Who’s running for office in Albany County?
The Senate District 10 and Albany County Commission races will give Republican voters some options, but most House races on this year’s primary ballots do not. Candidate filing closed yesterday.
Candidate filing closed Friday afternoon, cementing the list of names that will be printed on Albany County primary election ballots this summer.
Republicans will get to choose their nominee for an open Albany County Commission seat from a field of four candidates. Republicans will also get to choose their nominee for an open State Senate seat from a field of two candidates. And voters across Laramie will get to help narrow down the candidates for city council.
But when it comes to other races on the primary ballot this year, voters will have less to decide — especially if they are Democrats. Democratic voters will be limited to picking their party’s precinct people, narrowing the council candidate pool and deciding whether to endorse their party’s candidates for Senate District 10, Albany County Commission, and House Districts 13, 14, 45 and 46 — all of whom are running unopposed in the primary.
In all four House races, the incumbents are running for re-election and none of them face a primary challenger. Republicans living in House District 45 will get to choose their nominee from a field of two candidates; all other Republicans and all Democrats will see just one name printed on their primary ballot.
Filing to run is not the only way a candidate can get their name on the ballot, but it is the most common method. In partisan races, candidates can petition for nomination as an independent candidate or run to represent a third party. At all levels, candidates can also run a write-in campaign. The threshold for a valid write-in campaign varies by level, but usually requires residency in the relevant district and, for partisan races, membership in the relevant party. Write-in candidates need to win at least 25 votes to grab a state or county level nomination and three votes to be considered for city council.
Candidate filing for Albany County School Board and for special district races will take place in August. Those contests only appear on the General Election ballot.
The Laramie Reporter will soon reach out to the candidates listed below and, in the coming weeks, highlight those running for office and the platforms they promote.
Wyoming Senate Race
Albany County residents living in the largely rural Senate District 10 will be selecting a new senator this year. The current officeholder, Sen. Dan Furphy, is retiring. One Democrat and two Republicans have filed to run for Senate District 10:
Mike Selmer (Democrat)
Gary Crum (Republican)
Keith Kennedy (Republican)
Wyoming House Races
Update (July 22): Eric Henderson, formerly a Republican candidate for House District 45, withdrew, leaving Paul Crouch without a primary challenger. Following Henderson’s withdrawal, there are no primary contests for any of Albany County’s four House seats. The original text for this section is presented below:
There are no primary contests for three of Albany County’s four House districts. In House Districts 13, 14 and 46, just one Republican and one Democrat have filed to run. In House District 45, Democrats will see only one name on the ballot, the incumbent Rep. Karlee Provenza, but Republicans will get to pick their nominee from a field of two.
House District 13:
Ken Chestek (Democrat)
Shane Swett (Republican)
House District 14:
Trey Sherwood (Democrat)
Joe Giustozzi (Republican)
House District 45:
Karlee Provenza (Democrat)
Paul Crouch (Republican)
Eric Henderson (Republican)
House District 46:
Ocean Andrew (Republican)
Chris Lowry (Democrat)
Albany County Commission
There is one county commission seat up for election this year — the seat currently held by Sue Ibarra, a Democrat who will not be running for reelection.
The two commission seats not on the ballot this year are split between one Democrat and one Republican, so the winner of this year’s election will determine the balance of Albany County leadership for at least the next two years.
During the primary, Democrats will see just one name printed on their ballot:
Brian Harrington
Republicans will have a wider range of options, and are tasked with picking one nominee from a field of four:
Chris Cleven
Troy Heien
Julie McCallister
Thad Hoff
Laramie City Council
City council races are non-partisan, so primary voters are not choosing their party’s nominee. Rather, they are helping to whittle down the options which will appear on the General Election ballot, narrowing the field down to twice as many candidates as there are seats.
In Ward 1, there are two seats on the ballot in 2024. Five candidates filed to run; the four receiving the most votes in the primary will advance to the general.
William Bowling
Sharon Cumbie
Roxie Hensley
Norbert Kriebel
Paul Montoya
In Ward 2, there are two seats on the ballot. Six candidates filed to run; the four receiving the most votes in the primary will advance to the general.
Jim Fried
Brett Glass
Brett Kahler
Jayne Pearce
Andi Summerville
Melanie Vigil
In Ward 3, there is one seat on the ballot. Three candidates filed to run; the two candidates receiving the most votes in the primary will advance to the general.
Matt Lockhart
Shelley Hopkins Peterson
Bryan Shuster