By Jonathan Gallardo
Gillette News Record
Via- Wyoming News Exchange
GILLETTE — The race for Wyoming governor has gotten to be pretty expensive. Between Megan Degenfelder, Eric Barlow and Brent Bien, nearly $3 million has been raised. And a political action committee, or PAC, that was formed this year to support Degenfelder’s campaign, has raised nearly $1.5 million on its own.
Degenfelder’s own candidate committee raised $1.28 million, including $522,000 in loans. Barlow raised $1.54 million this cycle, and Bien raised $191,819, while the Friends of Brent Bien PAC raised $15,365. Besides $6,000 from this committee, the only PAC money Bien received was $500 from the LP4U PAC out of Casper.
The biggest contributor to Barlow’s campaign is the Civil Leadership PAC, based in Gillette and formed on March 7. Paul Hladky and Adrian Gerrits are the chairman and treasurer, respectively. The PAC has donated $168,750 to Barlow 4 Wyoming.
Donors to the PAC itself include Susan Hladky ($10,000), Hladky Investments ($30,000), Robbie and Nathan McLeland ($15,000 combined), Frank Moore of Douglas ($10,000), Wayne Hughes of Jackson ($15,000) and Kirk Davenport of Jackson ($5,000). But the biggest contributor to this PAC is the billionaire Charles Hoskinson, who donated $100,000.
When it comes to out-of-state PACs, Barlow has received $6,000 from the Pacific Power/Rocky Mountain Power PAC, $500 from the Bayer US LLC Employee PAC, $1,000 from the Union Pacific Corporation Fund For Effective Government, $500 from Motorola Solutions, Inc. PAC, and $530 from the Cigna Group Employee PAC.
Degenfelder received $290,000 from the Fight Wyoming Fight PAC, $95,000 from Wyoming Conservative Women, $5,000 from the HF Sinclair PAC out of Dallas and $1,000 each from the Tremco CPG Inc. PAC and the Oneok Inc. Employee PAC.
The Wyoming’s Turn PAC, which is chaired by Joe Milczewski and lists Charles Gantt as treasurer, is an independent committee organized to support Megan Degenfelder’s gubernatorial campaign, according to its website. It has raised $1,543,550 this campaign, nearly all of it from out of state.
The PAC received $50,000 from Payward Inc., the San Francisco-based parent company of the cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, and $20,000 from the Yes Every Kid PAC based out of Arlington, Virginia.
But the bulk of contributions to Wyoming’s Turn came from the Women for Responsible Government PAC. From July 15 to Aug. 5, this PAC, based in Beverly, Massachusetts, donated $1.47 million to Wyoming’s Turn, according to wycampaignfinance.gov. It came in four large contributions of $475,000, $375,000, $320,000 and $300,000.
According to the FEC website, Charles Gantt is the treasurer for the Women for Responsible Government PAC. It reported $0 in contributions and expenses from Dec. 31, 2025 to June 30, according to the FEC.
Degenfelder’s own committee has only spent a few thousand dollars on advertising this election cycle. In the 2022 election cycle, when she was running for state superintendent, her committee spent $85,411 on advertising.
But Wyoming’s Turn has spent $1.23 million on TV ads and $87,165 on mailers.
Barlow has spent $224,664.69 on digital ads, $74,239 on radio ads, $43,675 on newspaper ads, and $385,415.55 on TV ads.
The Friends of Brent Bien reported $15,365 from 15 donors, and no money from PACs. The Virginia-based Make Liberty Win spent $36,968.34 on literature in support of Bien. It spent the same amount on other statewide candidates such as Tom Kelly, running for state superintendent, and Rachel Rodriguez-Williams, running for secretary of state.
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