Albany County Democrats keep legislative seats in House, Senate
Redistricting made House Districts 14 and 46 more Republican, and HD-46 saw a Republican landslide. But HD-14 Rep. Trey Sherwood, a Democrat, won by a wider margin than she did in 2020.
Democrats held onto their statehouse seats in Albany County, despite fierce competition for at least one of those seats.
The race for House District 14 saw Rep. Trey Sherwood, a Democrat, ward off a challenge from Republican Bryan Shuster. Sherwood won by more than 300 votes despite the district’s Republican lean.
Albany County Democrats Chair Carrie Murthy said the candidate mattered more than the party in HD-14.
“Representative Sherwood outworks anyone — she works so hard for her community, whether it’s working downtown, working the legislature or working on her campaign,” Murthy said. “Voters were able to connect with her. Voters saw her strong leadership over the past two years and want some more of that.”
It was, in general, a good election year for Albany County Democrats. They retained control of the Albany County Commission and kept most of their countywide seats despite intense competition for the Albany County Sheriff’s Office. Albany County School Board and Laramie City Council elections are technically non-partisan. But in the school board elections, voters rejected a right-wing slate of candidates. In the city council races, voters generally chose proponents of progressive housing reform over its opponents.
Across the five legislative races Albany County decided this month, Democrats kept all four of the seats they’ve held since 2020.
In Senate District 9, Senate Minority Leader Chris Rothfuss crushed Republican challenger Diana Seabeck, receiving nearly 63% of all votes cast.
In House District 13, Democrat Ken Chestek beat Republican Wayne Pinch, receiving nearly 60% of all votes cast.
In House District 14, Democratic Rep. Trey Sherwood beat Republican challenger Bryan Shuster, receiving more than 54% of all votes cast.
In House District 45, Democratic Rep. Karlee Provenza ran unopposed and won re-election, receiving 94% of all votes cast. (There were 139 write-ins.)
In House District 46, Republican Rep. Ocean Andrew crushed Democratic challenger Merav Ben-David, receiving nearly 69% of all votes cast and earning more than twice as many votes as his opponent.
Rep. Andrew was first elected to represent HD-46 in 2020, when he received 59% of the vote. Two years later — and no doubt boosted by the state’s redistricting — Andrew increased his vote share to 69%.
But on election night, all eyes were on House District 14. Sherwood was first elected to that seat in 2020, when she received less than 51% of the votes cast. In 2022, Sherwood faced a challenge from outgoing Laramie City Councilor Bryan Shuster and she campaigned aggressively to keep her seat.
“I felt really encouraged by our community and the conversations I was able to have at the door,” she said. “I hit 2,000 doors and it was my favorite part of campaigning — listening to people talk about concerns about education and infrastructure, healthcare. It’s really how we should be governing. The closer we are to the people, the more willing we are to sit and listen, the better job we can do in representing folks.”
HD-14 covers the county north and east of Laramie, cutting into the city to include many neighborhoods east of 15th Street and all neighborhoods north of Reynolds. During the 2022 redistricting process, HD-14 got even more rural and even more red — notably losing the University of Wyoming dorms and student housing to House District 13.
But Sherwood won by an even wider margin this year than she did in 2020.
“The demographics of the district would suggest that this should not be held by a Democrat — which is a testimony to our community coming out and voting for the person, not the party,” Sherwood said. “I thought it would be a lot closer, I thought it would be within 30 votes, just based on trends within the last few years. But I was pleasantly surprised.”
The blue representative from the red district said her top priority going into her second term will be maintaining civility in Wyoming politics.
“We’re small enough that we can make connections, we can build relationships, we can build trust,” Sherwood said. “We can focus on the community level and not let what we see in Washington, D.C. influence how we treat each other.”
Sherwood is the director of Laramie Main Street Alliance. She said she will also focus on economic development and diversification, as well as education funding.
Below are the full official results for the five legislative races on Albany County ballots in 2022. Winners are printed in bold.
Senate District 9
Republican Diana Seabeck: 1,900
Democrat Chris Rothfuss: 3,223
Write-in: 9
House District 13
Republican Wayne Pinch: 933
Democrat Ken Chestek: 1,397
Write-in: 8
House District 14
Republican Bryan Shuster: 1,621
Democrat Trey Sherwood: 1,955
Write-in: 10
House District 45
Democrat Karlee Provenza: 2,151
Write-in: 139
House District 46
Republican Ocean Andrew: 2,642
Democrat Merav Ben-David: 1,201
Write-in: 7