More than two dozen contenders for local office will share their views at a Wednesday event in Powell.

The Park County Republican Women are hosting the 6 p.m. forum at The Commons for candidates running for local legislative seats and positions within the Park County government. For voters wanting to get a read on the candidates, “this is a really great opportunity to hear for themselves,” said organizer Stefanie Bell of the Republican Women’s group.

The event will essentially cram in 13 different mini-forums for each of the featured races, which include Senate District 19, House district 24, 25, 26, 28 and 50, and the county assessor, clerk, clerk of district court, commission, sheriff and treasurer.

As of Monday afternoon, roughly 25 out of the 33 candidates in those had committed to attending, including seven of the 10 contenders for the Park County Commission. (An 11th candidate, Sandra Allshouse of Cody, notified the clerk’s office last week that she was withdrawing from the race.) Even if some candidates are missing, their opponents will still get the chance to answer a set of questions like they would in any other contested race, Bell said.

“We think that that’s why the voters are watching,” she said. “It doesn’t make any sense for them to come all this way and not answer questions.”

As for the three uncontested county candidates who are slated to attend — Assessor Terry Call, Clerk of District Court candidate Lynell Preston and Sheriff Darrell Steward — they’ll each get five minutes to speak.

Bell said she’s expecting a big crowd given the interest in this year’s races. 

“We’re going to have important races all the way through,” she said.

The event will also be livestreamed on the Park County Republican Women’s Facebook page for those who aren’t able to attend. A full list of expected attendees is also available on the page.