Cooper wins tight Senate race

With Big Horn County results rolling in at 10:25 p.m., the preliminary results for the Senate District 20 could be tallied. Incumbent Senator Ed Cooper (R-Ten Sleep) won Republican primary election by a margin of 222 votes, pushed by a 686 vote-victory in his home of Washakie County.

Cooper had 2,650 votes, winning in Washakie and Fremont counties, and his opponent Tom Olmstead of Basin had 2,428 votes, winning in Park, Hot Springs and Big Horn counties. Cooper will go on to appear in the General Election on Nov. 5. There is no Democratic candidate at this time.

On his victory, Cooper said, "It was a very hard-fought race, but I appreciate that there's this many voters who still think highly of me. My opponent worked very hard, and I congratulate him on the votes that he got. I think that having deep Wyoming roots, integrity and values are what carried me through this election. Thank you to all the voters in District 20 for staying with me and coming out to vote."

In House District 27, incumbent Representative Martha Lawley (R-Worland) defeated her opponent Tami Young, also of Worland, by a margin of 620 votes. Lawley won Washakie County with 1,341 votes to Young's 715, but Young won in Big Horn County with 170 to Lawley's 164. Lawley will go on to appear in the General Election. No Democrat has filed.

She provided the following written statement, "I am humbled by and truly thankful for the trust the voters of HD 27 have placed in me. It has been an honor to be their representative the past two years. I want to thank the voters for their overwhelming support.  I look forward to continuing to work on their behalf. I also want to thank my family and friends for their unwavering support and patience during this campaign.

"I am hopeful that our communities will unite together as we move forward. Here in the Big Horn Basin 'we are friends and neighbors first' and we are always better together!"

House District 28 was won by incumbent Representative John Winter (R-Thermopolis) by a margin of 727 votes. Winter got 1,707 votes, winning in all four counties in District 28 - Big Horn, Hot Springs, Park and Fremont. His opponent, Kevin Skates, also of Thermopolis, received 980 votes. Winter will proceed to the General Election in November.

Winters said, "I want to thank all the voters that did vote for me. I try to do what I can for them; by making this state as conservative as we can.

"We need to make Wyoming what we claim that we are, and it looks like we might get it done this go-around."