Second mailer referred to Secretary of State

Via Wyoming News Exchange

BUFFALO — A second political mailer, this one claiming to be a "Campaign Donor Update," has been forwarded to Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray after it arrived in House District 40 mailboxes last week.

The mailer, which was sent using Every Door Direct Mail via the U.S. Postal Service to House District 40 mailboxes in Sheridan and Johnson counties, purports to be from the same anonymous person or group of people who sent a mailer in September. The mailer is critical of House District 40 Rep. Barry Crago and makes a number of claims about Crago's voting record and the sources of his campaign contributions.

Like the first mailer, the most recent mailer was forwarded to Gray, Johnson County and Prosecuting Attorney Tucker Ruby said.

"I had a conversation with the attorney general about it," Ruby said. "But because the secretary of state is the chief election officer for the state of Wyoming, we figured he should weigh in on it. He's the chief election officer, so as far as any enforcement of election rules, that will go through him."

Ruby said he has also repeated his request to Secretary of State Gray to offer an opinion on the first mailer.

"We need to know whether the secretary of state believes this to be illegal," Ruby said. Crago said it is unclear if the campaign is a local effort. The same week that the second mailer attacking Crago arrived in mailboxes, a nearly identical mailer arrived in the mailboxes of House District 37 (Natrona County) residents attacking Rep. Steve Harshman (R, Natrona County).

“It literally could be the far right or the far left. And it could be somebody from Johnson County or it could be somebody from Washington D.C. or out of state,” Crago said.

The mailer is wide ranging in its attacks and purports to represent Crago's "real constituents.”

Crago was elected to the House of Representatives in 2020 after a double digit victory in the Republican primary over incumbent Rep. Richard Tass. Crago received 1,677 votes or 58% of the votes; Tass received 1,154 votes or 41% of the votes.

In 2022, Crago easily beat Tass in a rematch, this time collecting an even larger share of the electorate. Crago collected 61% of the vote in the Republican primary in House District 40; Tass received 39.5%.

Crago said that anonymous attacks like the mailers will eventually have the effect of pushing people away from every level of public office.

"Whoever's behind all this is really just trying to keep good folks from run- ning for public office," Crago said. "That's what they're doing. We're changing how Wyoming has always functioned. We're taking the civility and good-natured people out of politics. All we're going to do is make it so that no one wants to engage in any type of public service, because who wants to put up with these kinds of attacks.”

Ruby said he understands that voters are frustrated by the anonymous mailer.

"It's not something that we're taking lightly or overlooking," he said. "It's a matter of calling on the chief election officer to make a ruling on whether it is legal or not. It's within his purview and his duties. If it is deemed illegal, it would go to an investigation to figure out who did it.”

This story was published on November 16, 2023.

557 words