Constitution Party Hopes Bextel Run For Governor Makes Wyoming A Three-Party State

Running Rebecca Bextel as a potential Constitution Party nominee for governor is part of a larger strategy to make Wyoming a three-party state, the Constitution Party chair told Cowboy State Daily. Wyoming’s registered voter base sits at about 78% Republican, 11% Democrat, and less than 1% each Libertarian and Constitution party affiliated. But state law defines a major political party as one whose candidate for U.S. House, governor, or secretary of state nets more than 10% of the votes cast. Both the Republican and Democratic parties clear that threshold. The Constitution Party wants to do it this year.

“We are transitioning from a protest party to a legitimate party,” Constitution Party Chair Joshua Shimkus said, adding that he ran on that platform ahead of his election to party chairman. Shimkus said he does not think the Constitution Party’s movement will scoop up one faction of the split Republican Party over another. “I don’t think the Freedom Caucus comes over en bloc. I don’t think the moderates come over en bloc. I think it’s going to be all over the place,” he said.

Many Democratic and independent voters register as Republican to influence the state’s most decisive contest: the GOP primary election on Aug. 18. Having a second conservative party compete with the GOP could end that crossover voting practice, Shimkus theorized. “What we’re going to see as a result of this race and the other races we’ll be announcing,” he said, “is that the liberals in Wyoming are going to have to decide: do they continue to gamble by playing inside the GOP primary, or do they return to their party?” He added, “I believe that a second conservative party would be a more viable option that captures the majority of Wyoming voters’ sentiment more accurately.”

Wyoming law burdens major parties with extensive requirements, including electing county committee members at partisan primaries and holding conventions every two years. “We are preparing ourselves for those legal hoops right now, and have been for the past few months,” Shimkus said.

Scott Merrifield, executive director of the Wyoming Democratic Party, agreed that a third major party would be good for Wyoming but doubted the Constitution Party could pull it off soon. Parties need precinct organizers and county office organizers and must put candidates forward in multiple races. Winning major party status with one person in a major office “doesn’t create a larger momentum unless there’s a base momentum already there,” he said. As for which faction of the GOP the Constitution Party could peel away, Merrifield said it would likely pick up “just people who are disillusioned with the direction of the Republican Party in Wyoming.”

Former Sublette County Clerk Mary Lankford recalled that in 2014, both the Constitution and Libertarian parties won major party status when their candidates for secretary of state crossed the 10% threshold. The 2016 primary election had four major parties. But it did not last. “I think they rallied in ’16 and got stuff put together, and then it blew apart because they were just not as organized,” Lankford said. By 2018, the state was back to a two-party primary.

According to Bextel’s website, her bid for the Constitution Party nomination is “an insurance policy against Eric Barlow,” referring to the state senator running in a three-person GOP primary. The website theorizes that the two other candidates will “spoil” each other’s chances, allowing the more moderate Barlow to win. “My run for Governor as the Constitution Party candidate aims to allow conservatives two lanes for the same race, just like the Democrats,” the site says. The Constitution Party convention, where it is slated to consider nominating Bextel, is set for June 19-20 in Cheyenne. Bextel gained notoriety earlier this year for handing out donation checks on the floor of the state House, which prompted a House investigation and new rules banning the act.