Governor: Poll shows 80 percent support among GOP voters  

CODY — Gov. Matt Mead said he needs to find some time for campaigning, but he’s not making it a priority.

Mead, who is being challenged by two fellow Republicans in the Aug. 19 primary, is seeking his second four-year term. He said while he will campaign, he thinks the best way to earn support is by serving the state and its people as well as he can.

“Job One is to do the job you have,” Mead said in Cody Monday after speaking at the dedication of a new World War I memorial.

He said he tells his staff that as long as he performs his duties, he thinks voters will appreciate that and respond. But Mead, 52, said he is sorting out his schedule and plans to do some campaigning.

In addition, he said he will participate in at least one debate with Superintendent of Public Instruction Cindy Hill and Dr. Taylor Haynes, his two GOP opponents.

Hill and her supporters have assailed Mead for his role in an effort to strip her of most of her powers during the 2013 legislative session. In January, the state Supreme Court overturned the law passed in that session, and signed by Mead, that did that.

That controversial process has fueled Hill’s campaign and ignited support for her amongst Tea Party members and other conservatives.

Haynes, who sought the governor’s office in 2010 as an independent write-in candidate, also has taken aim at Mead from the right.

The governor didn’t sound too concerned, saying he also looked forward to debating the Democratic candidate in the fall. Pete Gosar, the former Democratic Party chairman, stepped down from that job two weeks ago and is the sole announced gubernatorial candidate from his party.

Mead said his campaign is raising a lot of money and he has numerous volunteers supporting him. During his 2010 race, he provided $1.22 million to his campaign, the lion’s share of the $1.8 million he collected for the campaign.

Mead’s campaign manager, Gale Geringer, said because he has been “an excellent governor and had great successes,” he is receiving a lot of backing.

“So there are a lot of people who want to support him,” Geringer said. “And they want to support him with both volunteer time and donations.”

She said she doubted Mead would contribute as much to his campaign as he did four years ago.

Mead dismissed a Big Horn Basin TEA Party online poll that, as of Tuesday, showed Haynes with 74 percent support, Hill with 15 and himself with 10.

“I don’t put much stock into that,” Mead said.

He said his campaign has not done any polling, but he has seen a survey that shows him with 80 percent of the state’s Republicans supporting him.

“I tell my staff, ‘Do the job we have and do it well,’” he said. “‘Don’t worry about the next job. Do the job you have now.’”