Wyoming Freedom Caucus members hoped to tip the Legislature’s balance of power in Tuesday’s primary elections. Early results show that balance could shift significantly, but not in the direction they hoped. 

According to The Associated Press and county-level preliminary results, Reps. Steve Johnson, Tony Locke, Ocean Andrew, Ken Pendergraft, Marlene Brady, Jayme Lien, Nina Webber, Paul Hoeft, Gary Brown, Daniel Singh, Ann Lucas, Robert Wharff and Darin McCann and Sen. Bob Ide, all of whom are members of or aligned with the Wyoming Freedom Caucus, lost their seats in the state Legislature on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the caucus failed to pick up new seats in some districts, preliminary results show. 

Republican Brian Costello defeated Freedom Caucus-aligned candidates Ross Schriftman and Donna Rice in House District 37. Incumbent Rep. Elissa Campbell defended her seat against Freedom Caucus candidate Pete Fox in House District 56. Another incumbent, Rep. Julie Jarvis, also kept her seat in House District 57 after facing former representative and Freedom Caucus member Jeanette Ward for a second time. 

Several other key races appear poised to end in losses for Freedom Caucus incumbents. With 65% of votes counted, results from the AP show House Speaker and Freedom Caucus member Chip Neiman losing by almost 10 points in his bid to unseat Senate President Ogden Driskill in Senate District 1.

Some Freedom Caucus incumbents have successfully defended their seats, such as Rep. Tomi Strock, R-Douglas and Rep. Bill Allemand, R-Midwest. 

After most of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus’ top legislative goals failed this year, Rep. Rachel Williams, who heads the hard-line conservative group, told reporters they needed “reinforcements in Cheyenne.” The caucus aimed to win a supermajority in the House, which it won control of in 2024, and a majority in the Senate. (Williams lost her secretary of state bid on Tuesday night to a more moderate candidate.)

To keep a simple majority in the House, the caucus and its allies need to win at least 32 legislative races. They need to win at least 42 races to gain a supermajority.

Seventeen of the Senate’s 31 districts were on the ballot this year. To gain a majority in the upper chamber, the Wyoming Freedom Caucus needed to win at least 14 of those races to bolster the two senators it endorsed in 2024 — Sens. Tim French of Powell and Laura Pearson of Kemmerer. Neither was up for reelection this year.

(WyoFile is an independent nonprofit news organization focused on Wyoming people, places and policy.)