Jeff Barnes Qualifies For Ballot In Laramie County Sheriff Race
Independent candidate for Laramie County Sheriff Jeff Barnes has gathered enough signatures for a place on the November General Election ballot, according to Laramie County Clerk Debra Lee.
While major party candidates must be nominated by their party to earn a place on the general election ballot, independent candidates must submit a petition with the signatures of at least two percent of the voters casting a ballot in the most recent Wyoming congressional race in a given Wyoming county for a county election.
Lee says the Barnes campaign petition was filed with her office on June 3. She says after reviewing and verifying the signatures to make sure they were in fact registered voters, her office found that the signatures were valid and met the required number of at least 892 local voters.
Independent political candidates are a relatively rare occurrence in Wyoming, and Lee says that so far as she knows this is the first time such a candidate has earned a place on the Laramie County election ballot.
Barnes will face one of three Republican candidates--Don Hollingshead, Brian Kozak or Boyd Wrede--as well as Democrat Jess Fresquez in the November General Election.
Current Sheriff Danny Glick, who is a Republican, is not running for re-election after several terms in office.
Jeff Barnes was interviewed on the "Weekend in Wyoming" program on AM 650, KGAB on Saturday. We will be posting that interview on this website within the next few days.
Wyoming's primary election is slated for August 16. Since he is not taking part in a party primary, Barnes will not appear on that ballot.
But he will appear on the November 8 general election ballot, along with Democratic candidate Fresquez and whichever candidate wins the GOP nomination for Laramie County Sheriff.