{"id":1605328,"date":"2022-08-14T08:04:30","date_gmt":"2022-08-14T12:04:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1605328"},"modified":"2022-08-14T08:04:39","modified_gmt":"2022-08-14T12:04:39","slug":"wyomings-disappearing-democrats-not-shy-about-crossover-voting-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wyomings-disappearing-democrats-not-shy-about-crossover-voting-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Wyoming\u2019s Disappearing Democrats Not Shy About &#8220;Crossover&#8221; Voting"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwyomings-disappearing-democrats-not-shy-about-crossover-voting-2%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1605328&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p class=\"p1\">ROCK SPRINGS, Wyo.\u2014There is no secret cabal of Democrats working in cahoots with Rep. Liz Cheney\u2019s (R-Wyo.) campaign to reelect former President Donald Trump\u2019s most ardent Republican critic.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Many <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-wyoming\">Wyoming<\/a> Democrats will tell you openly they are switching parties on Aug. 16 to cast ballots for Cheney in her Republican Party primary against Fort Laramie land use-water rights attorney <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-harriet-hageman\">Harriet Hageman<\/a>.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">But few think it will matter.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">A University of Wyoming July 25 to Aug. 6 survey of 562 likely primary voters, released on Aug. 11, indicates that Hageman leads Cheney by nearly 30 percentage points\u201457 percent to 28 percent\u2014with 41 percent saying they are voting more against Cheney than for Hageman.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Unless Cheney has a stealth reservoir of support\u2014\u201cquiet Republicans,\u201d she called them recently\u2014within the GOP, there aren\u2019t enough Democrats or, for that matter, enough non-Republicans, to have much efficacy in the one-way Equality State.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Math confirms the veracity of polls that show a very narrow path to a third term for Cheney, who has enraged many Wyoming Republicans for voting to impeach former President Donald Trump, serving as co-chair of the Jan. 6 House committee, and being among Trump\u2019s most severe, unrelenting critics.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Of 284,557 registered voters on Aug. 1, 207,674 were enrolled as Republicans, according to the Wyoming Secretary of State\u2019s Office. There were 39,753 registered Democrats and 33,769 unaffiliated, with about 4,000 registered in third parties.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">In January, the Secretary of State\u2019s Office documented that there were 280,741 registered voters with 196,179 signed onto the GOP, 45,822 registered as Democrats, and 35,344 unaffiliated.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Earlier polls indicate about 70 percent of the state\u2019s Republicans supporting Hageman over Cheney. According to some estimates, the embattled incumbent would need at least 40,000 votes from non-Republicans to make up that inter-party difference.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cWe see some movement from registered Democrat to registered Republican\u201d in the last few months, Wyoming Democratic Party Communications Director David Martin told The Epoch Times, \u201cbut we don\u2019t believe it will influence the GOP (primary) as much as people think it will.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">At a weekly noon Friday gathering of about a dozen Sweetwater County Democratic Party committee members at Los Cabos restaurant in Rock Springs on Aug. 12, there was no cabal or orchestrated plan to vote for Cheney\u2014just people who say they want their vote to count in a state overwhelmingly dominated by the GOP.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Carolyn Molson said that instead of asking for a Democratic ballot on primary day, she will request a Republican one \u201cbecause we have no voice as Democrats and no power\u201d in the state.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Wyoming is one of six states where primaries are \u201cpartially open,\u201d meaning that voters in one party can vote in another party\u2019s primary if they register with the party before casting a ballot. .<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Therefore, under Wyoming law, voters can change parties on primary day by registering with the party they want a ballot for. If the state\u2019s Republican-dominated legislature wanted to change that law, it would. But it shot down a proposal to close the primaries during its 2022 session so, obviously, a majority of lawmakers see \u201ccrossover\u201d voting as a benefit to them.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cThere are a lot of people trending in this direction,\u201d Molson said, adding, \u201cI\u2019m not going to be (a Republican) in the general election.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4661968\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2022\/08\/13\/Tom-Gagnon-1200x1387.jpg\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-4661968\" src=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2022\/08\/13\/Tom-Gagnon-600x693.jpg\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"600\" height=\"693\" \/><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a> Sweetwater County Democratic Party member Tom Gagnon, whose columns and editorials are published in many Wyoming newspapers and digital sites, has already voted in Wyoming\u2019s Aug. 16 primary. \u201cI voted for Liz,\u201d he said. (John Haughey\/The Epoch Times)<\/figure>\n<p class=\"p1\">Tom Gagnon, a writer whose opinion columns are published locally and across the state, has already done the deed by voting early.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cI voted for Liz,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is the first time in my life that I\u2019ve voted as a Republican. Unless things change, I\u2019m going to stay a Republican\u201d because, in Wyoming now, the state\u2019s battles are being fought within the GOP.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Leesa Kuhlmann is running for the state senate as a Democrat. But on Aug. 16, she\u2019s registering as a Republican and getting a GOP ballot.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cThe people of Wyoming should be proud\u201d of Cheney, she said. \u201cI don\u2019t agree with her politically but at least I have respect for her. She has a conscious. You have to be proud of her.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Why Crossover?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"p1\">But they were the outliers in the group. Most were sticking with Democratic candidates, regardless of their chances to win in a general election.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cCrossover? Hell no,\u201d said Norma Prevedel who, along with her husband Frank Prevedel who served as a Democratic state senator<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>representing Sweetwater County for 14 years, has already voted.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Barbara Smith and Mark Kot are also sticking with blue when they vote Aug. 16. As nominated Democratic precinct committee members, they can\u2019t register outside the party.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Smith, a career educator and poet, said Wyoming crossover voting has gained a lot of national attention but it is the only way for Democrats to appeal to Republicans during elections.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cIt\u2019s not just about Cheney,\u201d she said. \u201cAll these people in Sweetwater County\u201d who are Democrats want Republicans to recognize they exist.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cIf you want your vote to count,\u201d crossover voting is a wedge that can help make that happen, said Kot, a retired Sweetwater County planner who serves as the chair of the Wyoming Water Development Commission, despite being a Democrat.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Martin said as Republicans rip into each other in primary battles between Trump-endorsed or Trump-supporting candidates, and \u201cRINOs\u201d\u2014Republicans in Name Only who seek to shift the party\u2019s core values to accommodate more of the left\u2014the Democratic Party will remain \u201ca big tent\u201d that, in Wyoming, has a lot of available seats.<\/p>\n<h2>Disappearing Democrats of Wyoming<\/h2>\n<p class=\"p1\">Democrats in Wyoming were traditionally associated with unions, stemming from its Union Pacific railroad and coal mining industries in Sweetwater and Campbell counties.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Now, Martin said, the only places in the state where Democrats are competitive is Teton County, with its resort town of Jackson, and Albany County, which includes the University of Wyoming in Laramie.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Wyoming\u2019s Democrats still represent \u201cthe blue-collar values\u201d of the state\u2019s workers and are as conservative on many issues as Republicans, he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cYou got to go to Laramie to find the \u2018woke,\u2019\u201d Marin said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">And that\u2019s another evolution in the disappearing Democrats of Wyoming.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Before the turn of the 21st century, there were two Democratic bastions in Wyoming\u2014Rock Springs and Green River in Sweetwater County, and Gillette in Campbell County where unionized railroad workers and miners were aligned with the Democratic Party.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Wyoming lawmakers adopted a \u201cRight To Work\u201d law in 1963. But a series of 1990s amendments by the GOP-controlled legislature made the state into one of the most hostile in the nation to organized labor.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cThe unions are gone,\u201d Frank Prevedel said. \u201cThe \u2018Right To Work State\u2019 killed the Democrats in Wyoming.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Even with unions no longer a factor, Sweetwater County remained a Democratic stronghold until about a decade ago, he said, noting that 10 years ago, there were\u00a0about 7,500 registered Democrats and about 4,500 registered Republicans in the county.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Now, Prevedel said, there are about 8,000 registered Republicans and 4,500 registered Democrats in the county.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The already outmatched party began losing members not in response to issues within the state, but because of the Democrats\u2019 national platforms that just got too liberal for many in Wyoming, he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cI think two issues have converged to really hurt Democrats in Wyoming\u2014gun control and the fight about coal,\u201d he added, noting he knows many who<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>left over the gun issue,\u201d which was never the view of Wyoming Democrats\u2014many being gun-owners themselves in a state of gun-owners.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">But shifts come and go over time, and if the Democratic Party swung too far the left for many Democrats, then the Republican Party appears to now be swinging hard to the right, Kuhlmann said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"morearticles\"><strong>Read More<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"post_list\">\n<div class=\"article\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/elon-musk-says-democratic-party-has-been-hijacked-by-extremists_4436076.html\">Elon Musk Says Democratic Party Has Been \u2018Hijacked by Extremists\u2019<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"article\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/democrats-would-rather-tesla-was-dead-than-be-alive-and-non-unionized-elon-musk_4537285.html\">Democrats \u2018Would Rather Tesla Was Dead Than Be Alive and Non-Unionized\u2019: Elon Musk<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p1\">And many Republicans she knows are growing uncomfortable with the party.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cI\u2019m very optimistic\u201d that Democrats will become a force in Wyoming and in other red states, Kuhlmann said. \u201cI think there is lots of room here for the Democratic Party. Right now, it\u2019s not jelling.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"author_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"one_author_block round\">\n<div class=\"top_row\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/author-john-haughey\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/WEB_JohnHaughley.jpg\" alt=\"John Haughey\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Follow<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>John Haughey has been a working journalist since 1978 with an extensive background in local government, state legislatures, and growth and development. A graduate of the University of Wyoming, he is a Navy veteran who fought fires at sea during three deployments aboard USS Constellation. He\u2019s been a reporter for daily newspapers in California, Washington, Wyoming, New York, and Florida; a staff writer for Manhattan-based business trade publications.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ROCK SPRINGS, Wyo.\u2014There is no secret cabal of Democrats working in cahoots with Rep. Liz Cheney\u2019s (R-Wyo.) campaign to reelect former President Donald Trump\u2019s most ardent Republican critic.Many Wyoming Democrats<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1605328","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1605328","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1605328"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1605328\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1605328"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1605328"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1605328"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}