Votes against economic development

Rep. Locke voted alongside his Freedom Caucus colleagues in 2026 to defund and eliminate the Wyoming Business Council. This is despite the fact that the council has invested significantly in Rep. Locke’s own Natrona County community, creating jobs and spurring economic development..

For instance, in 2024 the Wyoming Business Council awarded Mesa Solutions a one-time $8.9 million grant to expand their facility in Evansville. This investment is projected to have an estimated $20 million annual economic impact on the Casper area.

Fortunately, the Freedom Caucus’ efforts to kill the Business Council, backed by Rep. Locke, ultimately failed during the 2026 budget session.

Accepted a “checkgate” campaign check and retaliated

The Legislature’s 2026 budget session was tarnished by a scandal now known as “checkgate,” during which a prominent Freedom Caucus fundraiser, Rebecca Bextel, was photographed handing out campaign checks to legislators on the floor of the capitol.

After the incident became public, it became known that there were 10 “checkgate” checks in all intended for Freedom Caucus candidates running in 2026. Rep. Locke was one of them.

Rep. Locke has refused to answer questions about whether he cashed the check or intends to use it for his campaign. Furthermore, he retaliated against the legislators who brought “checkgate” to light by filing a formal complaint against them.

Rep. Locke argued in his complaint that the legislators who made “checkgate” public should have instead taken the matter to the Speaker of the House to deal with privately.

The Speaker of the House, Rep. Chip Neiman, is another Freedom Caucus member who admitted to receiving a check from Bextel.

Votes to starve hungry schoolchildren

Rep. Locke has voted repeatedly to reject funding meant to feed hungry schoolchildren who don’t have access to school lunch during the summer months.

The Freedom Caucus has successfully killed two bills, in 2025 and 2026, to fund a “SUN Bucks” program in Wyoming that provides free lunch to children from qualifying families while school is out.

Fortunately, Gov. Mark Gordon has stepped up to help and has implemented a program out of his own office to do the task the Freedom Caucus refused.

SUN Bucks will help feed nearly 40,000 needy Wyoming children this summer, no thanks to Rep. Locke.

Votes against healthcare funding

Even though the Freedom Caucus’ attempt to make dramatic cuts to the Wyoming Department of Health during the 2026 budget ultimately failed, Rep. Locke voted repeatedly against funding that could increase Wyoming residents’ access to affordable healthcare.

Wyoming has some of the most expensive healthcare prices in the nation.

During the 2026 budget session, proposals were brought to the House to increase funding for senior healthcare, EMS services, maternal healthcare, and mental healthcare, all of which Rep. Locke voted against.

Many of the health funding proposals were ultimately defeated by the Freedom Caucus.