Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray (R) won the Republican primary for the state’s at-large U.S. House seat on Tuesday, according to a projection by Decision Desk HQ. Gray will face former state Senate Minority Leader Lisa F. Kinney, who is projected to win the Democratic nomination, in the general election later this year. The seat is currently held by Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-Wyo.), who is vacating the position to run for a seat in the U.S. Senate.
The U.S. House seat is considered to lean toward the Republican Party, according to the Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan election analysis group. The transition follows Hageman’s decision to pursue the Senate seat currently held by Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), with a separate primary matchup between Hageman and Byrd now set to determine the successor for that role.
Gray previously served as a state official and won his primary for secretary of state in 2022. During his tenure, he visited Arizona in 2021 to observe a partisan audit of presidential election results and has stated that widespread fraud occurred during the 2020 election. Earlier in his career, he ran in a Republican primary to challenge then-Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) but withdrew after Donald Trump endorsed Hageman for that race.
The outcome reflects a significant shift in Wyoming's political leadership, as the state moves to replace its current House representative and one of its two senators simultaneously. The transition from Hageman to a potential Gray term would maintain a representative who has questioned the integrity of the 2020 presidential election. This aligns with broader national trends regarding candidate platforms within the Republican party and may influence future policy discussions regarding election administration and federal oversight.
For voters, the next step in this process is the general election scheduled for November 2026. The projected winner of the Democratic primary, Lisa F. Kinney, will compete against Gray for the seat. While the seat is categorized as solidly Republican by political handicappers, the official determination of who will hold the office and manage the state's federal interests will not be finalized until the general election results are certified. Furthermore, the outcome of the Hageman-Byrd matchup will determine the future of Wyoming's representation in the Senate.