Jeff Victor, Laramie Reporter

Democrat Karlee Provenza won both a hotly contested primary and a hotly contested general to take Wyoming’s 45th House District. She will inherit the seat from its current holder, Rep. Charles Pelkey, who declined to run this cycle, instead endorsing Provenza. Provenza’s opponent in the general election was Republican Roxie Hensley, the owner of Roxie’s on Grand in Downtown Laramie. The two candidates could scarcely be more different. Hensley is vocally right-wing and co-sponsored a militia-recruiting event in Albany County earlier this year . By contrast, Provenza entered the public eye as leader in the local fight for police accountability and reform. In the wake of the police killing of Robbie Ramirez in 2018, Provenza and others formed Albany County for Proper Policing . ACoPP fought for the removal of Derek Colling, the sheriff’s deputy who shot Ramirez following a traffic stop as the victim fled for the safety of his home. ACoPP was unsuccessful in removing Colling, who is still

Republican Ocean Andrew handily defeated Democrat Tim Chesnut in the contest for Wyoming’s 46th House District — with nearly a 60/40 vote split (Andrew’s 57.3% to Chesnut’s 39.1%). The seat was open this election cycle because current Rep. Bill Haley (R) did not file to run for a third term. While Chesnut is a former Albany County Commissioner, Andrew was most recently a University of Wyoming student. Andrew, 26, launched and led UW’s Young Americans for Liberty chapter. Young Americans for Liberty — a group that keeps finding itself in bed with white nationalists — endorsed three successful Wyoming candidates during the 2020 election, including Marshall Burt , a man with a Three-Percenters tattoo. Andrew has not voiced any allegiance to such groups, but did speak during a militia-recruiting event before the election. At that event — which was hosted by HD-45 candidate Roxie Hensley and featured County Commission Chair Terri Jones — other speakers downplayed the pandemic and shared

After narrowly beating out a crowded primary, Republican Matthew Burkhart lost to Democrat Trey Sherwood in the contest for Wyoming’s 14th House District. It was a somewhat close race; Sherwood won by less than 100 votes. Sherwood will succeed current Rep. Dan Furphy, who left the seat open to pursue another open seat in the Wyoming Senate (a contest Furphy won) . Drawing on data from the Wyoming Secretary of State’s office, the following is a breakdown of both campaigns’ contributions during the 2020 race for House District 14. Trey Sherwood raised a total of $17,227 with an average donation of $124.83. Sherwood spent $500 of her own money in her successful house bid. Her top donors include individual Laramie residents, as well as labor, education, lawyer and public servant PACs. Matthew Burkhart raised a total of $16,231.79, with an average donation of $601.18. Burkhart spent $2856.79 of his own money on his unsuccessful bid for the seat. His top donor was Wyoming Hope, a new PAC tha

Rep. Cathy Connolly ran unopposed in the general election and will keep her seat as representative for Wyoming’s House District 13. The Democrat and University of Wyoming professor has held that seat since first winning it in 2008. Connolly entered the race with nearly $5,700 leftover from previous years. Regardless, she raised another $14,971.18, with an average donation of $272.20. Connolly’s top donor was ActBlue Wyoming, the state branch of the Democratic Party’s Super PAC, which was responsible for nearly one-fourth of all money raised by the candidate throughout the primary and general. Other donors include political action committees representing labor interests, public employees and firefighters. The following is a breakdown of the candidate's contributions during the 2020 primary and general elections, based on data reported to the Wyoming Secretary of State. Rep. Cathy Connolly (Democrat) Raised: $14,971.18 Spent: $12,099.43 Average Donation: $272.20 Own Money: $0 Contrib