Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon (R) had one of the most more interesting primary seasons, wherein he personally put $166,000 to oppose Republicans from the Wyoming Freedom Caucus and support their more moderate opponents.
Unfortunately for Gordan, his efforts didn’t pan out.
The famously conservative group’s candidates prevailed in the primaries and, according to WyoFile, are in the pole position to control the state legislature next year.
That means Gordon will have to work with many Republicans he opposed. Not unfamiliar terrain for a Democrat, but Gordon is a Republican, which makes it particularly awkward.
Maggie Mullen of WyoFile has an interesting chat with the governor about this dynamic and other issues facing Gordon. you You can read the full transcript here, but the crux is that Gordon is now focused on compromise and his top priorities – energy and diversification of the state’s economy, including its exposure to the digital asset space.
Gordon is an interesting darkhorse in the 2028 race, and doesn’t have a clear space, except for now in the centrist lane, which isn’t a great place to be for a primary.
Donald Trump opposed Gordon’s primary campaign for governor in 2018, then further fueled the former president’s ire by rebuffing the president’s personal attempts to get Gordon’s support for an election-oriented bill, calling Gordon “a very liberal guy.”
Further, in 2021, Gordon reacted with disappointment to the state party’s decision to stop recognizing then-Rep Liz Cheney as a Republican for her decision to support impeachment of Trump. He believed the election was presidential election was settled, but left some wiggle room about whether votes were counted correctly.
(There’s been a detente of sorts, between Trump and Gordon, as of late, according to the Cowboy State Daily).
Nevertheless, all those things are hurdles to overcome for the grassroots that dominate GOP primaries.
But there are two things to mention.
First, he is the second most popular governor in the country, as of 2023, with a 69% approval rating. So there’s always that.
More importantly, I’d add a sleeper issue that Gordon could potentially use to his advantage: Wyoming is currently creating its own U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin which it plans to begin using in 2025. The hope is that it will give individuals and businesses faster and cheaper ways to transact, along with providing a new revenue stream for Wyoming.
CNBC notes that Wyoming has passed over thirty pieces of crypto legislation (it’s a tax-free state on crypto earnings too) and of the proposed state-based stablecoin, Gordon told the outlet: “The United States has to address this issue. Washington’s being a little bit stodgy, which is why Wyoming, being a nimble and entrepreneurial state, can make a difference.”
Cryptocurrency is becoming an increasingly political issue, as the industry’s lobbying efforts grow more powerful, and Donald Trump has embraced the industry, claiming he will turn the US into “the bitcoin superpower of the world” and fire the industry’s bete-noire, SEC chair Gary Gensler.
The BBC recently wrote of the growing phenomenon of tech bros lining up behind Trump, and the most famous crypto bro and Trump ally, Elon Musk, is sure to push the issue going forward.
Musk and his like-minded tech leaders made a huge push for Trump to pick JD Vance for Veep, thanks to Vance’s ties to the tech world, which increasingly includes cryptocurrency.
Crypto’s salience as an issue will grow during the next four years, and Wyoming is positioning itself as a key player in that world, and therefore its popular governor will never be more than an Elon Musk tweet away from entering the landscape.