Freedom Caucus time and time again that removing local control was a bad idea. Neiman forcefully advocated for the silos anyway. The Freedom Caucus is now asking for forgiveness and patience as they promise to fix their mistake.