Hans Odde

Park County First Deputy Clerk Hans Odde is likely the next county clerk after cruising to victory in the Republican primary over Wapiti veteran, musician and truck driver Jimmy Rush. 

Odde won 68.82% of the vote (5,952 votes), well ahead of Rush with 30.99% (2,680). 

Odde also dominated in early and absentee voting, receiving 73.3% of the vote (2,743) to 26.51% (992) for Rush. 

“I’m super excited to be the next Park County Clerk,” Odde said Tuesday night. “It’s something I’ve thought about for a long time, and I’ve worked really hard at it. I’ve worked really hard in the office, and my wife worked amazingly hard at this, and my friends and my family and my supporters. This is all for them … they were amazing.”

The race pitted Odde, the former Hot Springs County clerk as well as the longtime Park County first deputy clerk, against Rush, a Navy veteran with decades of experience in electronic systems both in the service and in private business, including in the Texas oil and gas fields. Odde was the pick of more moderate and industry groups, such as the Real Republicans of Park County, realtors and contractors groups, while Rush was the pick of the Park County GOP, which controversially endorsed candidates, and Park County Patriots. 

The race engendered more controversy from some of the others as Rush called into question Odde’s role in the elections office while running for the position, to the point of commenting on Facebook on Election Day that his presence in the elections office during early voting was “intimidating.” Odde had previously said he would take a step back from the process on Election Day. While he would normally have overseen voting at the fairgrounds, he spent Tuesday instead at the elections office, which is not an Election Day voting location. He also said Tuesday night that during early voting he made a point to wear his ID badge in a far less prominent position than he usually would. 

Odde previously said that, after talking with the county attorney, he was told he still had to do his job in elections, but “on Election Day I will not have anything to do with tabulating ballots or working the absentee board, or being at a polling location.”

Tuesday night he said his approach to not dive into attacks was proven correct.

“In the end, people don’t want negative … they want to have a positive atmosphere where it’s acceptable to be a Democrat, it’s acceptable to be a liberal, it’s acceptable to be a conservative, it’s acceptable to be whatever you want to be,” Odde said. “When you’re the county clerk of any county in Wyoming, you’re the county clerk for all people in their county, and it matters that you are treating everybody with respect and dignity and fairness across the board, regardless of what their political affiliation is, or their ideology, or anything like that.”

Odde served three elected terms as Hot Springs County clerk from 2003 to 2014, when he moved to Cody, and soon after became current Clerk Colleen Renner’s first deputy. 

When Renner decided to retire after the current term, Odde determined to try for the role. 

He previously told the Tribune he has worked to keep the office modernized and secure, and said he supports Senate File 113, as an example of the kind of reform he supports. The bill gives county clerks the authority to conduct hand count audits after the 2026 primary and general elections.  

Odde also installed new e-poll books to, he has said, ease the voting process and provide more security. Tuesday night he said the process went smoothly. 

Rush lives with his family in Wapiti, where they moved in 2021. He served nearly nine years in the United States Navy as an electronic technician, specializing in radar systems, encrypted communications, navigation equipment, and other critical systems. After his Navy service, Rush worked his way into a career in electronic security in the energy industry, including physical, cyber, information and data security. 

Since moving to Park County, Rush has worked as a delivery driver and leads a local band. 

He previously said a major reason he had for running was after seeing what he said were issues with election security while volunteering in the election two years ago. He said he’s not necessarily anti tabulation machines, but wanted to have a chance to examine them further before feeling confident about their security measures. He is also opposed to mail ballots. 

“Congrats to Hans Odde on the primary win,” he posted in a statement on Facebook Tuesday night. “I want to thank the 31% of voters who did vote for me, your support was awesome and you know I will still be fighting the conservative fight. I want to especially thank my beautiful amazing wife for going through this election season with me and supporting my run.”