Yard signs, or highway signs as the case may be, offer a colorful collage during the Wyoming primary election season.

They’re also a considerable item of expense to candidates. Notably, that’s the case in the two-county Senate District 19 race that pits three Republicans vying for the nomination to move ahead to the general election in November.

SD 19 comprises voters in two House districts, HD 25 and HD 26, and extends from the Powell area north to the Montana state line and east to the top of the Bighorn Mountains, taking in a huge swath of northern and central Big Horn County.

The SD 19 contenders include the incumbent, R.J. Kost of Powell; Rep. Dan Laursen of Powell, attempting to move up from the state House to the state Senate; and the former occupant of the SD 19 seat, Ray Peterson of Cowley in a comeback bid.

The cost to pepper the area in signs is a significant campaign expense. And then there’s the Wyoming wind.

“Keeping the wind from taking them away is tough,” said Laursen. “It also takes a large amount of time putting them up. With travel, it probably takes 30 minutes for each sign.”

Laursen has 30 large signs out and about 40 of the small yard signs. He estimates he has expended just over $2,000 in signage.

For Kost, he has about 150 of the small yard signs employed and has another 20 of the larger signs in evidence. In his case, the cost of signage is very close to $4,500. 

Peterson, too, has signage in small and large sizes. He says he has spent about $6,000 in just signs alone.

— Dave Bonner