As they made their pitch to voters last week, both state Sen. Tim French (R-Powell) and challenger Landon Greer burnished their conservative credentials.

During his eight years on the Cody City Council, Greer said he sought to block new regulations and developed a reputation for being “one of, if not the most, conservative council members.”

He added that, as a father of eight children, he’s “doing everything I can to make sure that they can stay in Wyoming, if that’s what they choose.” Greer said that includes growing the economy to provide opportunities and having affordable housing.

Amid a divided Legislature, “I’m not interested in the [Wyoming] Freedom Caucus. I’m not interested in the Wyoming Caucus. I’m interested in Senate District 18, and the people that live here,” Greer added to the roughly 150 people who attended an Aug. 5 Park County Republican Party debate in Cody. “And my only goal is to serve you and listen to you and vote the way that you would have me vote.”

French, meanwhile, described himself as “the true conservative in the race.”

“I have no doubt he’s [a] conservative individual, no doubt,” he said of Greer, “but I’ve got the proven record.”

The Heart Mountain farmer and former Park County commissioner said he’s excited to be running for a second term in Senate District 18 and for the prospect of heading back to Cheyenne.

“There’s a lot of things that are undone down there,” French said.

He said liberal lawmakers in the Republican Party blocked efforts to deliver real, meaningful property tax relief and he faulted Gov. Mark Gordon for vetoing a bill that would have generally reduced residents’ taxes by 25%. French pledged to make another run at the bill if reelected.

“We’re hoping we get conservatives in the House and Senate to where we can present these bills and get them passed, and if the governor vetoes them, we’ll have time enough to override his vetoes,” French said. He charged that legislative leaders played “horrible games” and ran out the clock on the winter Budget Session.

Running bills

In the opening question of the GOP debate, French was asked about a Cody Enterprise editorial from last year, which criticized the senator for not sponsoring more bills. 

French introduced two pieces of legislation during his first term: a 2021 measure that would have exempted Wyoming residents from paying the state’s lodging tax and a 2024 bill that would have given cities, towns and counties a bigger share of state’s sales tax collections (from 29.5% to 34%). Neither bill made it into law.

French added that he was also the original sponsor of the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, which prohibits transgender girls from competing in girls’ sports. He explained that he handed the legislation off to Sen. Wendy Shuler (R-Evanston) because he felt the female former athlete and coach would “do the best job running with that.” The bill became law last year.

Greer didn’t directly criticize French, but said introducing bills is “something important for legislators to do, especially in Park County, where we’re so far away from Cheyenne, people tend to forget about us.”

Greer said he’d like to bring several pieces of legislation aimed at property tax reform and deregulation.

“As a small business owner, … basically the government’s in my way,” said Greer, who owns an asphalt paving business. “I could be bigger, I could grow faster if government got out of my way and cut the red tape.”

In response, French said he co-sponsors up to 15 pieces of legislation each year, including bills that are pro-life, pro-Second Amendment and related to property tax relief. He has the endorsement of Wyoming Right to Life.

At the debate, Greer said he assumed the endorsement was the result of French being an incumbent, but that was incorrect; the organization later issued a statement clarifying that Greer wasn’t endorsed because of Greer’s responses to a survey.

In a follow-up interview, Greer said he does support abortion ban exceptions in cases involving rape, incest or the health of the mother — if those exceptions are narrowly tailored to avoid abuse. That position conflicts with Wyoming Right to Life, which “does not endorse candidates who support abortion ban exceptions for rape or incest.”

Senate appointments

French was also asked to revisit a 2023 controversy, in which he and Sen. Dan Laursen (R-Powell) opposed the reappointment of Dusty Spomer to the Wyoming Industrial Siting Council. The Senate initially sided with the Powell senators and rejected Spomer’s appointment, but after lobbying from Gov. Mark Gordon, the body later reversed course and put Spomer back on the panel.

According to French, the governor didn’t take it well, “yelling at me” and asking “how dare I do that.”

But, “I’m not his little robot,” French said, arguing that Gordon should have simply picked another candidate after the Senate rejected Spomer.

“What he [Gordon] did was out-of-line, unprofessional and I can go on, but the French in me says, ‘Don’t do it,’” French quipped.

Greer agreed that there should be a separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches, with senators having the right to vote no on any gubernatorial appointment.

“This is not an accusation or anything, [but] you would hope there wasn’t any personal beef behind it,” Greer added of any no votes, saying they should be based on an appointee’s policies or past work.

“Please don’t imply that it could have been personal,” French responded.

When Greer reiterated that he wasn’t making an accusation, French offered that, “then you shouldn’t have said it.”

At the time of the appointment spat, French told the Tribune he wanted someone on the siting council who had a “big time oil background.” He also said he felt Spomer — who’s been openly critical of French’s and Laursen’s politics — had “been in our faces.”

Senate District 18 includes Cody, the North and South forks, Wapiti, Clark, Sunlight/Crandall, Ralston and the Heart Mountain area.

As of this week, French reported raising $10,088 in his reelection bid and spending $7,384.61 as of Monday. Greer reported raising $29,460.60, with $25,295.54 of that spent as of Tuesday.