Elections 2026: Sweetwater County sees upsets in state legislature, county races

GREEN RIVER — The votes are in, and Sweetwater County saw a few upsets at the polls.

In three state legislative Republican house district races, the Freedom Caucus incumbents were ousted by the challenger. In House District 60, Tony Niemiec gained 1,032 votes to Marlene Brady’s 538, while Jim Wamsley ousted Darin McCann in House District 48, 812 to 552.

While House District 18 incumbent Scott Heiner led at the polls in Sweetwater County against challenger Kenneth Roberts, after the votes from Lincoln and Uinta counties were tallied, Roberts came away with 1,222 votes to best Heiner’s 995 votes.

Niemiec spoke with the Rocket Miner after the numbers were posted. He said he was feeling good about his odds even early in the race. However, there is still the General Elections in November, and even though there is currently no democrat on the ticket in this race, Niemiec said he has heard rumors about a democratic write-in possibility.

“One step at a time,” he added.

The one upset seen in the county races happened in the contested Republican race for county clerk. In a very close race, Dale Davis gained 3,265 votes to beat incumbent Cindy Lane-Swenson, who had 3,227 votes.

All election results are considered unofficial until they are certified. According to the Sweetwater County Clerk’s website, a total of 8,700 ballots were cast in the county during Tuesday’s Primary Elections.

SWEETWATER COUNTY RACESOther than the upset in the county clerk race, the other county races appeared to not hold any surprises.

In the Sweetwater County Commission race, incumbent Republican Keaton West led with 4,403 votes, followed by Island Richards (4,271), Sherry Bushman (3,345), and Walter Majko (2,290). On the democratic ticket, Wayne Severson gained 925 votes. West, Richards and Bushman will face off against each other and Severson in the General Elections.

Sweetwater County has a new sheriff. Richard Kaumo came away with the most votes at 1,767. Since there is no democrat challenger in this race, Kaumo moves on to the General Elections uncontested. Following Kaumo in the count Tuesday were current sheriff Rich Fischer (1,527), Ozzie Knezovich (1,355), Amanda Bueller (1,053), Matthew Wharton (936), and Randall Tryzbiak (368).

Kaumo told the Rocket Miner that this has been his goal, his dream for 15 years. He called the entire race an “incredible journey” which he could not have gotten through without the support of his family, particularly his wife, Wendy.

“I’m still taking it in,” he said.

Other county races that were uncontested included County Treasurer Mark Cowan, Marianne Stacey for county assessor, Clerk of District Court Amanda Chetterbock, Travis Sanders for county coroner, and County Attorney Dan Erramouspe.

CITY RACES

In the Rock Springs mayoral race, Mayor Max Mickelson topped the count with 2,782 votes. He was followed by Rick Milonas with 959 votes and Kathy Phelps a distant third with 525 votes. Mickelson and Milonas will face off in the General Election.

In Rock Springs City Council races, Ward 1 incumbent Jeannie Demas gained 665 votes over Robert Godfrey’s 308. Both candidates will move on to the General Elections. In Ward II, incumbent David Thompson posted 667 votes to best Tristian Wooden’s 268, and both will also move on to the General Elections. Wards 3 and 4 had uncontested races, and both Daniel Pedri in Ward 3 and Randy Hanson in Ward 4 will move on unchallenged.

With current Green River Mayor Pete Rust choosing not to run for office again, the mayoral seat was up for grabs this year. Coming out on top in the Primary Election was Stan Blake with 893 votes, followed by Phil Stanton (561), Karl Bode (431), Mark Peterson (396), Kayla Kappers (130), and Jason Howard (129). Blake and Stanton will face off in the General Elections.

In Green River City Council races, Ronald Williams topped the Ward 1 count with 479 votes, followed by Tom Murphy (296) and Jason Souza (142). Williams and Murphy move on to the General Elections. The Ward 2 race was very close, with Michale Shutran coming in with 311 votes over Jean Joseph’s 302. Both move on to the generals. In Ward 3, Paul Stevens topped the count at 436, followed by Robert Ross (312) and Clifford Vanderpool (204). Stevens and Ross move forward.

STATE RACES

In the GOP race for Wyoming governor, Eric Barlow wins with 58,820 votes. He was followed by Megan Degenfelder (38,739), Brent Bien (30,843), and Curt Blake (2,161). Barlow will face democrat Kenneth Casner in the General Elections. Casner handily won the democratic race for governor with 10,706 votes.

Robert Short topped the GOP race for Wyoming Secretary of State with 53,314 votes. He was followed by Rachel Williams (38,567), CJ Young (17,846), and Qwenton Eagle Oviatt (7,087). Short and uncontested democrat Bryan McCarty will head to the generals in November.

In the GOP race for superintendent of public instruction, Steve Harshman bested the pool of candidates with 67,784 votes. Following were Tom Kelly (36,624) and Chad Auer (12,636). Winning on the democratic ticket was Ana Cordova with 7,300 votes, followed by Sergio Maldonado Sr. (4,314). Harshman and Cordova will move on to the General Elections.

Curt Meier won the GOP race for state treasurer with 78,702 votes, topping Scott Smith’s 36,613 votes. No democrat ran for this office.

Republican Kristi Racines ran uncontested in the race for state auditor, and came away with 5,633 votes in Sweetwater County and 107,024 statewide.

Uncontested GOP races in Sweetwater County senate districts included Senate District 11’s Bob Davis (428) and Senate District 13’s incumbent Stacy Jones (1,996). Uncontested GOP races in Sweetwater County house districts included House District 15 incumbent Pamela Thayer (33), House District 17 candidate Elizabeth Bingham (697), House District 39 incumbent Cody Wylie (1,240), and House District 47 candidate Eamon O’Toole (371).

Topping the democratic ticket in Senate District 11 was Jim Wilson (57); he will face Davis in the General Elections. On the democratic ticket in the House District 17 race was Rah Reinholz with 167 votes; he will face Bingham in November.

CONGRESSIONAL RACES

Harriet Hageman won the GOP nod for U.S. Senate quite handily, racking up a whopping 83,794 votes statewide. Following in the count were Sam Mead (35,875), Jimmy Skovgard (3,525), Jill Edwards (3,431) and John Holtz (2,539). Hageman will move on to the General Elections to face the winner on the democratic ticket, James Byrd, who gained 9,589 votes, beating Billy Benavides’ 2,497 votes.

In the very crowded race for U.S. House, Chuck Gray came away as the winner on the GOP ticket with 31,222 votes. Following Gray in order of votes were Steve Friess (25,054), Kevin Christensen (21,632), Jillian Balow (12,590), Reid Rasner (10,807), David Girl (10,130), Bo Biteman (6,255), Keith Goodenough (3,341), and Richard Dodson (1,777). Gray will face democrat Lisa Kinney in the General Elections. Kinney gained the democratic nod in the primaries with 9,343 votes, to beat out Elena Deal Real who had 2,657 votes.

The unofficial state and gubernatorial election results can be found on the Wyoming Secretary of State’s 2026 elections results page.