State Senate candidates R. J. Kost and Paul Hoeft got only about 10 minutes at a recent forum, but it was enough time for the two Powell Republicans to highlight some of their differences.

One question posed at the Park County Republican Women’s event covered the state’s role in economic development, and Hoeft and Kost diverged in their answer.

Kost, who represented Senate District 19 from 2019-2022, said the state and the Wyoming Business Council should help attract companies to help sustain the state.

“If we’re not willing to try to create incentives for people to come to our state, we’re not going to get them,” Kost said at the June 17 event, adding, “We’ve got to make sure that we’re helping business come to our state and meet the incentives that will keep them here for our people.”

As for Rep. Hoeft, who currently represents House District 25, he described himself as “very pro-economic growth.”

However, “I’m very resistant on taxpayer dollars being used to invite people in, to encourage that growth,” he said.

Hoeft argued that the Wyoming Business Council’s track record is “terrible,” with very little results despite “millions and millions of dollars” being put into its programs.

He expressed support for providing career and technical education (CTE) training within Wyoming’s education system so that the state’s youth are ready for the bulk of the available jobs and develop even more businesses on their own.

“I’m a private sector guy,” Hoeft said. “We want to make sure we get the education, the tools in their hands.”

As for Kost, he said the state’s CTE programs are the strongest they’ve been in a long time. He said that over 50% of the students who graduated from CTE programs at Wyoming’s community colleges in 2024 wound up staying in the state, with the exception of a business degree.

The longtime educator and administrator at the Powell school district also voiced concerns with the recent recalibration process approved by the Wyoming Legislature, which put tighter restrictions on how state funds can be used.

“Every school district is different, and the culture and the climate of that school district requires different uses of the funds,” Kost said. “When we take … control with the state, we’re not locally controlled anymore, we're now controlled by the state.”

He described himself as an advocate for local control limited government.

As for Hoeft, he defended the recalibration process, saying lawmakers set up the so-called funding “silos” after districts didn’t pass along an 8.5% pay increase for teachers in 2025.

“We want to retain good teachers,” he said, and they may go elsewhere if they don’t get their raises.

He added that lawmakers also included raises for other school staff and personnel.

Hoeft described himself as “a Wyoming Republican Party platform person” and encouraged voters to check out his voting record.

Kost encouraged voters to visit his campaign site, rjkost.com, or to personally reach out with questions.

The two men will face off in the Aug. 18 Republican primary. Senate District 19 covers the Powell area plus Greybull, Lovell, Cowley, Deaver, Byron, Frannie and Shell in Big Horn County.