By Noah Zahn
Wyoming Tribune Eagle
Via- Wyoming News Exchange

CHEYENNE — Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray announced Monday he will run for Wyoming’s sole seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The announcement comes after incumbent Rep. Harriet Hageman announced last week she will not run for another term in the House, but rather put together a bid for U.S. Senate after incumbent Sen. Cynthia Lummis announced she will not seek reelection for a second term in the Senate next year.

“I’m running for Congress to continue fighting for Wyoming’s way of life,” Gray wrote in a statement. “With Congresswoman Harriet Hageman running for U.S. Senate, Wyoming needs a representative who will build on her strong record, advance our shared Wyoming values, and advance the Trump agenda that has delivered the largest margin of victory in the nation in three straight presidential elections.”

Throughout his time in Wyoming politics, Gray has been an unwavering supporter of President Donald Trump, identifying himself as a “MAGA conservative” in his news release. In the release, he also noted his 2023 support for Trump when some states attempted to remove him from the ballot. Then, he led the filing of an amicus brief before the Colorado Supreme Court in support of Trump.

“When political insiders abandoned President Trump, I didn’t flinch,” Gray wrote. “I stood with the President and the American people, because in this country voters decide elections — not radical leftist attorneys.”

Political roots

Gray was raised outside of Los Angeles and spent summers in Casper with his father, who owned a radio station in Wyoming.

He attended the University of Pennsylvania and graduated with two degrees before moving to Wyoming full time in 2013 and took a job with his father’s radio station in 2013, hosting a conservative radio talk show on 1230 AM KVOC in Casper.

His political career started in 2014 when he ran a failed campaign against former Rep. Thomas Lockhart, R-Casper, in the primary election. He ran again in 2016 following Lockhart’s retirement and was successful, winning reelection every two years until he ran for secretary of state in 2022.

During his time in the Wyoming House, Gray sponsored pro-life bills and bills to update the state’s election laws.

Following an endorsement from Trump in 2022, Gray won the bid for secretary of state and has served in the seat since. In that role, Gray has continued to work to change Wyoming’s election laws, leading legislation aimed to ban ballot drop-boxes, require face identification on government-issued cards required to vote and most recently supporting legislation to ban voting in Wyoming from those with dual citizenship.

Earlier this month, Gray held a news conference announcing he hopes to re-introduce a slate of voter-related legislation that failed in 2025, after several passed, while also announcing some new ones.

“Wyomingites say what we mean and mean what we say,” Gray wrote in the press release. “My record shows that I follow through to get conservative priorities done for the citizens of Wyoming. In Congress, I will secure the border, unleash Wyoming’s energy, lower costs for families, and protect the Second Amendment.”

Gray has also been a continued critic of wind energy development in Wyoming, supporting policies that aim to protect Wyoming’s fossil fuel industries.

“Woke wind is wrong for Wyoming,” he wrote. “I will work to end Obama-Biden subsidies for boondoggle projects and stand up for reliable, affordable energy that powers Wyoming families and jobs.”

In July, Gray released his own internal poll conducted by Fabrizio, Lee & Associates which polled him as the top candidate for either Wyoming governor or U.S. representative representing Wyoming.

As the makeup of Wyoming’s federal delegation continues to shift, Gray’s announcement leaves unanswered questions around who may seek to challenge him in the House bid and who may seek to succeed him.

At the time of publication, there were no candidates officially filed to run for Wyoming’s U.S. House seat.

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