Biggest campaign spenders see mixed success

Posted 9/16/14

Perhaps the most striking example was the two-man race to represent the Powell area in the Wyoming House of Representatives.

Dave Blevins, the incumbent representative in House District 25, lost the Republican primary despite outspending his …

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Biggest campaign spenders see mixed success

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Primary candidates spent more than $110,000 during races  

If money were all it took to win an election, Park County would have a couple different lawmakers, a new commissioner and another clerk.

But campaign finance reports filed after last month’s primary election show that spending the most money was no guarantee of success: the biggest spenders prevailed in only four of the eight races that were contested locally.

Perhaps the most striking example was the two-man race to represent the Powell area in the Wyoming House of Representatives.

Dave Blevins, the incumbent representative in House District 25, lost the Republican primary despite outspending his challenger Dan Laursen by nearly 12-1. Laursen spent the least money out of anyone running for a contested local office but picked up 54.5 percent of the vote.

Similarly, Park County Clerk Jerri Torczon spent more than $8,100 — and challenger Tod Larson spent nearly $9,200 — but it was challenger Colleen Renner who won the three-way race after spending just $3,350.

Challenger Charles Cloud of Cody also outspent incumbent Rep. David Northrup, R-Powell, by more than $1,700 but came up a couple hundred votes and more than 20 percent short of unseating him in House District 50. The district represents eastern Cody, Heart Mountain and Ralston, Clark, Crandall/Sunlight and the Willwood south of Powell.

Former Park County Commissioner Dave Burke was the third-highest spender in the eight-person race for three seats on the County Commission, but he landed in fourth. The top two spenders in the race — Commissioners Loren Grosskopf and Joe Tilden — finished first and second, respectively, while Commissioner Tim French took the third seat in spite of being fifth in spending.

In the other races where there was a correlation between dollars and votes, incumbent House District 24 Rep. Sam Krone, R-Cody, spent more money than opponent Bob Berry and won handily, while Park County Sheriff Scott Steward similarly outspent and outpolled his two opponents.

Steward proved the top fundraiser, with donors providing $15,778 to his re-election campaign. Krone — whose district represents most of Cody, the northern half of Yellowstone and the North and South Forks — was the second highest draw for campaign dollars, collecting $14,705.

Neither Steward nor Krone spent all that they raised, with the sheriff having $5,900 and Krone $8,124 left over for any future campaigning.

The finance reports show the 22 local candidates who ran in contested races spent a combined total of $111,424.14 in the months leading up to and the days immediately after the Aug. 19 primary election.

All the candidates were Republicans with the exception of Joyce Collins of Lovell, a Constitution Party candidate who’s challenging House District 26 Rep. Elaine Harvey, R-Lovell. Though Collins spent $2,631 on her campaign through late August and Harvey spent $1,045, the two contenders did not face each other in the primary.

They’ll instead go head-to-head in November’s general election for the privilege of representing northern Big Horn County and the eastern edge of Park County. Harvey reported having more than $2,400 in her campaign coffers at the end of August.

Tribune graphic by Steve Johnston

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