Buckling up for election season

A year ago, Campbell County held its primary election. With a small slate of candidates, it ended up being an underwhelming experience, in my opinion. It was still exhausting, and I’m glad that I haven’t had to deal with that this year.

I love covering local politics, but I don’t like covering the nastiness that comes with it.

The 2026 primary election is one year away, but 2025 has not been quiet. The waters have been bubbling, and it won’t be long before chaos comes to the surface, which is par for the course in the election cycle.

There are so many seats up for election in 2026. We’ll get a new governor. We’ll pick a few county commissioners and seven other county elected officials and several legislative seats. I hope that there will be a wide group of candidates for each seat, that makes for a healthier election and a healthier community.

Potential candidates have to be proactive and get ahead of the misinformation. And there will be a lot of it.

There’s confusion and straight up lies that will be spread. Some people will likely try to make non-partisan issues into a left vs. right concern. Candidates will be labeled as “not conservative enough,” or “too far to the right,” or “Republican In Name Only.”

The Optional 1% Sales Tax will be up for renewal. There are a lot of new people in town who may not be aware of that tax, its history and its impact. And they will be lied to. They will be told that it’s a new tax, and if they don’t do their research, they’ll believe it.

There will be mud-slinging and name-calling. There will be lies spread by those who claim to live their lives according to a book that specifically says lying is wrong — and last I checked, that book doesn’t make exceptions for political campaigns. Republicans will go against Republicans, neighbor against neighbor.

There will be people from outside Wyoming who think they can influence what’s going on here, either with their dollars, their huge online presence or both. National talking points will divide this little community.

I look forward to filling out my pen and paper ballot, dropping it into a machine and trusting that the Campbell County Clerk’s Office will make sure that it’s counted accurately.

But that’s not for another year.

So hold on tight. It’s only going to get more turbulent from here.