Sam Mead is, in large part, running for his children and others of the younger generations as he campaigns across Wyoming for a seat in the United States Senate. 

The 36-year-old father of two young children, nephew of former Gov. Matt Mead, said Friday at a campaign stop at Cafe 3Zero7 in Powell that he doesn’t begrudge young people from leaving the state, but he wants them to be able to come back if they want to. 

“I'm someone that's about solving problems, not creating new ones, and you know, I'll work with anyone to make sure that this state and this country become better places for ourselves and our future for our children,” he told the Tribune. “I have kids that are 7 and 8, and I want them to be able to grow up in the Wyoming I grew up in, and I didn't see a future for that if someone didn't step up … The state has given me a lot, and being able to give back and be that voice; I was compelled to do that.”

And, Mead wants his children, the sixth generation of his family to grow up in the state, to have the same access to the same public lands as he has enjoyed all his life. 

“I'm running to protect our public lands,” he said. “I think we all kind of felt a sense of helplessness when [Utah Sen.] Mike Lee's amendment came up, and you know, not being able to do anything about that, and feeling like our representatives weren't hearing us when there was a lot of opposition to that.”

Mead grew up on the family ranch in Jackson and has had a varied career, working on the ranch, at Blue Origin helping to build rockets, as a blender at Wyoming Whiskey in Kirby, and as the mayor of that tiny town near Thermopolis. 

“I think I bring that Wyoming voice, you know,” he said. “I've run small businesses in Wyoming. I was a software engineer for five years, so I know technology, I know manufacturing, I know ag,” he said, noting he’s been ranching on some capacity on the family’s 100-year-old ranch his whole life. “And then I was mayor of Kirby, too, so I know accountability, and you know, having to answer to people … small government can make a pretty big positive change in people's lives, and I want to bring that to Washington.”

He’s one of five Republicans including U.S. Rep. Harriett Hageman, as well as two Democrats, running for the seat Sen. Cynthia Lummis is vacating after a term in the Senate. 

Mead said he filed soon after Hageman, and has positioned himself in opposition to Hageman on the issue of public lands, as she supported Lee’s amendment to allow for the sale of certain parcels of federal lands, such as Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Reclamation lands, to be used for housing. Critics, however, have shared maps indicating potential lands that could be sold include parcels popular with various recreation groups. 

“Our public lands, I think, are part of what makes Wyoming Wyoming,” Mead said. “When you bring someone from out east or overseas here, you know, they're stunned at the amount of access we have to public lands, from recreation to hunting. That is something that I think is pretty unique to Wyoming and worth protecting.”

Beyond public lands, he also said he’d like to find ways to improve the high cost of living in many parts of the state. He is frustrated with “the excursion in the Middle East,” as he said it has not been helpful for people in the state due to high fertilizer and fuel prices. He said he would like to help solve the issue of expensive and, in places, sparse health care in Wyoming.

“I think nine of 23 counties here in Wyoming don’t have labor and delivery wards, and I think there's a growing sense in Wyoming and acknowledgement that it's expensive to raise a family here, and that a lot of our young people leave the state,” he said. “I'm fine with people leaving the state, but I'd like them to want to come back at some point, and I don't think we can do that unless we take a hard look at how our health care system is run. We have some of the most expensive premiums in the country. There's an uncompetitive insurance environment here, and ultimately that's not a place that says this is a place where you want to raise a young family.”

In all, he’s hoping people want to see a change in Wyoming, and that people want to see someone from a younger generation take a leadership role. He hopes his run inspires other millennials to do the same. 

“I hope I can inspire people my age to step up and run for public office, because democracy is a participation sport.  I'd really like to see more people from our generation run and be the voice of the future, and you know we're not going to get different results in Washington for this state if we send the same people back there time and again.”