Struggling Cheyenne Republican cousins ​​meet in runoff for Wyoming House seat

One of Wyoming’s most intriguing legislative races this year is taking place in Cheyenne’s House District 44, where two cousins ​​who faced off in 2022 are facing off again.

Alongside the incumbent and her Republican cousin, a third candidate and former state lawmaker is challenging both in the Aug. 20 GOP primary.

This race pits state Rep. Tamara Trujillo, R-Cheyenne, against former state legislators John Romero-Martinez (Trujillo’s cousin) and Lee Filer.

Trujillo defeated Romero-Martinez, who held the District 44 seat before her, in her bid for re-election in the 2022 Republican primary by about 110 votes.

Romero-Martinez served from 2021 to 2023 while Filer represented District 12 as a Democrat from 2013 to 2015. After redistricting in 2022, he moved to HD 44. He has also since changed parties.

The biggest fireworks of the next race will likely be between Trujillo and Romero-Martinez, who I have never been shy about criticizing yourself publicly.

Trujillo said voters’ choice in the upcoming election is simple.

“I ask people to care about everyone they vote for,” she said. “Not just me or the ‘homeless guy,’ but also the Democrat running as a Republican.”

Who is Trujillo?

Trujillo is running for reelection to a second term. During her two years in the Legislature, she expressed fairly conservative views, aligning herself with the more right-wing Wyoming Freedom Caucus for most, but not all, votes. This is a departure from the historical representation of HD 44, which has long been a Democratic stronghold.

Trujillo said some of his proudest accomplishments over the past two years came from the successful passage of bills increasing parental rights in Wyoming. She also helped pass legislation banning minors from receiving transgender care.

If re-elected, Trujillo wants to continue studying the state budget, an effort for which she said she received mentoring from fiscal Rep. Lloyd Larsen, R-Lander.

She also works with local nonprofits to help low-income families in her district.

On property taxes, Trujillo said she wants more relief for homeowners. Many have expressed concern that cutting property taxes would reduce the amount of money the state puts into savings each year, an account that could be tapped in the near future as mining revenues continue to decline.

Trujillo disagrees and doesn’t think it’s an appropriate use of this public money. She finds it hypocritical to consider that people working in the oil fields are generally Wyoming residents, but do not have access to their own taxes.

“They put the money in big savings accounts instead of giving it to people,” she said.

She believes Wyoming should explore all energy options for the future, continuing to support traditional industries like coal, while exploring new energy like wind and solar. She worries that Wyoming’s younger generation of residents will leave the state if there isn’t an expansion of job opportunities in the energy sector. It’s a similar position shared by Romero-Martinez and Filer.

“I think we need to look at all aspects of energy and how it benefits the lives of Wyomingites,” she said. “There is nothing wrong with developing our energy and improving it.”

As for the Freedom Caucus, Trujillo does not consider himself a member of the group, but considers the group his “friends” in the Legislature.

Who is Romero-Martinez?

Romero-Martinez is basing her campaign on opposition to the Freedom Caucus.

“This is a hijack group that is ideologically consumed by an inauthentic ideology,” he said, adding that his cousin and opponent “is 100 percent friends of the Freedom Caucus.”

He also had unkind words for Filer, whom he described as an “opportunist.”

“He’s a recent convert, a factory Democrat,” Romero-Martinez said.

Although Romero-Martinez was firmly pro-life on abortion during his two years in the Legislature, he expressed more centrist, even Democratic, views on many other issues. He sees his representation as based on “servant leadership” to his constituents, rather than competing for catchy headlines or photo opportunities.

“The average person wants to see legislation that actually helps people,” he said. “They want to see fewer podiums.”

If elected, he wants to resurrect and pass the Medical Treatment Opportunities Act of 2022. legislation it would expand Medicaid in Wyoming.

Romero-Martinez said he is not currently homeless as Trujillo claims, but is living in a halfway house for veterans.

“I’m a disadvantaged veteran coming out of homelessness,” he said.

From 2022 to 2023, the number of homeless veterans increased 7.4% nationally, according to the Veterans Administration. Romero-Martinez wants to pass legislation guaranteeing more health benefits for veterans like him.

He also wants to bring back his Religious Freedom Restoration Act and pass a law banning physician-assisted suicide in Wyoming.

When it comes to property taxes, he wants relief to be granted to all income classes. He opposed Gov. Mark Gordon’s veto this spring of a bill that would have provided a 25 percent tax break on all real estate values ​​worth up to $2 million in Wyoming.

“I understand the governor’s rebuttal,” Romero-Martinez said. “He was attacking a problematic segment of the party. »

Romero-Martinez was also a strong advocate for Native American tribes during his time in the Legislature and said all historic treaties between tribes and the United States government should be honored to the fullest extent of the law.

Who is Filer?

Filer runs a small company that builds data centers and is a veteran of the Wyoming Air National Guard.

He also served on numerous boards and commissions, which has kept him engaged in state politics since leaving the Legislature. One of the main reasons he’s running is his concern about the dysfunction that has gripped the Legislature, a development that has often been blamed on the Freedom Caucus.

He was particularly disappointed with the course of the last budget session, which was marked by infighting and budget wrangling that continued until the last day of the session. Filer doesn’t think it’s emblematic of the spirit of Wyoming.

“When I was back in the Legislature… no matter how conservative you were, no matter how liberal you were, we all worked together on a lot of different things and we got some good things passed,” he said. he declared. “It wasn’t always a big fight.”

Filer served one term in the Legislature before losing his re-election bid. He ran for Congress again as a Democrat in HD 12 in 2020, where he lost to Rep. Clarence Styvar, R-Cheyenne, by about 23 percentage points.

Filer said he joined the Republican Party because of the Democratic Party’s drift to the left. He also believes that party affiliation is not as important at the state level as it is in national politics.

“I think it’s more of my Wyoming born and raised culture that I have in my morals that makes me a little more aligned with the middle right than the middle left,” he said.

When it comes to Trujillo and Romero-Martinez, Filer didn’t mince his words. Filer said he was entering the race to give voters another choice.

“I’m not one to tackle a single issue, I know one of my opponents probably is,” referring to Romero-Martinez’s actions on abortion. “As for the outgoing president, yes, I was a Democrat, just like her in New Mexico.”

In January, Romero-Martinez filed an ethics complaint against Trujillo for voting in New Mexico elections while he held a job in Wyoming. During this 2009-2019 period, Trujillo was registered as a Democrat in New Mexico.

He believes the biggest challenge facing voters in his constituency are economic obstacles. Filer wants to reduce government regulation that he says currently prevents people from starting their own businesses and create a fast track that makes it easier for people to enter the market and creates a more diverse economy for the state.

“I think it would really help the people of (HD) 44 and the state.” I think it works everywhere,” he said. “I think these issues concern all of Wyoming, not just this district.”

When it comes to property tax relief, Filer believes legitimate progress has been made, but he wants local governments to avoid raising property taxes if they are operating with a surplus.

On abortion, his views are more complicated. Although he considers himself pro-life because he has had six children, Filer said people should understand that abortion is a very nuanced issue. But he also said there should be limits on the access granted to this service.

“I just think we need to be a little more sympathetic and open to the mother and the circumstances,” he said. “But if you’re playing at home, you have to understand what actions will have to happen next because I’m a pro-family guy.”

As for the Freedom Caucus and the Wyoming Caucus, Filer said he won’t seek an endorsement from either side and believes those caucuses are at the root of the divisions plaguing the Legislature.

The neighborhood

HD 44 makes up most of southern Cheyenne, one of the lowest income areas in the state. A significant number of voters are Hispanic and in blue-collar jobs.

Voters in HD 44 have shown a propensity to be very unpredictable and nonpartisan with their election results, voting for a Democrat, a moderate Republican, and a far-right Republican in the last three elections. It also had the worst voter turnout of any Republican primary in the state in 2022, which also makes it difficult to predict what will happen in the next election.

Leo Wolfson can be reached at [email protected].