A Trump-endorsed candidate suffered a rare defeat in Wyoming on Tuesday night as Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder lost to state Sen. Eric Barlow in the Republican gubernatorial primary.
Barlow, a legislator of 14 years, defeated Degenfelder and retired Marine Corps Col. Brent Bien.
“Results show Barlow winning 58,820 votes, Degenfelder 38,739 and Bien 30,843,” Cowboy State Daily reports.
Barlow will face Democratic nominee Kenneth Casner and Constitution Party nominee Rebecca Bextel in the general election.
Eric Barlow, a rancher and state lawmaker, beat a Trump-backed candidate to win the GOP governor’s primary in Wyoming. https://t.co/dLCzRwi0YJ
— The New York Times (@nytimes) August 19, 2026
Cowboy State Daily shared further:
Degenfelder received President Donald Trump’s endorsement in January. Bien received an endorsement from the Wyoming Republican Party’s state central committee in July.
And in the dog days of the election, Barlow weathered a high-dollar attack campaign from at least two groups: Wyoming’s Turn PAC and Women For Responsible Government PAC. The former published falsehoods about Barlow, claiming he had pushed for fuel tax hikes in 2013 and 2020 when legislative records show he had, rather, fought to keep fuel taxes low both years.
“There’s been a lot of out of state money and agendas and voices trying to tell us things that aren’t true,” he said. “And today Wyoming showed up, and showed us that Wyoming’s voice matters most.”
Speaking of the two high-profile endorsements his opponents received, Barlow said he looks forward to working with Trump, and has worked to uphold the state Republican Party’s planks.
His win “comes down to the work. I’m appreciative of all the folks who knocked on doors and hosted coffees or took a chance by introducing us to family, friends, neighbors – whoever came along during the campaign,” said Barlow. “As I’ve said, we’re running for Wyoming, not against anybody.”
“As a marine, veterinarian, and rancher, Barlow knows how to lead and will champion limited government, personal responsibility, and Wyoming values!” the Republican Governors Association stated.
Congratulations to @Barlowforwyo on becoming the OFFICIAL Republican nominee.
As a marine, veterinarian, and rancher, Barlow knows how to lead and will champion limited government, personal responsibility, and Wyoming values! pic.twitter.com/ve4u7u3v0g
— The RGA (@GOPGovs) August 19, 2026
“I am deeply grateful to the thousands of neighbors, friends, supporters, volunteers, and people who love Wyoming as much as I do who placed their trust in me throughout this campaign. Thank you for your support, for your vote, for the miles you drove and doors you knocked, and most of all, for your prayers,” Degenfelder said in a statement.
“I am also grateful to my opponents and their supporters. We debated the issues that matter to the future of our state, and I believe that conversation made Wyoming stronger. I congratulate our Republican nominee, and I believe it is now our responsibility to come together, move forward, and continue fighting for the state we all love,” she continued.
Barlow was first elected to the Wyoming Legislature in 2012 and became House Speaker in 2021 before moving to the state Senate.
More from The New York Times:
Mr. Barlow’s victory suggested that Wyoming’s heavily Republican electorate preferred a lower-key leader similar to the incumbent governor, Mark Gordon, rather than a bomb-throwing conservative or culture warrior. Mr. Gordon, a mainstream Republican, is leaving office after two terms.
His win also showed the limits of Mr. Trump’s power to tilt a Republican primary in a sparsely populated rural state where many voters make up their minds by chatting with candidates at barbecues, county fairs and rodeos.
Ms. Degenfelder, Wyoming’s state superintendent of public instruction, touted the president’s support, her battles “against the radicals’ agenda” and her advocacy of the state’s ban on transgender athletes in girls’ sports.
Mr. Barlow is widely expected to win in November against the Democratic nominee, Ken Casner, a Vietnam veteran who runs a retail shop and cafe.
Mr. Barlow, often sporting a white cowboy hat, ran as a “fourth-generation ranch kid” who served in the Marines before rising through the ranks of Wyoming politics, where he spent two years as speaker of the State House.
Mr. Barlow emphasized his support for public lands — an issue that unites conservative hunters and liberal environmentalists in the American West — and vowed to change the tone of Wyoming’s increasingly bitter politics.
