Meet the candidates

With the primary election coming up, voters will soon be asked to decide which of their friends and neighbors should take on the various mantles of government for the next few years.

One commissioner seat as well a number of national and city candidates for the general election will all be selected on August 20.

U.S. Senator

John Barrasso (R)

Incumbent

Barrasso has served as Wyoming's U.S. Senator since 2007, before which he was a state senator from 2003-2007. He is currently the third-ranking member in Republican leadership as Chairman of the Senate Republican conference. Nicknamed "Wyoming's Doctor", Barrasso was an orthopedic surgeon for 24 years, president of the Wyoming Medical Society and has been named Wyoming Physician of the Year.

John Holtz (R)

Laramie-based Holtz was born in Omaha, but has resided in Wyoming for 45 years. A graduate of the University of Wyoming, he has been a member of the Christian Legal Society since law school (St. Mary's University, Texas). Holtz was a space systems operations officer in the U.S. Air Force and served as a judge for many years in Douglas. He is now in private practice as a lawyer.

Reid Rasner (R)

Rasner was born in Casper. After graduating the University of Wyoming, Rasner describes himself as a fourth-generation Wyomingite. He is a wealth manager based in Mills, the founder and CEO of Omnivest Financial in Casper, through which he claims to have around 300 clients – some of whom were responsible, he says, for convincing him to enter the political realm.

Scott D. Morrow (D)

Morrow has lived in Laramie for 15 years, where he currently serves as the president of the Denver Metro Retiree Chapter chartered by the American Postal Workers Union. He has previously served as the Director of Industrial Relations for the same chapter, which has members across the nation, including Wyoming. Morrow describes himself as a strong advocate of workers.

U.S. Representative

Harriet Hageman (R)

Incumbent

Wyoming's current U.S. Representative grew up on a ranch, attended Casper College and earned her law degree at the University of Wyoming. She was a litigator for 34 years, during which time she worked to protect water and property rights and expose federal land mismanagement. She currently chairs the Subcommittee on Indian and Insular affairs and serves on several other committees, including Judiciary.

Steven R. Heiling (R)

A Casper-based attorney who has served on boards and commissions including an independent ethics commission and for a legal organization providing services to the poor, Helling is known for his 2022 campaign for the same seat on the Democratic ticket, which he has said was an effort to inspire support for President Trump among Democrats.

Kyle G. Cameron (D)

Cameron resides in Laramie, where she is an activist and chair of the Wyoming Democratic Labor Caucus. She was raised in Cheyenne and earned degrees from the University of Wyoming, Colorado State University and Walden University. She is an avid volunteer who describes her career as diverse, ranging from gymnastics coach to grant writer.

State Representative

Chip Neiman (R)

Incumbent

"I am a lifelong resident of Crook and Weston counties. I spent the first four years of my life in Weston County on Skull Creek, then we moved to Hulett in 1970.

I have two children and five grandchildren now. I was born and raised here and I've ranched here all my life.

I ran originally out of an attitude of service to the people and because I wanted to give back to my community. A guy told me one time, 'If you're not at the table, you're on the table'.

I think it's important to be involved in the process and to encourage other people to be involved and to be transparent, available and respectful. I've served on a lot of boards and commissions, and been chair on several of those, including the Greater Hulett Community Center board, airport board, school board and Weed & Pest.

I feel like it's important for all of us to be involved in our community, and if the people of District 1 would see fit to think that I can continue to represent them, listen to them and reflect their views and values, I would be glad to do so.

There are a lot of pieces of legislation that we've been working diligently to get through. We're going to have a change of leadership and before, under President Trump's leadership, we saw our state thrive under that type of recognition of our industries and what we offer for energy security in our nation.

I want the legislature to support and stand up for those legacy industries and keep our people working and not just yield always to this new woke agenda that we've seen. It's been very detrimental and all of us are paying the consequences of that mindset.

I would also really like to see school choice. A lot of other states in the union are starting to recognize the need for competition and alternative opportunities for parents to decide how they want to educate their children.

I think the money needs to follow the child. Most parents truly love their child and want the best for them and they're going to try to help them thrive and be successful, to all of our benefit.

I'd like to see responsible spending and control of the size of government. In Wyoming, we have more government employees per 10,000 capita than any other state in the union – we'd have to relieve from duty 169 employees to tie for second from the bottom.

I'd also like to make sure that we're auditing our government and departments, making sure they're doing the job that taxpayers are paying to have done and that the money is being spent efficiently and wisely."

County Commissioner

Kelly Dennis (R)

Incumbent

"I am currently on the commission. I am a life-long resident of Crook County. I was raised in west central Crook County on the ranch and expanded with more ranch land in central Crook County 25 years ago.

I continue to be active in agriculture as well as working four decades in the energy industry as a contractor. In the past, I have ran and automotive repair shop and have held a Wyoming sales tax license in this county for 53 years.

I have been married for 50 years and have family in Crook County.

I am seeking re-election because I believe in common sense, business-like government that is conservative and efficient and responsive to the basic functions it is statutorily supposed to do. I want to continue to be responsive to any citizen who wants to contact me."

John D. Davis (R)

"I'm a third generation Crook County native and grew up and went to school in Moorcroft. I have a B.S. degree in Agribusiness and spent 31 years as a Wyoming Game & Fish Game Warden, 25 of them stationed in Moorcroft.

I'm running for the position of county commissioner because I believe I can bring a fresh perspective and some new ideas to the job to help Crook County grow without a negative impact to our way of life.

I will promote the continued expansion of wireless and internet communication in the county. This should allow our young people to stay on the family farm or ranch while still being able to generate an off-farm income.

"This will also encourage people to move to the county and work from home without the additional road use of commuters. To accomplish all of this, I will also work closely with the other commissioners and departments in the county."

Sundance Council

Richard "Rick" Benavidez

"My wife and I bought our home close to 20 years ago here in Sundance. We have been married 33 years.

I retired from BNSF Railroad in August, 2018 after over 39 years of service. We are full-time residents of Sundance. 

I have been attending the city council meetings for 2.5 years. I feel that I am pretty knowledgeable about the city and how it operates. That is why I am running.

I hope to bring a different view to the council. When you have the same people in office for many years, things can get stagnant.

I think the whole town should have a voice on the direction they want the city to go. I think we need to survey the citizens on different subjects to see what they want for our city."

Kyndell Schell

"I have been a part of Sundance since I was little, spending summers here with my grandparents, Don and Beckey Schell. I moved here in '99 and attended Sundance High School until I moved to Newcastle later on.

I moved back to Sundance after graduating from Western Dakota tech in 2005 and have lived here since then. I'm very active in my community, teaching hunter safety, chapter chair for the NE WY Muley Fanatics, a volunteer for the National Turkey Federation, volunteer fire fighter, high school trap coach and a small business owner in our town.

I have two amazing daughters that live here and go to Sundance High School. I believe in making a difference in your community and try my best to make a positive difference for me and my children. 

I wanted to run for this seat to be more proactive with helping to make to best decisions for our community to benefit present and future residents.

I hope to help the other council members and the mayor to see some good expansion and growth for our community. I believe if we have good growth, it will not only help our small businesses in our town to grow, but it would also help our young people with having more opportunities in their community.

Randy Stevenson

Incumbent

"I moved to Sundance from Seattle, WA, after working 31 years at Boeing Aircraft Co. and retiring. I am 65 years old and have been married to my wife Misty for 43 years.

We built our retirement home in Sundance and love serving and living in this community.

I want to be on city council so I can serve the community of Sundance. I want to help the city avoid many of the 'Big City Pitfalls' I had to live with in Seattle."

Joe Wilson

Incumbent

"I have lived in Sundance for all but about five years of my life and have always considered it home. The time I spent away from this community solidified that Sundance was the place I always wanted to call home.

This community gave me the opportunity to start a business and a family. That support is why, eight years ago, I decided to see if give back to the community that has given me so much.

My reason for running for this position really hasn't changed from the first time I ran. The simple answer is that Sundance is my home.

It's more to me than a pit stop on the way to something else. It's a community that has shaped the lives of the people I care about.

I like to think that, with the decisions I have made in the past and hopefully get to make in the future, I have honored that sense of community.

My goals for the next four years are not the exciting type of thing that makes the front page – simply because, for the most part, if we do our job correctly it doesn't need to. I don't have a bone to pick or a fight to start.

I plan to keep working with our engineering, public works and various funding agencies to continue to identify and replace our aging infrastructure. I feel like we have made a great many improvements since I was first elected and hope to keep that momentum.

Along with maintaining what we have, I hope to be able to extend our infrastructure to new housing opportunities. Housing is definitely a big issue in our town.

The balance of creating new housing opportunities as well as maintaining the community feel of Sundance is major a goal of mine.

I also plan to continue to be an active part of the Wyoming Association of Municipalities. It is an organization comprised of representatives of the 99 municipalities in Wyoming that work with state legislators on the laws and rules that affect our communities.

My position on the board helps to keep me in the loop with rules coming out of Cheyenne and an opportunity to weigh in on those that can affect our community.

I want to thank all of you for your past support and ask you again for your vote."

Moorcroft Council

Heidi Humpal

Incumbent

"I was born and raised in good, 'ol Moorcroft to Randy and Rebecca Blakeman. I have two children, Braizyn and Pyper. I own and operate Rush Creek Properties & Rentals and love to be part of our wonderful community.

My favorite music is classic rock and some good 80s jams. I enjoy family vacations, going to the lake, riding motorcycles and cruising old cars. I love Jesus and America and serving the Town of Moorcroft!

I was inspired to run for council initially because I wanted to be a voice of change and reason for the citizens of Moorcroft. I wanted to see more accountability and transparency on many levels.

I knew I wasn't going to win all the challenges with my one voice and vote and that change wasn't going to come overnight, but I sure like the effort of trying for Moorcroft. 

The fact I get the opportunity to speak the truth about what's taking place in our town inspires me to continue to make it a better place to live.

I thank God that He blessed me with two ears and two eyes along with my one voice to do the extra part of this duty when your voice may not be enough. Listening and seeing things from a different perspective goes a long way in this industry. 

I decided to run again because I feel my relentless pursuit of accountability and transparency has made great progress and I want to see that continue. I believe some of the changes the town has wanted to see have happened and will continue to happen.

I feel like there have been big accomplishments already and hope to continue to see more positive ones over the next four years for the betterment of Moorcroft. I would like to continue to meet goals the town has set.

Such as, the town office moved to the MTC; the splash pad completed; new equipment for the weight room at the MTC for all those who faithfully use it; the old tennis court at the baseball fields brought back to life with the addition of basketball hoops and pickleball, to name a few. I am looking forward to hopefully seeing the court used again in the near future.

Most of all, I look forward to continuing to listen to the voices of Moorcroft citizens and doing something with your concerns and complaints. This is my true heart's desire and compassion for our lovely town.

Leadership, taking action, getting results, having new visions and values are a must. I believe this is coming for our town! Moorcroft, I would love to have your vote again in the 2024 election!" 

Dale Petersen

Incumbent

"I have lived almost all of my life in Moorcroft. After graduating from MHS, I served four years in the U.S. Air Force.

My wife and I raised our family in Moorcroft, we both taught in the Moorcroft schools. My last years in education were as an elementary principal first in Moorcroft and then at Lakeview Elementary in Gillette until my retirement last year.

I have had the pleasure of serving the community as a member of the town council for several terms. 

I am running for reelection because there are still a few unfinished projects that I would like to be involved with to their completion. My prior experience and background can continue to benefit the council and the citizens of Moorcroft.

It has been an honor and pleasure having served on the Moorcroft council and I would appreciate the continued support of the voters of Moorcroft."

Pine Haven Council

Suzette Edwards

Incumbent

"How does one do a brief bio? I was born on....no wait, too far back.

I am currently retired and busier than ever. I am a USAF vet. Worked on the flight simulator for the E3-A (AWACS) flight simulator.

After my Air Force stint, I became an accountant then a consultant on accounting software. I then moved to programming.

Currently, I reside in Pine Haven. Lovely little town.

My main hobby is wood turning. If there are any other turners reading this, I would love to chat. I manage to have other hobbies as well.

I am married to a wonderful man who puts up with my quirks. This year will be 21 years.

Although I've only been in WY since 21, it suits my style. I love small town life. I love living away from all the insanity. 

Originally, I ran because some friends convinced me to do so. I am running again for a couple of reasons.

First, I feel like I am helping to keep Pine Haven a great place to live and to have it be a great place for people to visit. Second, there is a lot to learn in being on the council.

After two years, I have a pretty good handle on what is happening and hopefully what people want. I want to use the experience to continue to see Pine Haven be a great little resort town.

What do I hope to accomplish in this position? Wow, that's a hard one to nail down. It seems like something new is coming along every month.

I hope to be a voice of those who elected me. That sounds so trite, doesn't it? Well, I figure they are the ones I'm working for.

Some folks seem to think the council does anything they want no matter what the people do. That is not true. It is very hard to make everyone happy. No matter the decision, some will be upset.

We (I) try to look at what folks want as well as how it will affect the town as a whole. We've had to make some unpopular decisions in the last two years. What many don't realize is a lot of research and connecting with residents steered the decisions."

Dustin Heying

Declined to participate

Tom Roberts

Incumbent

Declined to participate