WYOMING — One more Wyomingite has announced a bid for the state’s lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives that is to be vacated by Harriet Hageman.
Joining the field of 10 Republican candidates is Lisa Kinney, a Laramie-born attorney and former state senator. Kinney announced her campaign as a Democrat on Saturday. From 1985 to 1994, she served as a Democrat state senator representing Albany County, and was the Senate Minority Floor Leader during her final year as senator. On her website, Kinney states that she later registered as a Republican and highlighted her bipartisan background. She also served as director of the Albany County Library.
“I think differently from the other candidates,” Kinney stated on her campaign website. “They are asking for presidential endorsement. I am looking at what is going on in the world and how it affects Wyoming. All changes are not good, and we need to be prepared.”
Kinney has framed her platform around the acronym REAL: reintroduce, educate, affordability, law. Her priorities focus on getting back to ideas she believes have been sidelined, such as public land management, checks and balances by Congress, and decorum that excludes profanity and insults. She advocates for strong public education, freedom of thought, public media and libraries, and providing free breakfast and lunch to schoolchildren. Kinney believes that the ultra-wealthy should not receive tax breaks at the expense of lower earners, and that the Affordable Care Act subsidies should remain while an alternative is reached. She supports due process for all and consistency in the rule of law. “What if we all decided not to stop at red lights?” she said on her campaign website.
“Wyomingites are independent, community-minded, and deserve representation focused on their needs rather than national party agendas,” Kinney’s website reads.
Kinney joins a full field of 10 Republicans, which includes: businessman and conservative activist Steve Friess, former state representative John Romero-Martinez, Wyoming Senate President Bo Biteman, Casper veterans David Giralt and Kevin Christensen, current Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray, entrepreneur Reid Rasner, former State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow, Pinedale resident Matt McGinnis and Moran rancher Frank Chapman. According to Oil City News, former Casper vice mayor Shawn Johnson is seeking the Libertarian nomination. The primary election will take place on Aug. 18.
