Gov. Hopeful Barlow Is Latest To Face ‘The Gentry’ — Riverton’s Political Old Guard

Navigating the pointed questions of a Riverton coffee group known as “The Gentry” has become a proving ground for serious Wyoming political candidates. A blizzard that shut down much of southern Wyoming on Monday encroached as the group, hunkered in a hilltop events hall on Riverton’s airport hill, grilled gubernatorial candidate Eric Barlow. The core group of The Gentry are men of a certain age who all drink black coffee, run politically conservative, and all live in the Riverton area. They didn’t always host high-profile political candidates, but have since about 2020.

“You know, I enjoy hearing them all, and each of them are politicians in their own right,” said the group’s host, former Riverton Mayor Ron Warpness. “I want to have morning meetings like this so we can talk about issues. Hell, I want to fix airport road. I want to fix the half-cent tax Fremont County failed, and on and on and on. Pick a subject.”

State Sen. Barlow introduced himself as a post-Marine Corps, fourth-generation, ranch-raised, service-oriented veterinarian, yak farmer, and legislator of 14 years. “Limit your government. Do what it’s supposed to do. Stay out of the way the rest of the time,” he said. “I seek an economy that works in Wyoming, and then of course a community of people who can get the things they need: education, health care, etc.”

Wayne Dick was a tough interviewer, asking who actually runs the state. “Article 2 of the Wyoming Constitution is, everybody do your damn job,” Barlow answered. “We have three branches of government. They all should do their respective parts.” As for the governor’s recent announcement of a summer feeding program, Barlow said state law now allows for that, and the Legislature can change it if they wish. He cast the federal government as much more dysfunctional, but said in Wyoming, each branch should do its job, respect each other, and work together.

On wind and solar, Barlow said industrial solar projects cannot survive long-term without government subsidies, and he does not want to be part of offering those subsidies. Traditional fuels will “always be the baseline, and should be.” He said Wyoming has opportunities with uranium and nuclear development but lacks interest in storing spent nuclear fuel permanently. Rep. Lloyd Larsen noted that Barlow championed a bill to bury old wind turbine blades in reclaimed mines. “That’s a little justice, right,” Barlow said.

On data centers, Barlow said he does not support an outright moratorium on permitting. “We have to have good information” on power and water requirements, he said, noting that most project leaders say they will use “closed loop” cooling demanding less water. Wyoming should not allow projects to harm people with respect to electricity rates, he said, but urged cautious optimism: “Where would we be if we said we’re going to have a moratorium on coal mines 50 years ago?” Montana at that time had a higher coal tax rate than Wyoming. “Where are all the coal mines? They’re in Wyoming.”

Fremont County GOP Chair Ginger Bennett asked about WYDOT’s snowplow response and a recent controversy capping troopers at 400 miles per week to address overtime. Barlow acknowledged “significant challenges,” said the agency has been warning of underfunding for years, and called snowplow driving and trooper work “dangerous” requiring competitive pay. He noted the Legislature just granted those workers raises effective July 1. As for his purview, the governor appoints WYDOT commissioners and must “hold their feet to the fire.”

Barlow’s opponent Brent Bien, who visited The Gentry in March, later countered that data center expansions are moving too quickly to fit within “consent of the governed.” He voiced concerns about electric bills, water usage, and transmission capacity. “I would not allow them to be built on agricultural ground—I just wouldn’t do it,” Bien said. “A lot of our agricultural lands are being swallowed up by these globalist interests, and that’s kind of what this is.” Warpness said the group is open to anyone, including the third GOP contender, State Superintendent Megan Degenfelder. “It’s open to anybody who wants to come,” he said.