Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder announced Monday she will run for Wyoming governor in 2026. Her announcement follows a Friday afternoon endorsement from President Donald Trump. 

“I am humbled and inspired to have the support and encouragement of President Trump,” Degenfelder said in a press release. “Coastal elites and liberal activists are coming for our oil, gas and coal jobs. Radical extremists seek to redefine genders, threatening our young women. And the political establishment cares more about undermining President Trump than serving the people who elected them. Not in Wyoming. Not when I’m Governor.”

Trump, in a Friday post on Truth Social, said Degenfelder would champion Wyoming values.

“Many of my strongest supporters and friends in Wyoming have been calling me and telling me how great ‘MAGA’ Megan Degenfelder is,” Trump wrote.

Trump remains popular in Wyoming, having won the state by the largest margin in the nation in 2024.

Degenfelder is not the first to announce a run for governor. Former Speaker of the House, Republican State Sen. Eric Barlow, announced his own bid in August. Brent Bien, former gubernatorial candidate, and political newcomer Joseph Kibler also made previous announcements. 

Degenfelder is the latest in a string of Wyoming politicians seeking higher office. Last month, Rep. Harriet Hageman announced she would run for the Senate seat being vacated by Cynthia Lummis. Then, Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray announced he would run for the congressional seat opening up due to Hageman’s departure.

Born and raised in Casper, Degenfelder attended the University of Wyoming, where she earned bachelor’s degrees in economics and political science. She then earned a master’s degree in economics from the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing.

She and her husband, Bryan Dugas, live in Laramie. 

Before voters elected her as superintendent in 2022, Degenfelder spent about a decade working in the coal, oil and gas industries. She also previously worked for U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis when she was in the House and served under former Superintendent Jillian Balow as chief policy officer. 

When Balow resigned in January 2022 to take a job out of state, Degenfelder threw her name in the hat of nominees to fill the post. However, the Wyoming Republican Party picked three other nominees instead, including Brian Schroeder, who Degenfelder challenged in 2022. While Trump endorsed Schroeder, Degenfelder was ultimately victorious in the Republican primary.

As superintendent, Degenfelder promptly gathered stakeholders of differing political views and geographical locations to help craft a document to guide districts in shaping policies for providing or restricting books. More recently, she announced a new statewide language and literacy initiative. 

Degenfelder supported legislation to authorize charter schools and a voucher program to make public funds available for private tuition. She also spoke in favor of a pair of bills aimed at limiting transgender students’ participation in school sports and bathroom accessibility. In 2024, she partnered with Gov. Mark Gordon and Attorney General Bridget Hill to challenge the Biden administration’s Title IX rules that prohibited blanket bans on transgender athletes.   

“I continue to oppose these new rules because they endanger female students, decrease the due process rights of teachers and students, infringe upon the religious liberty of teachers and students, and create unnecessary and overly burdensome requirements on school districts,” she said in a June 2024 press release. 

Degenfelder also supported legislation to authorize charter schools and a voucher program to make public funds available for private tuition. 

She’s made efforts to align with the Trump administration, including her support for the dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education and opposition to the Biden administration’s summer school lunch program.