How The Left Is Taking Over America’s Reddest State

Liberal donors, advocacy groups and corporate interests collectively played a key role in defeating conservatives and Freedom Caucus members, replacing them with left-leaning Republicans in August’s Wyoming primaries.

Left-leaning Republican donors, pro-business groups and organizations coordinated an effort to Trojan horse non-conservative candidates under the guise of being Republican to run against Freedom Caucus and Trump-endorsed candidates in the Wyoming primaries. The entities spent heavily in the primaries to oppose Freedom Caucus members such as Wyoming state House Speaker Chip Neiman, who lost his state Senate bid to a lesser-known opponent, and Republican Wyoming gubernatorial candidate Eric Barlow, who defeated his Trump-backed opponent, Megan Degenfelder, after receiving support from anti-Freedom Caucus donors and groups.

The Wyoming Freedom Caucus lost its majority in the state House after 13 incumbent members were defeated and four additional Freedom Caucus-aligned members lost their state Senate bids in the August primary.

Neiman told the Daily Caller News Foundation that activists, such as The Wyoming Donor Alliance, “did everything they could” to turn Wyoming blue by ousting conservatives.

“Their whole focus was to undo and to do away with the Freedom Caucus and the conservatives,” Neiman said. “I mean, an unbelievable amount of organization dollars are tied into the media, Wayne Hughes [of] Cowboy State Daily, major donors and supporters of this whole thing … It just blew me away as they were relaying this information of the length and the depth and the spider web of connections that just happened and we saw the results of it. But it’s been over time. They really created an incredible machine to do away with the Freedom Caucus and stop conservatives from keeping Wyoming or taking Wyoming in a conservative direction.”

Activist Orgs Constructed Plan To Defeat Freedom Caucus

The Wyoming Donor Alliance, a non-partisan organization, outlined a plan to oust Freedom Caucus and Trump-endorsed candidates to replace them with less conservative Republicans. It created a coalition strategy titled, “Break the Wyoming Freedom Caucus Majority,” according to documentation obtained by the DCNF. The organization planned to win back the state House of Representatives by “preventing the spread of extreme Freedom Caucus policies nationwide,” according to the document.

The Wyoming Donor Alliance outlined a plan to raise $839,500 to recruit candidates, target specific voters and endorse or oppose candidates, according to the document. They also planned to launch an “unprecedented independent expenditure campaign” ahead of the primaries to oust Freedom Caucus members.

The organization aimed at recruiting competitive candidates to hold Freedom Caucus members accountable and encourage Republican voters who were not “far-right” to turn out.

“The Wyoming Donor Alliance is an alliance of donors from across Wyoming who are committed to strengthening voter education, turning out voters, and increasing political accountability,” the organization told the DCNF. “In recent years, our alliance has grown increasingly concerned by the destructive impact Freedom Caucus members were having on our communities and the future of our state. From unconstitutional cuts to education funding and threats to public lands, to the lack of compassion in the face of rural health clinics shuttering and the loss of OB-GYNs and others needed to support infant and maternal health, the Freedom Caucus has created more problems than solutions.”

Americans for Prosperity (AFP), a libertarian-leaning, pro-business advocacy group, endorsed Neiman’s opponent, Republican Wyoming state Sen. Ogden Driskill, a self-described “Reagan conservative” who has been in office in the state Senate since 2011. Driskill ran as the pro-business incumbent and accused the Freedom Caucus of being “very anti-business,” according to Cowboy State Daily.

“The Freedom Caucus has been very anti-business across the board,” Driskill said. “Doesn’t matter if it’s bringing rodeo to Wyoming; if it’s supporting rare earths up in our district. You know, the Business Council, across the board — they fought data centers.”

AFP-Wyoming told the DCNF that Neiman and other members of the Freedom Caucus became too populist and voted against several important pieces of legislation. A spokesperson clarified that the organization does not support or endorse candidates based on their affiliation with a caucus and that they supported Freedom Caucus members in the past.

The organization spent about $286,000 in the primaries and endorsed non-Freedom Caucus-aligned candidates. The organization endorsed Republican Wyoming state Sen. Evie Brennan, Republican state Rep. J.R. Riggins and three other Republican candidates running for a seat in the state Legislature.

One of the endorsed candidates, Jessica Crowder, defeated Freedom Caucus incumbent Ann Lucas. A pro-Freedom Caucus PAC, Make Liberty Win, spent money opposing Riggins as an enemy of the caucus as he ran against Neil Jeske, who was seen as a Freedom Caucus-aligned candidate. Riggins defeated Jeske in the Aug. 18 primary.

Democrat State Lawmaker Opens Wallet For Opponents Running Against Freedom Caucus Candidates

Democratic Wyoming state Rep. Liz Storer, the president and CEO of the George B. Storer Foundation, made personal donations totaling $5,500 to several candidates, including Republican Wyoming state Rep. Doug Moore, who defeated Freedom Caucus member John Bear, according to WyoFile.

Bear focused on aggressively cutting property taxes, restricting funding on surgeries for trans-identifying minors and passing pro-life legislation. Moore, a newcomer in politics, focused more on fiscal issues and did not campaign heavily on conservative social issues.

Storer made another personal donation to Republican Secretary of State candidate Robert Short, who defeated Freedom Caucus-aligned state Rep. Rachel Williams in the primary, according to WyoFile.

New PACs Oppose Freedom Caucus Candidates

Some newly formed political action committees (PACs) spent money to replace Freedom Caucus members. Common Sense Republicans for Wyoming, an issues-based PAC formed in March, spent over $95,000 to oust Freedom Caucus-aligned members, according to WyoFile.

Common Sense Republicans for Wyoming released a 2026 Republican Primary Voter Guide in July. The PAC endorsed Republican Wyoming gubernatorial candidate Eric Barlow, Short and three candidates running against Freedom Caucus members in the House. Emily Madden, a co-founder of the PAC, touted that 29 out of the 34 candidates they endorsed won their races, according to the Wyoming Tribune Eagle.

Make Liberty Win, a Virginia-based PAC aligned with the Freedom Caucus, spent nearly $550,000 on the Wyoming races and had an 87% failure rate, according to Cowboy State Daily.

Wyoming Media Mogul Dips Into Bank To Oppose Freedom Caucus Candidates

Wayne Hughes Jr., the owner of Cowboy State Daily, gave $15,000 to the Civil Leadership PAC, which spent about $200,000 backing non-Freedom Caucus Republicans in the primary, according to Transparency USA. The Civil Leadership PAC backed Short and Barlow, which Neiman and other conservatives argued were not true conservatives.

The PAC spent $168,000 in expenditures to support Barlow’s gubernatorial bid, $19,000 to support Short and over $4,000 on Republican Wyoming state Rep. Steve Harshman, who won his primary in hopes of becoming the next superintendent of public instruction. Harshman defeated Republican Wyoming state Rep. Tom Kelly, who was backed by the Freedom Caucus, according to Cowboy State Daily.

Hughes, a billionaire businessman, gave $516,000 to the Wyoming Hope PAC since 2020, the biggest share of the PAC’s money, according to Wyoming News.

Common Sense Republicans for Wyoming, Cowboy State Daily and Storer did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.

Eric Barlow’s Left-Leaning Voting Record

Neiman told the DCNF that Barlow, who defeated Degenfelder, proved he was not a conservative through his voting record, particularly on issues pertaining to energy and abortion.

“Eric Barlow is not a conservative,” Neiman told the DCNF. “His voting record does not show that … He’s the establishment candidate, that’s just the facts. [There’s] video of him testifying before Congress in the opposition to our legacy industries, coal and gas. I don’t know how you can be conservative and be fighting against the very things that give us national security, and to be portraying yourself as a conservative in that respect, I think, is impossible with that kind of a record.”

Evidence Based Wyoming’s Doug Gerard wrote that Barlow was affiliated with the anti-coal, anti-oil and anti-gas Powder River Basin Resource Council. In 2013, Barlow reportedly voted with a majority of Democrats 90% of the time and was the sixth most liberal Republican in the House.

Barlow voted to raise taxes on the oil and gas industry, sponsored an amendment in 2014 to accept Obamacare funding in Wyoming and voted to change the definition of marriage, according to Gerard’s report.

“Eric Barlow’s campaign presents him as a mainstream conservative Republican. His legislative record tells a more complex story,” Gerard wrote in the report. “He is a substantive legislator with deep expertise in healthcare, genuine engagement with energy policy, and credible Second Amendment credentials. However, his overall voting pattern—particularly his fiscal scores, composite political rankings, and extraordinary defection record—places him firmly in the liberal wing of the Wyoming Republican Party.”

Barlow’s campaign did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.

Barlow voted against a bill to ban abortion after a heartbeat was detected, according to the report. However, he voted for bills that restricted abortions.

Barlow received more than $1,000 from Rene Hinkle, a plaintiff in lawsuits challenging Wyoming’s abortion ban, according to Cowboy State Daily. A Barlow campaign spokeswoman said the donation and others reflected “what [Barlow] stands for. Which is respectful leadership. And he has a record on that.”

“Eric’s record on life in particular, pro-life legislation, is long,” the spokesperson said. “So I don’t think that a donation reflects anything about his policy. It more reflects his leadership style. Which is a respectful leadership style.”

The gubernatorial candidate made property tax reduction a major centerpiece of his campaign. Gerard’s report cited three instances where Barlow voted against property tax relief when the legislation did not pass by large margins. He voted against a bill in 2019 that would have given seniors property tax exemptions.

Barlow received over $1.7 million in total contributions, according to Transparency USA. He received over $168,000 in direct donations from the Civil Leadership PAC, $40,000 from Conpac Contractors, $5,000 from the Credit Union PAC, $5,000 from the Lawyers Active in Wyoming PAC and $1,000 from the Union Pacific Corporation Fund for Effective Government, according to Transparency USA.

Wyoming’s Turn PAC, a federal PAC aligned with Republican Wyoming Rep. Harriet Hageman’s Senate campaign, poured about $1.45 million into opposing Barlow and supporting Degenfelder, Cowboy State Daily reported. Hageman won her Senate primary in August.

Trump won Wyoming 72.3% to 26.1% against former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election. In 2022, former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney lost her primary reelection bid to Hageman by a 30-point margin after sitting on the Jan. 6 Select Committee and voting to impeach Trump in January 2021. She campaigned for Democrats, such as Harris.