Social:Wyoming Freedom Caucus

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Short description: Republican state legislative caucus

For for the Freedom Caucus in the United States House of Representatives, see Freedom Caucus.
Wyoming Freedom Caucus
ChairmanRachel Rodriguez-Williams
FoundedSeptember 2020 [1]
Split fromWyoming Caucus
Ideology
Political position
National affiliationRepublican Party
Seats in the House Republican Conference
34 / 56
Seats in the State House
34 / 62
[2]
Website
Wyoming Freedom Caucus
Wyoming Freedom PAC

The Wyoming Freedom Caucus is a caucus in the Wyoming Legislature. It is generally considered the most conservative bloc in the legislature. It was formed in September 2020 by Wyoming conservatives inspired by the national House Freedom Caucus.[1] Since 2024, the caucus has a majority of seats in the Wyoming House of Representatives.[3]

History

The Wyoming Freedom Caucus was formed in Story, Wyoming in September 2020 by 18 to 20 Republican members of the Wyoming House of Representatives.[4]

Starting in at least 2023, the caucus's members are sent messages from the national State Freedom Caucus Network's Wyoming state director that indicate the caucus's official stance on bills presented to the legislature, a practice known as "logrolling". It has been hypothesized by non-caucus affiliated Republican representatives, including Dan Zwonitzer that the caucus votes as a bloc in forced roll-call votes to appear more conservative than non-caucus Republicans.[5]

During the 2023–2024 legislative session, the caucus supported bills that made it harder for voters to change party affiliation,[6] banned the use of pills for abortion, banned gun-free zones, and defunded the diversity office of the University of Wyoming. The latter two were voted by Governor Mark Gordon.[3] They opposed bills that would have made it easier for people without insurance to access care at community mental health centers, created misdemeanor and felony offenses for intimidating election officers, raise fees for nonresident fishing licenses, and 10 other bills crafted in committee.[7]

In the 2024 primaries, the caucus was backed by Virginia-based group Make Liberty Win.[3] In primaries, their supported candidates defeated Speaker Albert Sommers for Wyoming Senate, and the re-election bids of Speaker Pro Tem Clark Stith, Representatives David Zwonitzer, Dan Zwonitzer, Tom Walters, and Ember Oakley.[3][8]

Since 2024, the caucus has a majority of seats in the Wyoming House of Representatives. Caucus members also hold every leadership position in the House. Speaker Chip Neiman and caucus chairman Rachel Rodriguez-Williams said that in the new legislative session, bills not previously given the chance to be considered will be put on the agenda. The Wyoming Republican Party, controlled by a caucus-aligned leadership, are expected to be invited to have a closer relationship with legislators after multiple years of being shut out of political activity.[9] Following the 2024 senate elections, the caucus' allies hold two of the top three leadership positions.[3]

The caucus has repeatedly sparred with Governor Mark Gordon over his policy, which they deem insufficiently conservative.[3][10][11][12][13][14][15]

Political positions

One of the caucus's major agenda items is the "Five and Dime Plan," which includes immigration measures, ending diversity programs at colleges and universities, cutting taxes, adding election-registration rules, and prohibiting environmental and social factors from being considered for state investments.[16]

Speaker Pro Temp Jeremy Haroldson said further priorities of the caucus include putting up a physical vote scoreboard at the Legislature, banning ballot drop boxes, banning gun-free zones in Wyoming, establishing anti-SLAPP laws, addressing eminent domain laws, requiring age verification to visit pornography websites, extending a ban on transgender participation in female sports to the collegiate level, and establishing universal school choice.[9]

Co-founder of the caucus and former representative Tim Hallinan said that further priorities include preserving the right to life and opposing abortion rights.[4]

List of caucus leaders

  • Dan Laursen and Tim Hallinan, 2020–2022
  • John Bear, 2022–2024
  • Rachel Rodriguez-Williams, 2024–present

Current members[17]

  • Jeremy Haroldson (2021–present)
  • Scott Heiner (2021–present)
  • Pepper Ottman (2021–present)
  • John Bear (2021–present)
  • Chip Neiman (2021–present)
  • Tomi Strock (2023–present)
  • Chris Knapp (2020–present)
  • Daniel Singh (2023–present)
  • Ken Pendergraft (2021–present)
  • Scott Smith (2023–present)
  • Bill Allemand (2023–present)
  • John Winter (2019–present)
  • Joe Webb (2025–present)
  • Ann Lucas (2025–present)
  • Paul Hoeft (2025–present)

Further reading

  • Green MN, Gawehns F. From Congress to the States: Explaining the Emergence and Membership of Freedom Caucuses in State Legislatures. State Politics & Policy Quarterly. 2024;24(4):370-388. doi:10.1017/spq.2024.24

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Drake, Kerry (29 November 2022). "What the rise of Wyoming's Freedom Caucus means for liberty". https://wyofile.com/what-the-rise-of-wyomings-freedom-caucus-means-for-liberty/. 
  2. ↑ Mullen, Maggie (4 November 2024). "Freedom Caucus wins control of Wyoming House". https://wyofile.com/freedom-caucus-wins-control-of-wyoming-house/. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Chen, David (26 December 2024). "How the Freedom Caucus Rose to Power in Wyoming". https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/26/us/wyoming-freedom-caucus.html. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Graham, Andrew (2 December 2020). "Conservatives form Freedom Caucus to challenge House GOP". https://wyofile.com/conservatives-form-freedom-caucus-to-challenge-house-gop/. 
  5. ↑ Wolfson, Leo (22 February 2023). "Wyoming Legislature Divides Along Conservative Battle Lines". https://cowboystatedaily.com/2023/02/22/wyoming-legislature-divides-along-conservative-battle-lines/. 
  6. ↑ Morton, Tom (17 April 2024). "New voter law requires declaring party affiliation by May 15". https://oilcity.news/general/2024/04/17/new-voter-law-requires-declaring-party-affiliation-by-may-15/. 
  7. ↑ Mullen, Maggie (13 February 2024). "Tensions simmer after Wyoming Freedom Caucus kills committee bills to start session". https://wyofile.com/tensions-simmer-after-wyoming-freedom-caucus-kills-committee-bills-to-start-session/. 
  8. ↑ Wolfson, Leo (21 August 2024). "Wyoming Freedom Caucus Has Huge Republican Primary, Could Gain 11 Seats". https://cowboystatedaily.com/2024/08/21/wyoming-freedom-caucus-has-huge-republican-primary-could-gain-11-seats/. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Wolfson, Leo (7 January 2025). "Freedom Caucus Vows To Unify What's Been A Deeply Divided Wyoming Legislature". https://cowboystatedaily.com/2025/01/07/freedom-caucus-vows-to-unify-whats-been-a-deeply-divided-wyoming-legislature/. 
  10. ↑ "Wyoming Freedom Caucus-stacked committee slashes $235 million from budget". 30 January 2025. https://oilcity.news/wyoming/legislature/2025/01/30/wyoming-freedom-caucus-stacked-committee-slashes-235-million-from-budget/. 
  11. ↑ Wolfson, Leo (29 July 2024). "Gordon's PAC Hits High Gear With Endorsements, Money For Freedom Caucus Opponents". https://cowboystatedaily.com/2024/07/29/gordons-pac-hits-high-gear-with-endorsements-money-for-freedom-caucus-opponents/. 
  12. ↑ Hall, Jasmine (14 August 2025). "As Freedom Caucus targets Jackson Hole housing policy, Gordon backs community solutions". https://newslj.com/freedom-caucus-targets-jackson-hole-housing-policy-gordon-backs-community-solutions. 
  13. ↑ Eccles, Robert (22 November 2023). "Climate Change In Wyoming: The Sanity Of Governor Mark Gordon And The Inanity Of The Wyoming Freedom Caucus". https://www.forbes.com/sites/bobeccles/2023/11/22/climate-change-in-wyoming-the-sanity-of-governor-mark-gordon-and-the-inanity-of-the-wyoming-freedom-caucus/. 
  14. ↑ Randall, Doug (4 March 2025). "Wyoming Freedom Caucus Blasts Gordon For Monday Vetoes". https://kgab.com/wyoming-freedom-caucus-blasts-gordon-for-monday-vetoes/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral. 
  15. ↑ Mullen, Maggie (28 May 2024). "Gordon slams Wyoming Freedom Caucus for coal-policy misinformation". https://www.gillettenewsrecord.com/news/wyoming/article_15b7b39c-c950-5cee-affe-9feca696215a.html. 
  16. ↑ Gruver, Mead; Lieb, David (14 January 2025). "The Freedom Caucus takes control of the Wyoming House, marking its first chance to lead". https://apnews.com/article/freedom-caucus-wyoming-republicans-states-a74c91315b7f6cd12c63745c4d7e7ae2. 
  17. ↑ "Members". https://wyfreedomcaucus.com/members/. 

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