Candidates finalized for Aug. election

Residents will have a lot to think about while marking their ballots in the upcoming primary election.

Both Republicans and Democrats will have to decide which two commissioner candidates from their respective parties will move on to the November election, cutting a group of eight total candidates in half.

Green River residents in Ward I will face a similar decision, deciding which two out of the three candidates for City Council will move on to the primary.

In Green River, the race for the Ward I Council seat is between Richard Baxter, Tom Murphy and Kenny Ball. Mark Peterson, whose Council seat is up for election this year, is not running for re-election, choosing to focus on a campaign for one of two seats for the Sweetwater County Board of County Commissioners.

In Ward II, Lisa Maes seeks another term with the Council and is unopposed for her seat at the Council. In Ward III, Brett Stokes also seeks another term on the Council, but faces opposition from Robert Berg.

For Granger Town Council, Kimberly Nygaard and George Andrews have filed to seek election to the three Council seats available for election.

Of the eight candidates vying to be a county commissioner, three are Republicans and five are Democrats. The Republican candidates are incumbents Wally Johnson and Don Van Matre, as well as Raymond Avery of Rock Springs.

The Democrats seeking election to the board of county commissioners include Peterson, Green River Councilman Ted Barney, former Rock Springs Daily Rocket-Miner publisher Holly Dabb, former county commissioner Gary Bailiff and Bodan Janota. Of those Democrats, only Dabb lives in Rock Springs.

In local races for state offices, voters in House District 60 may get a sense of déjà vu as a rematch for the house seat will take place between incumbent Democrat John Freeman and Republican Bill Hooley. Hooley unsuccessfully campaigned against Freeman two years ago for the Wyoming House of Representatives seat, losing by 289 votes.

In House District 39, Democrat Stan Blake remains unopposed, but that doesn’t ring true for House District 48’s Mark Baker.

The Republican faces a challenge from former Western Wyoming Community College vice president Jackie Freeze. Freeze filed for election as a Democrat.

For the U.S. House of Representatives seat, nine Republicans, two Democrats, a Libertarian and a Constitution Party representative seek election. The Republicans are Darin Smith, Heath Beaudry, Jason Adam Senteney, Leland Christensen, Liz Cheney, Make Konsmo, Paul Paad, Rex Rammell and Tim Stubson. Democrats running for the seat are Ryan Greene and Charlie Hardy while the sole Libertarian is Lawrence Gerard Struempf and the Constitutionalist is Daniel Clyde Cummings.