WYOMING — Military veteran and small business owner Kenneth Casner is hoping the third time is the charm as he runs for Wyoming governor this fall.
Casner, the only Democrat in the mix, also ran in 2002 and 2018. The third-generation Wyomingite was born in Cheyenne and now lives in Elk Mountain, where he and his wife own the Elk Mountain Trading Company and Crossing Cafe. Casner served in the Wyoming National Guard for 25 years and spent 12 years teaching within the military. He noted that his campaign priorities have been similar over the past election cycles.
“Ever since I got back from Vietnam in 1971, … I’ve seen a steady decline all the way down to where we are today,” Casner told Buckrail in a phone interview. “We are ruled by the outside, not the inside. … I look at this beautiful state that I love and what I see is 583,000 people living here and we treat them as if they are low-grade citizens. I see the people who do all of the work and they’re not getting anything back for it.”
If elected, Casner said he would aim to represent Wyoming’s working class, a platform that includes the implementation of universal healthcare in the state as well as a restructuring of the state’s taxation system that would see “9% put back on the rich.” He said he would rely on his strategic planning skills to help return power to residents rather than “rich investors” and mineral extraction companies. He was also emphatic about accepting zero campaign donations.
“I don’t take no money from nobody [sic],” he said. “You cannot buy me. I fight for Wyoming and I fight for her people. I fight for the working class. I don’t care if you’re GOP, I don’t care if you’re Democrat; we’ve got to realize we’re Wyoming people.”
Casner closed by saying he’s proud to be seen as a “perennial candidate” because perennial flowers are resilient and dependable.
“I’m a Wyoming rose and they don’t even know it,” he said.
As the only Democrat in the race, Casner will sail through to the general election. In the primary election on Aug. 18, Republicans Eric Barlow, Brent Bien, Kurt Blake and Megan Degenfelder will square off.
