Republicans visit Platte County

Candidate meet and greet draws 6 of 7 governor hopefuls

Laura London
Posted 5/16/18

WHEATLAND — Republicans campaigned in Wheatland last Thursday, including six of the seven Republican candidates for governor, at the candidate forum hosted by the Platte County Republican Party.

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Republicans visit Platte County

Candidate meet and greet draws 6 of 7 governor hopefuls

Posted

WHEATLAND — Republicans campaigned in Wheatland last Thursday, including six of the seven Republican candidates for governor, at the candidate forum hosted by the Platte County Republican Party.
Blinky Byers emceed the event, which packed the 4-H building at the fairgrounds with audience members to hear the candidates.
Republicans speaking at the event, in order of their presentations, were Bill Dahlin, Foster Friess, Harriet Hageman, Mark Gordon, Taylor Haynes and Sam Galeotos. Rex Rammel, the seventh GOP gubernatorial candidate, was not at the event.
Dahlin said the state’s number one focus must be the economy, in good times and bad. He said the economy touches everybody. He advocates diversifying Wyoming’s economy and presented some ideas on how.
Friess, the only billionaire in the field, said the skill sets he acquired while building a $15 billion business make him a good candidate. He said as governor, he would focus on stabilizing the state budget and diversifying the economy. He said he doesn’t want the government to create jobs, but to foster an environment for private business to thrive and create jobs.
Friess said because of his success, he can afford to work for his constituents for free. He said he would donate his salary, which he estimated at about half million dollars over four years, to small towns across Wyoming and the charities that serve them.
“I think that has a very important impact for you,” Friess said. “I can’t be bought.”

Friess said he wants to serve individual citizens, not special interest groups.
“The wonderful thing about Wyoming is we have an aura about us of kindness,” Friess said. “And this is something we can share with the whole rest of the United States.”
Friess shared his campaign slogan: “Freedom, prosperity, kindness.” He said he doesn’t hear anybody running for public office talk about kindness. He advocated spreading Wyoming’s kindness across the country.
“We can set an example and get rid of the nastiness that comes out of D.C. and spews out on us,” Friess said.
Hageman, a water and natural resource attorney who grew up near Fort Laramie, said she has fought legal battles for farmers, ranchers, small businessmen and more.
“I’m the only candidate who has fought the federal government, and I won,” Hageman said.
Dahlin and Hageman visited with the Record-Times before the event. Those candidates will each be featured in more detail in next week’s edition due to deadline time constraints.
Mark Gordon said his accomplishments while serving as state treasurer make him a good choice for governor. He said he modernized and revitalized the treasurer’s office.
Taylor Haynes, who interviewed previously with the Record-Times, chose to use his five-minute speech time allotment to take questions. One person asked if federal gun laws can be ignored.
“The only federal gun law we need to follow is the Second Amendment,” Haynes said.
Haynes complained that several people at a Wyoming GOP convention, including him, were cited for open carry of their firearms.
Galeotos said Wyoming needs economic growth; other states’ economies are improving while Wyoming’s remains stagnant or gets worse. He said if the state doesn’t raise its capital base, anyone could come in and buy up its land and businesses.