Showing posts with label 2026 Election. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2026 Election. Show all posts

Friday, April 24, 2026

The 2026 Election, 9th Edition. The Sic Semper Tyrannus edition.*

Confederate prisoners at Five Forks.

April 23, 2026

Republicans are basically freaking out after Virginia's voters sent redistricting to the legislature, guaranteeing Democratic gains in the state's House of Representative representation.  Donald Trump declared that the vote was stolen, which is utter nonsense, but which was predictable.  

He will claim the same about November's election as well, which is going to go very badly for the Republicans, and he will pull out no stops to try to steal that election.

That scary predication aside, the fall's election is getting pretty predictable right now . Republican's have committed political suicide by reelecting a demented not too sharp octogenarian real estate developer to the office of Presidency, one he is not actually legally qualified to hold.

They deserve no pity, even if the country does.

One group of people who are tiresomely not worth of pity are the far right MAGA crew that likes to predict a civil war, as if they're going to storm out of their suburban homes and fight somebody.  That's complete baloney. This is not going to result in a war of any kind.  It might end in violence however as MAGA has already tried to subvert the last election and probably will try to do so again.

On this, there's been a substantial increase in firearms ownership by liberals, a trend that hasn't received much notice.  It falls into two categories, one being political liberals who are just exercising their Second Amendment Rights. One columnist the other day noted that where there are large groups of right wing armed figures the police almost never act badly during demonstrations and is urging that left wing people do the same.  It makes sense, frankly.  This is a tactic that was taken by black activist groups during the 1960s and 1970s.  Liberals, in my view, should do this in part because it makes sense but also in part due to the fact that right wing Second Amendment groups have  rolled over like a pet dog for Trump.  Indeed, in the last issue of The American Rifleman some NRA member wrote a letter to the editor arguing, well, gosh, if there's a protest, best just to stay away, you know, . . . something completely contrary to the positions of the organization in the past.  

The other group are people who probably have real reason to seek self protection and tend to be in the political such as tranvestites and homosexuals.  That frankly makes real sense to me.  The late Charlie Kirk like to claim that tranvestites were inordinately responsible for mass shootings, which is not true, but that sort of rhetoric really does give a good reason for them to arm themselves.

The redistricting came about due to Trump insisting that it be done in Texas and Gov. Abbot agreeing to do it.  The fact that other states could do the same thing apparently never occurred to the dimwits running the GOP, or at least to the chief dimwit and his Texas minions.  Now the Democrats have done it twice and have gained ground in the effort, although a similar effort in Florida could change that. 

Or not.  Trump has lost such a following amongst Hispanics that the Texas redistricting may actually have the same effect, on a less dramatic scale, in that state.

Indeed, Texas is interesting in this regard as Republicans are howling about how a slim majority of voters can "deprive" the remainder of representation, which is an intellectually weak argument.  Nobody was deprived of representation, even though gerrymandering overall is bad.  Anyhow, it was the voters of Virginia who passed the redistricting plan, albeit only by a slim majority.  In Texas it was done by legislative fiat, even though Democrats, not Republicans, are the majority party in terms of registration in Texas.  Texas's districting outright suppresses Democratic votes, something that will come back to haunt the party in Texas.

At any rate, the GOP's actions are truly an example of the Forrest Gump observation, "stupid is as stupid does".  So much so that a person is really entitled to wonder at this point how dim those in charge right now really are.

Closer to home, where the GOP remains solidly in charge but there seems to be a real chance that the Freedom Caucus is going to really suffer in the fall, the following dates need to be kept in mind.

Party Changes

The state of Wyoming passed legislation affecting when a registered voter is allowed to change their party affiliation.

  • You MUST appear in person in the Elections office on or before May 13, 2026 to declare or change your party affiliation.    
  • NO party changes at the polls on Primary Election Day.
  • Qualified voters who are not yet registered will still be able to register and choose their party on the day of the Primary Election.

Absentee Voting

The timeframe for voting absentee has shortened from 45 days to 28 days.

  • Absentee ballot request may be made by phone, mail, email, online or in person.
  • Your ID is required to vote in person or to pick up a ballot.

Absentee voting for the Primary Election:     July 21 - August 17, 2026
Absentee voting for the   General Election:     October 6 - November 2, 2026

Party Affiliation for Primary Election

  • Registered Voter party affiliation change deadline for the Primary Election is May 13, 2026
  • New voter registrations may declare a party affiliation when registering after this deadline.

Candidate Filing Dates

  • State, County and City offices filing runs May 14, 2026 through May 29, 2026
  • College and School Boards, Fire Districts and Soil Conservation Districts filing runs August 5, 2026 through August 24, 2026

Absentee Voting

  • July 21, 2026 through August 17, 2026 for the Primary
  • October 6, 2026 through November 2, 2026 for the General

Election Days

  • Primary Election Day is Tuesday, August 18, 2026 
  • General Election Day is Tuesday, November 3, 2026

Wyoming's Voter ID Law

Effective July 1, 2021, Wyoming voters will be required to show an acceptable form of identification when voting in person. There are many ID options for you to use to prove your identity.  Visit the Wyoming Secretary of State's Office website for more information.

A couple of observations.

One is that you used to be able to change party affiliation at the polls, but the state's GOP got that changed out of fear that all five of the state's remaining Democrats would change party at the poll and vote for Battling Bob LaFollette.

It's a stupid fear.  Any Democrats who were going to do that did it years ago.  The law actually just locks people into their current party, but the propaganda value of this lives on as the real Democrats, the Dixiecrats, like to continually complain that the GOP is backed with RINOs. It is, they are the RINOs.

Another observation is that you have to show "an acceptable" form of identification, so if you are going to vote, bring it.  The Secretary of State's office provides the following as "acceptable:

  • WY Driver's License or ID Card
  • Tribal ID Card
  • Valid US Passport
  • US Military Card
  • DL or ID Card from Another State
  • University of Wyoming Student ID
  • Wyoming Community College Student ID
  • Wyoming Public School Student ID
  • Valid Medicare Insurance Card*
  • Valid Medicaid Insurance Card*
  • Valid Wyoming Concealed Firearm Permit

Mostly because this was the pet project of California Carpetbagger Chuck Gray, I'm going to bring my driver's license, my military ID, and my concealed firearm's permit.  I'm also going to ask everyone manning the polls to see their ID's.  If I have to prove I'm an American citizen, well they should have to do so as well.

The other thing is that the candidate registration date is also coming right up.  It actually runs through May 29, but this year, I'd get that done by May 13 if I was going to run, which I'm not going to (probably).

cont:

And now there's a new candidate for the Senate, Sam Mead from the well known Mead family.  That makes the candidates, on the GOP side (no Democrats have announced):

Harriet Hageman 

Jimmy Skovgard

Samuel Mead

Mead is probably a pretty serious contender.  His website, which is probably not the best way to judge things, shows him to be the best serious candidate to announce, if we disregard Skovgard, who isn't mounting much of a campaign so far.

The first flyer for Steve Freiss, running for House today, arrived in which he tries to maintain he's like Reagan and Trump, which is patently absurd in that Trump and Reagan are nothing like each other.

April 24, 2026

The State Republican Convention opened in Douglas and already has the appearance of the 7th Cavalry attempting to form a final defensive line at Little Big Horn.

Wyomingites are showing increasing signs that they're sick to death of the Freedom  Caucus, but the county delegations still heavily reflect that.  So, they're thinking of just violating the law and even pulling out of primaries.

The dipshittery is already in evidence, as shown by this quote:

What we as a party are moving towards is what people have been asking for decades.

Wyoming Republican Party Chair Bryan Miller.

Miller spent his career in the Air Force sucking off the government tit and then came to Wyoming on the far right "I worked for the government but I hate the government so much I still collect government retirement and am now sucking on the other government tit" platform. Given that, like most of the WFC, what he imagines what people have wanted "for decades" is based on talking to a small group of like minded, small minded, feverish minds, many of whom spent their decades somewhere else.

Basically, the Freedom Caucus is worried that the voters are going to kick it in the ass in the primary and are trying to find a way that county WFC controlled bodies can declare who the candidates in the fall will be.

That's not going to fly.  Anyone can still register as a Republican and run as one if they declare themselves to be one.  The GOP can't change that.  What it can do, however, is break into open civil war before a general election and destroy itself.

Long-term, by attacking the primaries, it might just lead to a non partisan open primary, which would be a fantastic development.

Another proposal is that Republican candidates take a loyalty oath the GOP platform.  The state platform has a barely disguised "grab the public lands" plank in it that Wyomingites hate, but the Confederates love.  Showing more their loyalty to the Lost Cause, it also includes a plank that requires the state to ignore the decisions of Courts that don't go their way, something that actually is flat out illegal and which makes them into a traitorous body seeking the overthrow of the American government, although they seemingly can't grasp that.

The deluded WFC feels that they can secure their failing movement, basically, by expelling everyone else, which at the end of the day would result in a competing Republican body, which would be an outright good development, particularly now. The existing GOP is heading for a cliff this Fall and there's a strong chance it'll start to actually dissolve next year.

cont:

Footnotes:

"Thus always to tyrants", the state motto of Virginia.

Related threads:

Pollice Verso. The 2026 Political Negative Endorsement. The Don't Vote For List.

Last edition:

The 2026 Election, 7th Edition, Do not stand with those who promote the sins that cry out to Heaven.


Republicans. You have reached July 20, 1944. You can either act with the insurgents and save your party (maybe) or go down in the bunker and destroy it for a generation, or more.

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Wednesday, April 22, 2026

Republicans. You have reached July 20, 1944. You can either act with the insurgents and save your party (maybe) or go down in the bunker and destroy it for a generation, or more.

And your ongoing support of Donald Trump may have guaranteed that result already.

There were plenty of signs that the Germans were going to lose World War Two well before Hitler put a PPK to his head and blew his diseased brains out.  Conservative Germans knew that.  Some tried to act, with the last major act being the July 20, 1944 plot which nearly ended the Nazi regime.

And no, we aren't advocating that in this thread.  We're advocating the use of the 25th Amendment.

The fact of the matter is that by July 20, 1944, it was too late to save Germany form complete defeat.  It wasn't too late, however, to rescue German conservatism.  Even as it was, the first post war West German governments were conservative.

The Republican Party is not Donald Trump's party.  Just like German conservatives of the 1920s and 1930s, real conservatives made a terrible bargain with radical German populists as they were obsessed with what they thought was German decline, looked back on a mythical German past, and listened to the words of a radical and heard what they wanted to hear.  They then followed along with evil thinking, most likely, that it wouldn't last forever, and at least the Nazis were addressing the Communists.

That's basically what the Republicans did.

Donald Trump spent most of his life registered as a Democrat, but at the end of they day, Trump's political party is Donald Trump.  Unlike Hitler, Trump isn't a very smart man.  He's a semi good salesman who mostly sells what people want to hear, and Donald Trump.  He tapped into Rust Belt, Southern, rural and conservative discontent and sold it all as a movement.  Truth be known, people's interest in that movement was fairly personal.  People were worried about high immigration rates and wanted something done, but they weren't really for violence in the streets.  And in their minds, an illegal immigrant was a guy working a construction job they couldn't get, not Maria who has been doing their shirts at the cleaners, or Jose who takes care of the sprinkler system.  But, just like the German conservatives, once you have blood on your hands its hard not to have a lot more.

Indeed, it's hard not to have a lot more even if you have to endorse outright hypocrisy.  Some were worried about social sexual issues, including gay marriage and transgenderism, both of which are in fact legitimate concerns.  The dear leader is so worried about that such that he has Scott Bessant, a married homosexual who will support any dumb thing Trump says, in his cabinet and who has had his family photographed with Bruce Jenner post "transition".  Some were worried about what they perceived as an irreligious drift in the country to such an extent they've made Trump into a near demigod even though he has no demonstrable attachment to Christianity at all.  Some were worried about endless foreign wars and are now endorsing endless foreign wars.

Most people have absolutely had enough, however.

To add to it, Trump is increasingly erratic.  Signs of dementia were clearly there in his first term, but now he's rocketing into insanity.  He babbles absolute nonsense in the middle of the night with childish tweets that no sane adult would tolerate.  If he was a member of your family you'd be seeking to have him committed.

The end result of this is completely clear.  If Trump is still in office in November, the Republican Party will be destroyed.  Not just defeated, but absolutely destroyed.  The GOP will not regain power nationally in any serious way for a generation, assuming it simply doesn't dissolve.  Local MAGA expressions, even in deeply Republican states will be put in the trash bin.  Politicians who were loyal to Trump, like Mike Lee, Lindsey Graham, J. D. Vance, Marco Rubio, Chuck Gray, Megan Degenfelder, and a host of others (including John Barrasso) will find their political careers over, even if they are still in office.  Some, such as Graham, Gray and Vance, will be regarded as absolute jokes.

The only way to avoid this, and it might not be avoidable at this point, is for the 25th Amendment, or his obviously bad health, to remove Trump by November.  At this point there's a fairly good reason that Trump's dementia is advancing so rapidly, and his health declining so quickly, that Trump will expire of natural causes any day now.  He's not well.  If death arrives him and takes him to his final reward it would spare people like Vance, Rubio and Barrasso from having to have a spine.  Assuming it does not, only the 25th Amendment stands a chance of saving the Republican Party.

The 25th Amendment option has to be invoked very soon if there's any chance of saving the GOP. And by soon, I mean this month.  Early voting is already starting for primaries.  Voters everywhere are trashing the GOP.  Virginia has been flipped to the GOP in a way that the Republicans cannot recover from for a generation.  Every single day that goes by makes the extinction of the Republican Party that much more inevitable.

Political parties do not last forever.  The GOP is not likely to survive Trump, and if it does, it'll be a minority party the way it was after 1932, standing for. . . well pretty much nothing but a sort of milk toast conservatism.  If it boots Trump now, it stands a chance of reforming itself sufficiently before November that the looming disaster can just be a bad one, rather than a catastrophic one.

Of course, booting the demented would be dictator requires courage, something most of them lack.  Most of them fear MAGA.  But a breach with MAGA, which has nowhere else to go.  It took Soviet tanks in Berlin to free German conservatives from the Nazis.  The Republicans will be freed from MAGA, but at what cost?


If nothing is done, by January 2027, it'll be way too late.  Like Red Army policemen directing the traffic in Berlin, the Democratic Party will be directing the social and legislative traffic of the country.  That might be what's going to happen definitively anyway.  I do not see the Republicans being able to salvage their immediate electoral fortunes.  The absolute stench of Donald Trump and his betrayal of democracy sticks to them too much.  But at a bare minimum, the GOP can avoid the discredit of the metaphorical fighting in the streets of Berlin, which will occur in November through January as Trump and his fanatic backers maintain they didn't loose and they aren't going to recognize the results.  That will occur.

And if that' occurs, a pox on the GOP in general . That's what most Americans will think as well.  

And perhaps its necessary.  The party of Lincoln sold its soul and became the party of Orange Mussolini.  An entity like that needs to be purged to its core, with the Lees, Tubervilles, Millers and all relegated to the political dustbin and recalled in our memories the same way that Trump will be, an embarrassing disaster.



Last edition:

The 2026 Election, 7th Edition, Do not stand with those who promote the sins that cry out to Heaven.


The 25th Amendment Watch List. A Fourteenth and Special edition. Attacking the Catholic Church.

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The 2026 Election, 7th Edition, Do not stand with those who promote the sins that cry out to Heaven.

 


April 14, 2026.

The Donald Trump Effect, voters running from candidates endorsed by the deranged octogenarian whose administration is protecting the rapist of teenagers, starting wars, and causing rising inflation, is having a noticeable nationwide, and even international, effect.  Voters in special elections all over the US are dumping MAGA candidates and electing Democrats.  It's an absolute certainty at this point that, unless something dramatic happens, that the Republicans are going to lose badly at the midterms and retake the House.  And now it appears they're likely to take the Senate. The Cook Political Report shifted four Senate races this past week to favor Democratic and pundits are now openly saying the Democrats will take the upper house.

Of course, Democrats have a way of shooting themselves in the foot.  Nonetheless the momentum is clear.  Trump has lost independents, who he needs in most places for the GOP to remain in office, and he's lost Hispanics.   This past week his actions were such that if he has not lost non Hispanic Catholics, its only because those voters value Trump more than the Faith or are engaging in some really self delusional thinking, keeping in mind that you never actually have to vote Democratic and that in the primaries there is usually a Republican willing to run who isn't a slave to Trump.

California Republicans refused to endorse a Governor's candidate in a convention that was just held and snubbed Trump's endorsement of one. They see the handwriting on the wall.

But still you have this.

An entire group of Wyoming candidates acts like this adoring girl.  Shoot, they'd like to be squeezed by Trump too.

An article on the topic:

Donald Trump and Wyoming’s crowded House race

This all follows, of course, this:

The 25th Amendment Watch List. A Fourteenth and Special edition. Attacking the Catholic Church.

If Wyomingites are going to wake up, and that's unlikely, there's be a point, if we are not already at it, where voting for the GOP candidates who associate with themselves with Trump would be a no go.  And some of those candidates would already be no gos.  

Chuck Gray, who barely won the Secretary of State's office and only did so by lies and screeds about an imaginary pack of left wingers always oppressing him is running on being perpetually pissed off at at the left and being in deep love with Donald Trump.  Reid Rasner promises to be Trump's number one fan.  Megan Degenfelder  has "Endorsed by Donald Trump" on her campaign signs.

All three are Catholic.  If they can still stomach Trump at this point, there's literally no value they hold that they actually hold.  No Democrat is going to win, so lashing themselves to Trump is either cynical or self delusional.  It's inexcusable.

Degenfelder's signs out to read "Endorsed by Blasphemer Donald Trump".  Gray and Rasner, who are both young enough, ought to joint the Marines and put their bodies where their mouths are.

Another far right Catholic figure in Wyoming is Rachel Rodriguez-Williams, who is now running for Secretary of State as Rachel Williams. She's never said anything about Trump of which I'm aware, but as a Freedom Caucuser she ought to fell uncomfortable with the company she's been keeping.

It'll also be interesting to see how columnists like Jonathan Lange, a Lutheran minister, approaches what is now too obvious to ignore. . . Trump doesn't care about religion at all and feels free to outright mock it.  Granted, he's not Catholic, but for sincere Christians what was depicted is blasphemous irrespective of which branch of Christianity a person might be in.

And then we have this:

There's no excuse for what Gray did.

Even some Republican states are opposing giving voter data to the Federal Government, but Chuck was the first to comply.

We'll see how this plays out, but if he loses, given his position, he ought to get the maximum penalty.

Anyhow, we're in the thick of the election now, but every day, Donald Trump gets weirder and weirder.  He's insane.  Standing by the insanity is not excusable.

April 15, 2026

Three Rematches Set, So Far, In Wyoming's House Races

Here's an absolute shock:


This may be showing that the bloom is actually off the Trump rose.  Generally, Wyoming Republicans have been complete Trump toady's.

The five are Kevin Christensen, who called the post blasphemous, Matt McGinnis, and John Romero-Martinez.  Romero-Martinez, who is a devout Catholic, added that it was not only blasphemous, but sacrilegious.

Kinney the Democratic candidate and Johnson the Libertarian also criticized the act, but less forcefully.

Johnson made the excellent point that this is one of a string of outrages.

Predictably, according to the Cowboy State Daily:
Both Rasner and Gray are Catholic and if that's all they could muster up people who sit next to them at Mass on Sunday ought to ask them what's the matter with them.

Elsewhere this was an act that finally had a reaction.  Like Johnson noted, you have to wonder where these people were all along.  Trump fan Riley Gaines noted:
Seriously I cannot understand why he’d post this. Is he looking for a response? Does he actually think this?
Gaines must have been asleep for the past decade to actually post a query on Trump's character.  He's self centered and narcissistic, and she seems surprised.

This trend locally and nationally shows that the wheels are really coming off of MAGA.  A Turning Point USA convention that was just held was grossly under attended.  Locally Republicans for the first time feel able to criticize Trump.  There's a significant movement in the state to boot out the Wyoming Freedom Caucus.  A bipartisan movement in the House caused the removal of a Democratic and a Republican sex abuser, bypassing the pathetic Mike Johnson.  It appears the Democrats are going to take the Senate and the House.

For the Republicans, the good thing is that they are finally out of the cave to a degree.  The GOP has been wrecked by Donald Trump, but this may actually give them a chance to start to rebuild it, whereas waiting until after the November election will be utterly too late.

cont:
I recognize that a lot of young voters don't love the policy we have in the Middle East. Okay. I understand that. Don't get disengaged because you disagree with the administration on one topic. Get more involved. That's how we ultimately take the country back.
J. D. Vance.

WTF?

Vance did oppose the war. We know that as he leaked like crazy.  But getting involved would mean booting the GOP into the dustbin, maybe forever.

Vance has remade himself repeatedly.  A person now stating that this is how "we take the country back" is raising interesting questions about where he himself is headed.  He's including himself in the "we" who are young and who oppose the policy in the Middle East.

Is Vance having a Humber Humphrey moment?

It'll be interesting to see if this is Vance's first cautious step into independence.  He's not dumb, and he obviously sees and even acknowledges that the GOP is going into the dumpster.  That statement would seem to be a declaration of independence from Trump.

April 17, 2026

Governor Gordon confirmed that he is not running for a third term.

While we're unlikely to mention this race again, Sheriff Harlan is running for reelection in Natrona County, Wyoming.

Rep. Harshman of Natrona County is running for Superintendent of Public Instruction.  He'd make a very good choice for this position, but it puts his house district in play.   A far right wing candidate was challenging Harshman as well as a Democrat.

Albert Sommers is running for the seat he lost in the last election, House District 20.  It fell to a WFC member.

April 19, 2026

Yesterday was the day of dueling mail flyers for the U.S. House race.  Identically sized campaign flyers for Chuck Gray and Reid Rasner arrived in the mailboxes of Natrona County residents.  Apparently the Gray ones went statewide.

They were really laughable.  Gray's depicts the diminutive Californian standing next to Donald Trump, looking slightly above him. Trump is something like 6'2" tall where as Gray is absolutely tiny.  I'm not a very large person, 5'6", and I look down on Gray, which says something.  Gray has also taken up wearing western wool shirts in an effort to make him look like a Wyomingite, but which really point out that he isn't.  His campaign is based on far right MAGA platforms and sticking next to, and apparently slightly above, the demented belle of the far right ball, Trump.

Rasner, who has no chance, attacked Gray in his, and frankly some of his attacks are landing.  He  may carve votes away from Gray.

Locally, small business owner Neil Jeske announced he was running to take on J. R. Riggins in House District 59, which includes part of Casper and all of Mills.

Riggins is probably in trouble as he only won in that race in the first place as he was the only one running.  He missed the first legislature he was supposed to serve in entirely due to heart problems.  I saw him at a political event before the last legislative session and he really appeared to be out to sea.  

Unfortunately, Jeske is the candidate that Natrona County doesn't need.  He already is on the reduce spending and reduce regulation platform.  Wyoming already has so little regulation that the state government would have to go out and regulate something in order for their to be regulation to cut, and the legislature is so cheap that Wyoming has very large financial reserves that just sit there as the state won't distribute funds to local governments, their only real way of getting them.  We probably need more regulation and less financial restraint.

Jeske is apparently a truck driver.  I don't know what Riggins is.  At any rate, truck driving in 2026 is sort of like being a teamster in 1916.  It's a real job. . . and one that's about to disappear.  Hopefully somebody else will step up and run.

April 21, 2026

Based upon his campaign propaganda, Jeske, mentioned above, is a worst pick than Riggins.  He's another out of state implant and of far right wing views.  He's going on the don't vote for list.

Riggins, on the other hand, based on his public lands voting, appears to have risen to his position.

April 22, 2026

In the move The Hunt For Red October the pursuing Soviet submarine commander orders the safeties taken off of his torpedoes so he can hit the Red October from close range.  The U.S. submarine USS Dallas deflects the aim of the fired torpedo which circles back and hits the Soviet sub.  As it happens, a Soviet submariner tells his captain, "You arrogant ass, you killed us".


That's exactly what Donald Trump is doing to the GOP.

More particularly, that's what he did by demanding that Texas redistrict out of cycle.

Worried that thing were turning against him, Trump demanded that compliant Texas Governor Abbot cause the GOP controlled Texas legislature to convene and specially redistrict.  Abbot, to his everlasting shame, complied.

Trump is apparently so dim that he didn't realize the same strategy could be used against him. First California did it, and now Virginia did.

Even accepting the conventional math, there are now more Democratic districts that added to the map for the fall than there are Republican ones, although only barely so.  Still, the results are remarkable.  In Virginia, where it was done by the voters, it will mean that Virginia returns to being an overwhelmingly Democratic state in terms of is House or Representatives delegates.  Trump actually completely flipped an entire state from Republican to Democrat prior to the election itself.

The GOP, in order to keep this game up, must now have Florida do the same thing.  It's not assured, however, as Florida is starting to go to the Democratic Party a bit all on its own.  Redistricting may simply assure that occurs.

And ironically, the Texas result may have added Democratic seats in Texas.  Texas actually has more Democratic voters than Republicans.  In recent years its only been a Republican state for the same reason the rest of the South is.  But Texas also has heavily Hispanic districts. Trump took them in 2024, but now that's changing.

And this from a guy who claimed to master "the art of the deal".

A note here about one state that tried to redistrict and couldn't, that being Utah.

Most Western states have a much better system than the rest of the country and require fair and balanced redistricting.  Much of the rest of the country which had Democratic administrations was moving that way. Republicans, who were rapidly becoming a minority party in the 1990s, resisted it.  That's why in Californian and Virginia, redistricting is being democratically.  It's also the reason why in one Midwestern state that's currently done this way the legislature refused to consider redistricting even though its Republican controlled. They knew the voters, in that instance, would take it out on them.

In Utah, a court turned the effort around.  It was only one seat, but that shows something interesting.  Utah has a Democratic Congressional seat.  Utah's the same state that sent Mike Lee to Congress for some reason, but not every district fits that mold.

And in a state like Wyoming, which of course only has one Congressional seat, this couldn't happen as it would be against the state constitution.

cont:

Wyoming Public Radio reports that for the House race, Reid Rasner, who will go down in August like a kerosene doused biplane flying through a blast furnace, has raised $1.2 M in this campaign, the majority of which is a loan from himself.  Chuck Gray has done the same and nearly approached $1M.

Committing that amount of money to a job that pays a fraction of that per year should flat out be illegal.  We need to address that in our "don't vote for" list, which has been switched over to being a page on the website, rather than a thread.

Related threads:


Last edition:

The 2026 Election, 6th Edition, Campaigning before defeats.

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Wednesday, April 15, 2026

Requiem for a movement

 

Requiem for a movement

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Saturday, April 11, 2026

Lex Anteinternet: The 2026 Election, 6th Edition, Campaigning before defeats.

 


March 20, 2026

The Oil City News has put up its updating election tracker, something we've done here as well, although theirs is an article that updates over time whereas we have to update blog entries, which is getting dicey due to some glitch on Blogger.

Anyhow, a good place to check on who is running, without, of course, our brilliant and amusing running commentary.

2026 Election Tracker: Who is running for office in Wyoming?


March 21, 2026

Former Casper Vice Mayor and City Councilor Shawn Johnson announced this wee that he is seeking the Libertarian Party of Wyoming’s nomination for the U.S. House of Representatives.

The House race has been very active, due to one term Representative Harriet Hageman taking aim at the Senate.  The current candidates are:

U.S. House of Representatives

GOP

Jillian Balow

Chuck Gray.  On our don't vote for list.

Reid Rasner. On our don't vote for list.

David Giralt

Bo Biteman   On our don't vote for list.

Kevin Christensen On our don't vote for list.

Independent

Daniel Workman.

Libertarian

Shawn Johnson

As an aside, we heard a public radio discussion of Christensen the other day, which was neutral, but which makes it plain he's sucked on the government tit pretty much his whole life and now comes in as a far right figure.  These sorts of campaigns, of which there seem to be a lot this year, are much like a new high school graduate being an expert on parenting as he's lived at home for 18 years.

We better list the Senate as well.

U.S. Senate

GOP

Harriet Hageman. On our don't vote for list.

Jimmy Skovgard.

Skovgard has so far failed to impress, unfortunately.  For awhile I subscribed to one of his two blogs which I gave up on as it might be kindly described as blather.  Hopefully some other Republican will announce for this position, as I will vote for him in the primary when I'd rather not, as Hageman is a no/go..

Democratic Party

James Byrd

And the Governor's race:

Governor

GOP

Eric Barlow:  At least so far, Barlow seems to be by far the best choice for this office.  I'm seeing some of his signs around.

Brent Bien. On our don't vote for list.

Meggan Degenfelder. On our don't vote for list.  Degenfelder is from the relatively hard right and has been tarred with the brush of a Trump endorsement, which she really doesn't seem fully comfortable with.  She may be aware that it's problematic.

Democratic Party

Gabriel Green:  Green is associated with the DINO movement, so while he's running as a Democrat, it's "in name only". Indeed, he founded the state's DINO movement, and he might be the only person to run under that banner.  He's aggressive in this strategy, and is nearly as hard on the Democrats as he is the Republicans.

Constitution Party

Joseph Kibler.  On our don't vote for list.

Kibler announced as a Republican, switched to being an independent and is now in the Constitution Party..

Kibler is a carpetbagger and has the typical carpetbagger "I just moved here from California for all your freedom and now I'm going to run things". 

Wyoming State Superintendent of Public Eduction

Tom Kelly

Wyoming Secretary of State

GOP

Robert Short

Rachel Williams.  Williams, formerly Rodriguez-Williams, is on the don't vote for list.  She's the chairperson of the Freedom Caucus.

A carpetbagger from California, she always used a hyphenated name up until filing for this office.  The WFC is packed with far right Evangelicals and generally MAGA has a strong New Apostolic Reformation element that is anti-Catholic as well as anti Hispanic.  She is Hispanic and Catholic and in the category of people that is abandoning MAGA like crazy.  She isn't, but she may instead have wanted to camouflage her Hispanic ethnicity a bit.  I don't know that, but it's pretty odd that she suddenly changed her name for the campaign.

As a politician, she's had all the WFC views.

Democratic Party

Bryan McCarty

Wyoming State Auditor

GOP

Kristi Racines

Apparently State Auditor is too boring to bring very many candidates out to run for it.

Some interesting State House races.

House District 37

GOP

Steve Harshaman

Ross Schriftman

Democratic Party

Betsy Erickson

HD 37 is an interesting race as Harshman is one of the best legislators in the House, and yet he's drawing opposition. 

Schriftman, who apparently attended Casper City Council meetings frequently, is running as a "constitutional conservative" which makes him a no/go, as that uniformly means that they don't grasp the constitution whatsoever.

Erickson is a young Democrat whose already adopted the seas of blood stance of the Democratic Party.

House District 57

GOP

Julie Jarvis 

Jeanette Ward  On our don't vote for list.

Jarvis took out Ward in the 2024 race and Ward, who is an extreme Freedom Caucuser, wants the seat back.

House District 58

GOP

Peter Boyer

Bill Allemand.  On our don't vote for list.

Allemand, who is facing legal trouble for drunk driving, is one of the worst members of the legislature in our view and needs to go.  Boyer is the Mayor of Bar Nunn.

March 24, 2026

Reid Rasner Sues A Fifth Person For Defamation

Reading the article, it's easy to see why Rasner is upset, but suing people during a campaign is a questionable tactic, although Rasner may figure he has no other vehicle to clear his name.

March 25, 2026

A special election was held in Florida for the Florida house district in which King Donny claims residency.

A steadfast opponent of voting by mail, Donald voted by mail.

The Democrat took the seat, flipping it from the GOP.

I'm sure MAGA has some explanation why their beloved gets to vote by mail even though he declares it to be hideous, and why the people of his state House District just said no to the GOP.  But it will be delusional.

A good essay on an election closer to home.

The case for deep Wyoming roots

Chad Auer, a senior policy advisor to Governor Mark Gordon, announced his bid for Superintendent of Public Instruction.  Legislator Tom Kelly announced earlier.  Neither candidate has very deep roots in the state, both being recent transplants.

Rasner and Gray's contest, and of course they're only two of the candidates in that race, has turned out to be surprisingly interesting recently as Rasner has been pointing out Gray's hypocrisy on wind projects he claims are "woke", but which he voted for.  Both candidates oppose wind power, because they love oil and global warming is a fib in their minds, but Gray is exposed on this.  Gray's struggling to respond and has resorted to blaming his votes on Governor Gordon.

March 26, 2026

Another carpetbagger, one Frank Chapman, a lawyer from out of state who moved to Moran about a decade agon and is now some sort of rancher and outfitter, has announced for the House race.

Like every other Republican, he's running on the government is mean to me ticket.  He's self declared MAGA.

In other news:

Hageman Endorses Degenfelder For Governor Of Wyoming

That's a pretty good reason not to vote for Degenfelder.

Must Be Campaign Season: Rasner, Gray Blast Each Other

March 27, 2026

An amusing story about the real Wyoming Frank Chapman and the Floridian carpetbagger:

And yet another Republican enters the race, this being former Cheyenne legislator John Romero-Martinez.  He's running as "100% America first", whatever that means.

He's not on our don't vote for yet list, but frankly, he may be headed there.

March 31, 2026

The Tribune has an article on Chuck Gray's offices avoidance of a Wyoming Public Records Act request on Chuck's blatantly illegal turning of Wyoming voting records over to the Trump illegitimate administration.

There's no doubt whatsoever that what Gray did is illegal.  He should be impeached.

Cont:

Trump interferes in the 2026 election. This will be struck down.

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 20901 et seq.), the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20501 et seq.), and the Federal Government’s constitutional obligation to guarantee a republican form of Government to every State in the Union, U.S. Const. Art. IV, Sec. 4, it is hereby ordered:

Section 1.  Purpose and Policy.  The right to vote in Federal elections is reserved exclusively for citizens of the United States under the Constitution and Federal law.  Federal statutes explicitly prohibit non-citizens from registering to vote or voting in Federal elections and impose criminal penalties for violations.  (18 U.S.C. 241; 18 U.S.C. 611; 18 U.S.C. 1015; and 52 U.S.C. 20511).  The Social Security Administration (SSA) maintains records that, in conjunction with the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program under 42 U.S.C. 1320b-7, can assist in verifying identity and Federal election voter eligibility.  

The Federal Government has an unavoidable duty under Article II of the Constitution of the United States to enforce Federal law, which includes preventing violations of Federal criminal law and maintaining public confidence in election outcomes.  To enhance election integrity via the United States Mail, additional measures are necessary.  Secure ballot envelope identifiers provide a reliable, auditable mechanism to enforce Federal law without unduly burdening or infringing on the rights of eligible voters.  Unique ballot envelope identifiers, such as bar codes, enable confirmation that only citizens receive and cast ballots, reducing the risk of fraud and protecting the integrity of Federal elections.  

Sec. 2.  Establishment and Transmission of State Citizenship Lists and Prioritization of Investigations and Prosecutions Related to Election Fraud.  (a)  To the extent feasible and consistent with applicable law, including but not limited to the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), the Secretary of Homeland Security, through the Director of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services and in coordination with the Commissioner of SSA, shall take appropriate action to compile and transmit to the chief election official of each State a list of individuals confirmed to be United States citizens who will be above the age of 18 at the time of an upcoming Federal election and who maintain a residence in the subject State (State Citizenship List).  The State Citizenship List shall be derived from Federal citizenship and naturalization records, SSA records, SAVE data, and other relevant Federal databases.  The State Citizenship List shall be updated and transmitted to State election officials no fewer than 60 days before each regularly scheduled Federal election, or promptly upon request by a State in connection with any special Federal election.  The Secretary of Homeland Security shall establish procedures to (i) allow individuals to access their individual records as well as to update or correct them in advance of elections; and (ii) enable States to routinely supplement and provide suggested modifications or amendments to the State Citizenship List transmitted thereto.  An individual’s identification on the State Citizenship List does not indicate that the individual has been properly registered to vote in the State.  State and Federal laws and State procedures must still be followed for an individual to be registered to vote.  There may be State laws, not reflected in the State Citizenship List, that preclude voter registration, or the individual may choose not to be registered.

(b)  For purposes of this order, an individual is “eligible to vote in a Federal election” if the individual is a citizen of the United States, 18 years of age or older by the date of the upcoming election, and otherwise qualified under the laws of his or her State.  The Attorney General shall prioritize the investigation and, as appropriate, the prosecution of State and local officials or any others involved in the administration of Federal elections who issue Federal ballots to individuals not eligible to vote in a Federal election, including under 18 U.S.C. 2(a), 18 U.S.C. 241, 18 U.S.C. 371, 18 U.S.C. 611(a), 18 U.S.C. 1001, 18 U.S.C. 1015, 52 U.S.C. 10307, and 52 U.S.C. 20511.  Similarly, the Attorney General shall prioritize the investigation and, as appropriate, the prosecution of individuals and public or private entities engaged in, or aiding and abetting, the printing, production, shipment, or distribution of ballots to individuals who are not eligible to vote in a Federal election. 

Sec. 3.  United States Postal Service Rulemaking on Mail-In and Absentee Ballots.  (a)  The unlawful use of the mail in connection with elections is prohibited by various Federal statutes, including 18 U.S.C. 1341, 18 U.S.C. 1708, 52 U.S.C. 10307, and 52 U.S.C. 20511.  

(b)  To ensure the faithful execution of Federal law, protect the integrity of the mail as a medium for transmitting Federal election ballots and establish uniform standards for mail-in or absentee ballot services implemented through the United States Postal Service (USPS), the Postmaster General is hereby directed to initiate a proposed rulemaking pursuant to 39 U.S.C. 401 and other applicable authority within 60 days of the date of this order.  The notice of proposed rulemaking shall include, at minimum, the following:

(i)    Proposed provisions specifying that all outbound ballot mail must be mailed in an envelope that:

(A)  is marked as Official Election Mail, including through designated markings provided by USPS for this purpose, such as the Official Election Mail logo, as necessary and appropriate;

(B)  is automation-compatible and bears a unique Intelligent Mail barcode, or successor USPS technology, that facilitates tracking and is consistent with the other requirements of this section; and

(C)  has undergone a mail envelope design review by the USPS to ensure compliance with USPS mailing standards, including barcode placement.

(ii)   Proposed provisions specifying that, no fewer than 90 days prior to a Federal election, any State may choose to notify the USPS if it intends to allow for mail-in or absentee ballots to be transmitted by the USPS.  As part of that notification, any notifying State should further indicate whether it intends to submit to the USPS, no fewer than 60 days before the election, a list of voters eligible to vote in a Federal election in such State to whom the State intends to provide a mail-in or absentee ballot to be transmitted via the USPS. 

(iii)  Proposed provisions specifying that the USPS shall not transmit mail-in or absentee ballots from any individual unless those individuals have been enrolled on a State-specific list described in subsection (b)(iv) of this section with the USPS pursuant to this subsection.

(iv)   Proposed provisions specifying that the USPS shall provide each State with a list of individuals (Mail-In and Absentee Participation List) who are enrolled with the USPS, pursuant to a process specified in the rulemaking directed by this subsection, for mail-in or absentee ballots provided by such State, along with unique ballot envelope identifiers, such as bar codes, for mail-in or absentee ballots provided to such individuals.  The preparation and transmission of each State-specific Mail-In and Absentee Participation List shall comply with the Privacy Act and all applicable use agreements. 

(v)    Proposed procedures enabling each State to routinely supplement and provide suggested modifications or amendments to the State’s Mail-In and Absentee Participation List in advance of any Federal election, consistent with applicable State law. 

(c)  The USPS shall coordinate with the USPS Office of Inspector General and the Department of Justice for investigation of suspected unlawful use of the mail involving Federal election materials. 

(d)  Any final rule pursuant to this section shall be issued no later than 120 days from the date of this order.

Sec. 4.  Implementation.  (a)  The Secretary of Homeland Security, the Commissioner of SSA, and the Postmaster General shall coordinate with the Secretary of Commerce in effectuating all relevant aspects of the implementation of this order.

(b)  The Attorney General shall enforce compliance with the applicable Federal statutes referenced herein and provide guidance to election officials, including any instrumentalities thereof; contractors; individuals involved in the administration of Federal elections; or public or private entities engaged in the printing, production, shipment, or distribution of ballots.

(c)  The Secretary of Homeland Security shall, within 90 days of the date of this order, establish the infrastructure necessary to compile, maintain, and transmit the State Citizenship List described in section 2(a) of this order, and shall designate a point of contact within DHS to receive and process requests from individuals and State election officials regarding the relevant State Citizenship List.  The Commissioner of SSA shall provide all necessary citizenship and identity data to the Secretary of Homeland Security in support of this requirement, consistent with applicable law, the Privacy Act, and all applicable use agreements.

Sec. 5.  Enforcement.  The Attorney General and the heads of executive departments and agencies (agencies) with relevant authority shall take all lawful steps to deter and address noncompliance with Federal law, including withholding Federal funds from noncompliant States and localities where such withholding is authorized by law.  Evidence of violations of existing Federal laws by State or local election officials; States or localities, including any instrumentalities thereof; contractors; individuals involved in the administration of Federal elections; or public or private entities engaged in the printing, production, shipment, or distribution of ballots may be referred to the Department of Justice for consideration of investigation or charges under 18 U.S.C. 2(a), 18 U.S.C. 241, 18 U.S.C. 371, 18 U.S.C. 611(a), 18 U.S.C. 1001, 18 U.S.C. 1015, 52 U.S.C. 10307, and 52 U.S.C. 20511.  States and localities should preserve, for a 5-year period, all records and materials — excluding ballots cast — evidencing voter participation in any Federal election (e.g., ballot envelopes, regardless of carrier).

Sec. 6.  Severability.  If any provision of this order, or the application of any provision to any agency, person, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, the remainder of this order and the application of its provisions to any other agencies, persons, or circumstances shall not be affected thereby.

Sec. 7.  General Provisions.  (a)  Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i)  the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or

(ii)  the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(b)  This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.

(c)  This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

                             DONALD J. TRUMP

THE WHITE HOUSE,

    March 31, 2026.

It's illegal.  He's trying to steal the election and to keep Democrats from voting, although it's GOP geezers like himself who like to vote by mail.

April 3, 2026

As if there weren't enough, another rich carpetbagging cornfederate joined the race for the House on the "I'll kiss Donald Trump's Ass better than anyone" ticket, this being Steve Friess, son of the late Foster Friess.

With so many people running for the House, we better repost the list.

U.S. House of Representatives

GOP

Jillian Balow

Chuck Gray.  On our don't vote for list.

Reid Rasner. On our don't vote for list.

David Giralt

Bo Biteman   On our don't vote for list.

Kevin Christensen On our don't vote for list.

Steve Friess.  On our don't vote for list.

Independent

Daniel Workman.

Libertarian

Shawn Johnson

As an aside, we heard a public radio discussion of Christensen the other day, which was neutral, but which makes it plain he's sucked on the government tit pretty much his whole life and now comes in as a far right figure.  These sorts of campaigns, of which there seem to be a lot this year, are much like a new high school graduate being an expert on parenting as he's lived at home for 18 years.

On the election, the sheer number of far right wing carpetbaggers will inevitably make things tough for the original OG carpetbagger, California Chuck Gray.  Added to that, he's voted for wind projects, which are generally fine with me, in his first real job, Secretary of State, while he's campaigning against "woke wind".  Reid Rasner is harassing him about that but Chuck's record is clear. He's been relatively green while in office. Chuck's a broken record however and is unable to adjust, so he's still doing it, blaming it on the Governor.  Apparently Chuck isn't woke, but he wasn't awake, or something.

Gray and Gordon got into another argument in a public forum yesterday, resulting in Gordon telling him to shut up.  We can only hope.

Anyhow, while Rasner has no chance, Rasner, Friess, Biteman and Christensen will all carve away the cornfederate vote from him and there's a decent chance that most if it will go to Biteman.  All of this benefits Balow considerably.

April 4, 2026

Laramie County substitute teacher Ryan Shollenberger has thrown his cap into the ring for Superintendent of Public Education as a Libertarian.

He'll be running against, so far, Republicans Chad Auer and Tom Kelly.

April 5, 2026

Democrat Lisa Kinney has jointed the House race.

Kinney causes us to add a new category to our "don't vote for" list, that being candidates who are as old as dirt.  The US already suffers massively for being in the clutch of oldsters, the last two Presidents being prime examples.  Enough is enough.

Kinney was first in the legislature in 1984 and was admitted to the bar in 1986.  She's at least in her late 60s, if not 70s.  Too old.  

Indeed, every single occupant of Wyoming's representation in Wyoming is too old to be occupying the jobs they're occupying. 

April 8, 2026

Two cowards:

Wyoming’s Barrasso, Lummis and Hageman silent on Trump’s threat that a ‘whole civilization will die’ if Iran deal isn’t reached

One of these people is running for office, the other is not this cycle.  Both are welded to Trump as they are afraid not to be.

In other election matters, I turned on the tv at noon the yesterday, which I normally don't do, and ads were on for Chuck Gray and Reid Rasner declaring their undying love for Trump.  Chuck looks like such a fish out of water in Wyoming in his ads it isn't funny.  Rasner has apparently super glued his trucker's hat on his head as it never comes off now.

April 10, 2026

Long time state Senator Bill Landen is not running for his seat in District 27.  Casper surgeon Kevin Helling has announced to replace him. 

Landen has been a voice of reason in the legislature.

Sen. Bill Landen announces plan to retire from Wyoming Senate

An interesting possibility in the House Race:

Wyoming’s crowded U.S. House primary race could produce a winner without a majority

Cornfederates are splitting their endorsement over which person will make the most hideously bad Governor.

April 11, 2026

Kibler, after playing musical chairs with his party affiliation, has dropped out of the race for Governor.

House district 58 has a second Republican challenger taking on incumbent Cornfederate Bill Allemand.  One Keenan Morgan has announced for the race, adding to the already running Mayor Peter Boyer.

Last edition:

Lex Anteinternet: The 2026 Election, 5th Edition, part two: The Saddle Up Edition

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