Wyoming Freedom Caucus faces tough primary election results

The Wyoming Freedom Caucus says it "isn't going anywhere" despite suffering through a dismal primary election showing for many of its members.

Over a dozen incumbents aligned with the caucus went down to defeat on Tuesday. That included founder John Bear, who was upset by Doug Moore in House District 31. Prominent Freedom Caucus member Chip Neiman, Speaker of the Wyoming House, failed in his bid to defeat Sen.Ogden Driskill.

Almost as disheartening as the number of defeats for caucus members were some of the margins. For example, in House District 41, Gary Brown lost to challenger Erin Edwards by 1,185 to 456. Likewise, in House District 8, incumbent Steve Johnson fell to chalnger Luke Reiner by a margin of more than 2-1.

Some of the defeats suffered by caucus members were somewhat closer than those contests. But overall it's hard to say that most members who lost ran races that could have been won with only some minor adjustments.

Some caucus members did survive and will be back in Cheyenne in January. But the caucus overall certainly won't be the dominant force in the Wyoming House of Representatives that they have been the past couple of legislative sessions.