GOP members search for acceptance in party

CHEYENNE — In a political environment some Republican candidates have deemed hostile during this primary election season, there is a search for acceptance within their own party. Some interviewed in the past few weeks claim they have been rejected by members of the Wyoming Republican Party as issues divide the ranks. 
Although there is a set of uniting values, such as the belief in limited government and emphasis on individual rights, political identities are questioned as candidates take their stances on investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, riots at the U.S. Capitol and election fraud. 
Division could even be seen among the answers of candidates on whether the Republican Party has split. Some argued the party was not at a crossroads, there were simply infiltrators known as “Republicans in Name Only” who were showing their true colors in their voting records. 
Others said the direction of the party had changed, and it was no longer accepting of members who did not comply with the GOP platform completely, or support former President Donald Trump in his accusations the election was stolen. 
Sen. Cale Case, R-Lander, has been in office for two decades.  
He said he believes the age of the “big tent” and a moderate approach in policy is over in Wyoming. He said the state party is now running out Republicans who no longer inhabit an echo chamber, and the party has evolved the platforms and the bylaws to support a narrow minority. 
“They don’t want to have tolerance. They don’t want to talk about social issues, other than the way they want to see them,” he told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle. “The Republican Party shifted away from me. I haven’t shifted.” 
Republicans also seeking re-election, such as Gov. Mark Gordon and U.S. Rep Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., said they see division within the party and want a change. 
Both of the candidates have been accused of holding office as RINOs. They said not only are they disappointed with such accusations and vitriol, but so are voters. 
“I don’t like seeing Republicans beating up on Republicans. We are all Americans,” Gordon told the WTE. “I do believe that Republican values, the ones I’ve spoken about, are the key to our success as a nation. They define our character, they are the best of America, which is why I want to focus on those values.” 
There are Republicans who disagree with the idea that the party is divided. 
Laramie County commissioner candidate Bryce Freeman said he recognizes there are issues at the national level, but he does not believe this applies to the state. He said Republicans in Wyoming are more closely aligned. 
“Local government is where the rubber meets the road, and that’s the place where decisions are made that most impact the lives of everyday people,” he said. “I don’t think we’re nearly as divided in Wyoming as the partisan politics at the national level reflect.” 
Rep. Rachel Rodriguez-Williams, R-Cody, is finishing her first term and seeking re-election. She said her experiences at local precinct committee meetings and as secretary at the Republican State Convention point to a coalition. She believes the appearance of dissection is because there are candidates and elected officials who are RINOs. She cited legislative races and said the party is committed to filling seats with candidates who are willing to adhere to the platform. 
Constituents are “seeing their elected officials say one thing and vote another way, and people are getting fed up with that,” she said. “I think that’s why the word (RINO) is being pushed around a lot, is because people are paying attention to voting records of their elected officials, and they’re interested in holding them accountable.” 
Voting records and public stances are used not only to hold officials accountable by constituents. They are also used in the campaigns for Republican contenders during primaries. 
A common accusation is “RINO” — or following the agenda of the left. 
Gordon said he believes it’s become a convenient catchphrase, and it is used so often that he wonders how effective it is. He said voters shouldn’t respond to name calling, but rather should look at a candidate’s principles. He said residents should ask candidates whether they believe in personal responsibility, individual rights and a government closest to the people.
“It’s very sad that we have people who are willing to call each other names, and hopefully it is just a moment in time, because our country is in a really difficult position,” he told the WTE. 
Social media has intensified divisions within both parties, according to House of Representatives District 47 candidate Clyde Johnson. 
He said candidates are continually trying to be popular and share their opinions over social media, which is amplifying the “hardline Republican” or “hardline Democrat” narrative. 
“You’re either far out left or far out right,” he said. “And the common ground seems to be diminishing.” 
This was emphasized by Rep. Landon Brown, R-Cheyenne, who said his own campaign environment is based around which Republican is considered the most Republican. 
He has been called a “RINO” continuously in his latest term. He said it is used to describe anyone who disagrees with the stance of the state GOP Central Committee. 
His surprise came when Majority Floor Leader Ogden Driskill, R-Devils Tower, was named a “RINO” in this primary cycle. Brown said Driskill is a proven conservative, as far from that label as one can get. 
He said this discourse causes damage not only in the party atmosphere, but the example set for civility and respect between members. 
The Cheyenne lawmaker said there are many variations of Republicans in the state, and it is impossible for only one to represent the entire spectrum of constituents. 
“You should be able to call yourself whatever the hell you want in this country, that’s the best part about America,” Brown said. “There is no purity test. There is no litmus test for any of our parties. You can register for whatever position you want, and you can run for whatever you want, and the party cannot dictate that.” 
Brown said he will not run a negative campaign. 
“I don’t want them to vote for me because they don’t want to vote for another man or woman,” he said. “I want them to vote for me because they feel comfortable with me, and they know how I am going to represent them.” 
There are some who want to draw the line regarding who is deemed a Republican. 
U.S. House candidate Harriet Hageman said she has continued to see a “uni-party” made up of both Democrats and Republicans in Washington, D.C., who have often discarded their principles in the interest of remaining in power. 
She pointed to Cheney, because Hageman said the incumbent pushes the idea of compromise. 
“When was the last time you remember a compromise resulting in pulling legislation to the right, rather than the left?” Hageman said in a statement. “It’s obvious that the media favor Republicans who lay down for Democrats, but I’m the one who likes our elected officials to be true to what made us Republicans in the first place.” 
Her supporters, such as House District 61 candidate Daniel Singh, believe a candidate should agree with at least 90% of the Republican platform. He said he aligns completely. 
“If you’re going to run as a Republican, you have to stand behind those values,” he said. “There’s very little wiggle room.” 
Cheney said she agrees a candidate should adhere to the party platform and stand true as a Republican. She said she has voted along her party lines her entire career, but this is not a matter of adhering to the platform. She believes there is a division among the ranks of Republicans because some party members embrace the lies of Trump. She said this is dangerous because he summoned the armed mob to Washington on Jan. 6, told them to march on the Capitol and then refused to direct them to leave for hours. 
“We have a duty to reject ideas like we’re going to secede, we have a duty to reject the kind of violence that we saw on Jan. 6, and we have a duty to stand up for the Constitution,” Cheney said. “We all have to put the Constitution above our party affiliation.” 
She said there are a handful of individuals who have the loudest voices and are leading the party apparatus in Wyoming. 
Nearly every candidate interviewed agreed divisions lead back to the investigation into the Capitol riots, whether the election was fraudulent and allegiance to Trump. 
Many said they want to find common ground and to abandon the infighting to create a stronger Wyoming GOP. They do not have the same vision for intra-party peace. There are two pathways: to conform or to accept. 
“It’s essential to have a united Republican Party in Wyoming. I don’t want us to see us become Colorado, and in order to not become Colorado, Republicans need to get engaged at the grassroots level and do their part to help form the party platform,” said Rodriguez-Williams. “The timeless truths are not going to change ... If you no longer agree with the Republican platform anymore, then maybe it’s time to move on and look at becoming an independent.” 

 
She is among the Republican candidates who said they believe the party must come together by conforming to the standards of the state party. 
Laramie County commissioner candidate Abbie Mildenberger said she has seen the division, and the more people continue to split, the further apart members grow. She still believes there has to be a certain level at which a candidate is committed to the platform and the stance leadership takes, or else a cohesive unit isn’t possible. 
“It is incredibly important for us to stay together as a party. There may be disagreements, there may be mistakes that have been made in the past, but we need to stick together in order to survive as a party,” Singh said. “Otherwise, there will be outside forces and internal forces that try to pick us apart.” 
Others, such as Case, agreed divisiveness would lead to a weakening of the Republican majority, but he said the party doesn’t need to be united but rather to be civil and tolerant. 
He argued that many residents interested in Wyoming politics have been run out, quit going to meetings and felt unaccepted in the Republican Party because of the extremism among leadership. 
Case has hope change is coming. He said there are moderate, big tent conservatives who are going to take the party back. 
Brown stressed that a Republican Party denigrating its own members does a disservice to constituents, yet it is not overcome through homogeny.
“Having a united front and having an understanding that we represent all Republicans, even if we don’t agree all the time, having a true representative Republican party, is the way that we need to be seen throughout the state,” he said.
 
This story was posted on July 10, 2022.