If Wyoming voters choose Brent Bien as their next governor, the former Marine colonel promises to bring a far more conservative approach to Cheyenne.

“I guaran-doggone-tee you, folks: we will get sued, probably on day one, and we’re going to make national news on day one,” Bien said at a May campaign event in Powell. “Anybody or anything that’s encroached upon this state or the people herein, I’m going after them, OK? I’m not going to tolerate any of this stuff anymore.”

Bien is making his second gubernatorial run, having unsuccessfully challenged Gov. Mark Gordon in the 2022 Republican primary. His campaign was borne out of frustration with the Covid-era restrictions implemented by Gordon and others, along with the Legislature’s response. Four years later, he remains frustrated.

“This state has been sold out, has been absolutely sold out,” Bien said at the May 2 event. “It’s been sold out to the highest bidders by politicians that lack moral courage to defend our constitutional liberties and protect our state.”

Bien said that, in contrast, he’ll work for the people of Wyoming.

Rolling back
regulations

A native of Laramie, Bien spent over 28 years in the Marine Corps while keeping his residency in Wyoming. He moved back to the state in 2019 and worked for an aircraft charter company in Sheridan before departing the role to run for governor. 

Bien later relocated to Cody and has stayed politically active since then — including pushing for hand-counted election results and helping craft an initiative for November’s general election ballot that would halve residents’ property taxes. He said the initiative stemmed from hearing from people who were struggling to stay in their homes due to rising taxes. 

While many politicians talk about bringing more jobs to Wyoming, Bien said that, with unemployment around 3%, the real need is to lower the cost of living in this “blue collar retirement state.”

To do that, Bien specifically spoke of rolling back regulations. He mentioned that his Department of Agriculture would never crack down on raw milk lattes as the department recently did on the Hippy Cow Creamery in Cody.

Bien also criticized state spending on various projects, including affordable housing projects, the relocation of the PRCA headquarters and museum from Colorado to Cheyenne and the construction of a nuclear fuel manufacturing facility in Gillette.

Between those types of projects and various land use plans, “by the time the public’s brought in, the legislation’s done, the deals are done, and it's just to check the [box],” Bien said. “And people are starting to figure out around this state [that] their voice doesn't matter. People are livid with it; they’ve had it.”

He also was critical of carbon sequestration efforts. Though not specifically mentioned by Bien, the state awarded a $343,005 grant last year to help Contango study the feasibility of a carbon dioxide pipeline in the Big Horn Basin to enhance oil recovery.

“I would rather pump that [CO2] into greenhouses than I would into the ground and try to get oil out of here,” Bien said. “We know if it were lucrative for the big oil, big energy extraction companies … they would be paying for it and not us.”

He added that carbon dioxide is necessary for life on Earth.

“We can’t control the climate, regardless of what the left has said,” Bien said. “God controls the climate, no matter what.”

Keeping public lands public

Though his general principle is that the government needs to get out of the way of business, Bien indicated there should be more scrutiny of wind farms. He said the state’s Industrial Siting Council has basically “rubber stamped” projects and that there isn’t any standardization in the reviews by the Department of Environmental Quality.

Bien also noted public opposition to data centers and nuclear power projects and said the issue is “a matter of setting our own conditions here in the state.” He added that a “figurative box” needs to be placed around artificial intelligence or else “we’re going to lose our constitutional liberties,” and he wants to prevent foreign adversaries from purchasing land in Wyoming.

While Bien called for increased logging on public land — saying that the government has been kowtowing to environmental groups and other nongovernmental organizations — he supports keeping public lands public.

“I will tell you I am absolutely opposed to the federal government divesting of any of that land, particularly for sale,” he said.

If Congress ever moves to sell off land in Wyoming, then the state should get the right of first refusal, he said, so it can take over its management.

Bien said Wyoming should also take steps to insulate itself from national events by being prepared to feed and power itself. He specifically mentioned an independent electrical grid, reinvesting savings into infrastructure into irrigation and dams and potentially establishing a state petroleum reserve.

“I love this country, you know I do,” Bien said, “but we have to start focusing on us here in Wyoming.”

‘Hungry for something different’

Overall, Bien said he’d bring a tone to Cheyenne that hasn’t been seen in many decades.

In his adult life, “I’ve only had the opportunity to truly vote for one principled conservative candidate for governor,” Bien said, “and that’s when I voted for myself four years ago.”

He has attracted supporters since the 2022 election, building a grassroots campaign made up entirely of volunteers. His backers include several local candidates who campaigned alongside Bien in Powell.

State Rep. Nina Webber, R-Cody, said the energy, applause and chants Bien received during his appearance at the Wyoming Republican Party convention in April were “amazing.”

“He’s got a lot of powerful support,” Webber said.

Park County Commission candidate Karin Richard of Cody added that she thought everyone at the May 2 event was “ready to fight for conservatism again.”

“We want Wyoming to be strong, conservative and free and proud to be Wyomingites again, and they tried to take that away from us,” Richard said, describing Bien as “the linchpin to the whole thing.”

In his remarks, Bien told the audience that the movement is growing.

“It’s unbelievable what's happening across the state,” he said, “and I think people are hungry for something different.”

Bien faces state Sen. Eric Barlow of Gillette, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder and Curt Blake of Centennial in the Aug. 18 Republican primary election.