Wyoming Republican Secretary of State Chuck Gray has won the GOP nomination for the state's at-large U.S. House seat, emerging from a crowded primary to become the heavy favorite in the deeply conservative state. Gray, a prominent conservative aligned with former President Donald Trump, has served as secretary of state since 2023.
The primary was triggered by U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman's decision to forgo reelection to the House seat and instead run for the U.S. Senate. Hageman, first elected in 2022 after defeating Liz Cheney, is seeking the Senate seat being vacated by retiring Senator Cynthia Lummis. This political reshuffling has led to an unusual number of open statewide races in Wyoming, with the governorship, Senate seat, and House seat all up for grabs in the same election cycle for the first time in over three decades.
The contest to replace Hageman attracted a large field of Republican candidates and proved to be the most expensive race on the state's primary ballot. The primary unfolded without a formal endorsement from either Trump or Hageman, compelling the candidates to appeal to a similar base of conservative voters. This contrasts with other significant Wyoming primaries, where Trump endorsed Hageman in the Senate race and state Superintendent Megan Degenfelder for governor.
Wyoming is one of the most Republican states in the nation, with Trump carrying the state by nearly 46 percentage points in 2024, his largest margin in any state. Historically, Democrats have secured only one statewide office in Wyoming in over thirty years, and Republicans currently hold all statewide elected offices and significant majorities in both chambers of the state legislature.
Gray defeated businessman Steve Friess and Reid Rasner in the primary. Whoever wins the Republican nomination in November is expected to be heavily favored, given the state's political leanings.