James Byrd and Lisa Kinney each spent a decade serving in the Wyoming Legislature and working alongside Republicans. Now, the two former Democratic lawmakers are hoping to bring that experience to the federal level: Byrd is running for the U.S. Senate and Kinney for the U.S. House.

During a recent joint event in Powell, the two candidates each touted their ability to work across the aisle.

With Democrats in the minority in Wyoming, “if you’re going to get anything to the governor’s desk, you’d better know how to make compromises and work with the other party,” said Byrd, who lives in Cheyenne. “That I know how to do. That is what we’re missing.”

Kinney added that, whether she’s considering a Democratic bill or a Republican bill, “as long as it helps Wyoming, I don’t care.”

The Laramie resident also distanced herself from the more left side of the party that’s gained traction in some other states.

“I’m a Democrat; I believe in Social Security, I believe in Medicare,” Kinney said, “but I’m not a socialist. And so you can trust me.”

She said her goal would be to work with moderate Democrats and Republicans on a variety of topics, including term limits and stock trading bans for members of Congress.

“I think if we can do that, we’re going to make changes,” Kinney said. “And as long as we’re the moderates and we get in there and we work together, I think we’ll do well.”

Criticizing ICE

Both candidates criticized the actions of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under Republican President Donald Trump.

Kinney referenced the Heart Mountain Relocation Center between Powell and Cody, where thousands of Japanese Americans were incarcerated during World War II.

“That was wrong,” Kinney said of detaining those people. “And now we're making ICE centers … to detain people all over.”

While she thinks everyone is in favor of deporting the “worst of the worst,” Kinney said ICE is instead operating on quotas, wearing masks, driving cars without registration and killing people.

“It’s a program that needs to be stopped,” she said.

Byrd charged that Congress “spent $78 billion to build a private police force who answers to one guy, the executive; they built black prisons where they drop you in without … due process.”

Byrd said he considered the agency’s actions to be “morally bankrupt” and suggested Congress “really just scrap the agency almost to the nubbins and start over, because they’re not following the charter that established them.”

Kinney agreed that the country needs to do something different, “because that’s not who we are as Americans.”

“We treat people with respect and love,” she said.

On health care

Both Democrats also voiced support for funding suicide prevention efforts and supporting mental health, including boosting veterans’ care.

“Nobody seems to think that mental illness is an issue, and it’s a major issue that we need to address,” Kinney said.

She suggested the country create halfway houses for people with mental issues who are living on the streets. She also called for Wyoming to expand Medicaid and said she would work to reinstate the health insurance tax credits that were reduced under the Republican-backed One Big Beautiful Bill Act last year.

“They [Republicans] always say, ‘The [Affordable Care Act] doesn’t work,’” she said, but “I wish they’d come up with a plan.” 

Kinney said she wants moderate Republicans and Democrats to spend three years working together to “come up with something that will benefit all of us.”

Inside baseball

At the time of the Sept. 27 event at WYOld West Brewing, Co., the hot topic of the moment was a proposal to host a Major League Baseball game in Grand Teton National Park.

Byrd said his approach to stopping the idea would involve “good old-fashioned political intimidation.”

“You know how you get rich people’s attention? Take their money away,” he said. “Take Teton County’s money away from them, and they will be listening to you very acutely.”

While Wyoming continues to be controlled by Republicans, Democrats may take control of at least one chamber of Congress in the election and hopefully both, Byrd said.

“Oh, it’ll be fun to come back here and say, ‘You guys better stop that, or the money stops,’” he said. “I’d love to say that to some of these people.”

Ultimately, the Grand Teton ballgame died a quick death after drawing immediate, strong opposition from Teton County officials and others.

Public lands

Public lands were mentioned as a priority for both Kinney and Byrd.

“I almost threw something at my brand new widescreen TV when I heard that the heir apparent, as she calls herself, to the Senate seat was supporting [the sale of] public lands,” Byrd said.

That was a reference to U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman, the Republican Party’s nominee to replace Sen. Lummis. Last year, Hageman expressed support for a bill from U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, that would have opened the door to selling certain federal lands so they could be turned into housing; Hageman has said the legislation was aimed at small, nonessential parcels of federal land.

Byrd also criticized Hageman for supporting a repeal of the Roadless Rule.

“Some people, I just don't think they get the memo that we don’t like this,” Byrd said.

Data centers and AI

On another hot topic, data centers, both candidates expressed concerns about their impact.

Byrd noted that he backed a 2010 bill that gives data center developers a sales tax break on the computing equipment they purchase in Wyoming.

“I was a co-sponsor on it,” he said, “but back then they weren’t these super data centers that have the ability to use enough electricity equivalent to the state of Wyoming.”

Byrd also said the people running data centers have lost public confidence and called for a slow-down of artificial intelligence development.

“We need an all-stop until we get our arms around what they’re doing,” he said, adding later that, “AI is what you need to be afraid of. Period. It is that boogeyman in every one of those sci-fi movies that you’ve seen.”

Kinney agreed that AI is “very scary.”

When ‘we show up, we win’

In making her closing pitch, Kinney asked the roughly two dozen attendees if they were doing better than they were 18 months ago.

“If it’s yes, then that’s great. Go ahead and vote for my opponent,” she said, referring to Secretary of State Chuck Gray, the Republican party’s nominee for the House seat being vacated by Hageman. 

However, “if it’s no, vote for me — and you can get rid of me in two years if you don’t like what I do,” Kinney said. “I’m going to work hard for you. I’m going to do as much as I can …”

Wyoming’s Democratic Party lost a chunk of its voters in 2022, when some switched to support then-U.S. Rep. and Trump antagonist Liz Cheney over Hageman in that year’s Republican primary. But Byrd said he “never” thought about changing sides. 

“I think I make a difference right here in the Democratic Party,” he said. “And when we run good candidates and we show up … we win.”

Byrd is in a one-on-one race with Hageman, while Kinney faces Gray, Libertarian Shawn Johnson and Constitution Party nominee Jeff Haggit.