The Republican frontrunners for the governor’s office will square off in Cody on Friday at a debate hosted by the party.

State Sen. Eric Barlow of Gillette, retired Marine Col. Brent Bien of Cody and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder of Cheyenne have all confirmed that they plan to participate in the event, which starts at 4 p.m. at the Cody Holiday Inn.

Members of the Park County Republican Party cheered at a meeting last week when Chairman Vince Vanata announced that “we will have all three gubernatorial candidates here.” There is a fourth Republican in the running, Curt Blake of Centennial, but he hasn’t been as active on the campaign trail and Vanata said last week that he’d been unable to reach the candidate.

Also in the race are Democrat Kenneth Casner of Elk Mountain and Constitution Party member Rebecca Bextel of Jackson. Current Republican Gov. Mark Gordon is leaving the office after two terms. 

Vanata emphasized that Friday’s debate at the Holiday Inn is free and “open to anyone; it’s not just Republicans.” He said there should be space for perhaps 150 seats in the room. The event will also be broadcast live and archived on YouTube and Facebook.

Ahead of the debate, from 2:45-3:45 p.m. Friday, the Park County Republican Party will be hosting a ticketed meet and greet with Degenfelder, Bien and Barlow at the hotel. Tickets are $20 apiece, with the proceeds offsetting the county party’s roughly $1,268 worth of expenses tied to the debate.

The event in Cody is the third and final gubernatorial debate being hosted by the Wyoming Republican Party, following earlier ones in Gillette and Dubois. Vanata said the “results” of the debates will be used by the state party’s candidate vetting committee; the Wyoming GOP plans to make endorsements in the governor’s race and other statewide offices during a special July 11 meeting in Dubois.

Early voting for the primary election begins on July 20, with election day on Aug. 18.