Native son wins Wyo. primary

Wyoming voters chose State Treasurer Mark Gordon, a rancher who grew up at the foot of the Big- horn Mountains, over politi- cal mega-donor Foster Friess in the state’s Republican primary for governor.

Calling Friess “Strong on Crime, Borders & 2nd Amend- ment,” Trump had endorsed Friess on Twitter as voting got underway Tuesday.

Trump hours later walked back Obama-era environmen- tal regulations viewed as economic warfare in coal country and told a West Virginia rally that miners were headed back to work. About 40 percent of the nation’s coal comes from Wyoming — Trump no doubt got heard out West.

Wyoming voters had their own ideas.

“This is a governor’s race. This is about the state of Wyoming,” Gordon said after win- ning his six-way primary. “President Trump is doing great things that are important for Wyoming in terms of getting our economy going, and all of that. But in the end, I think people in Wyoming concentrated on who’s got the experience, who’s got the record and who’s got the best message going forward for Wyoming.”

Trump won Wyoming by the widest margin in 2016. But his support here may be seen as a mile wide and an inch deep. Wyoming Repub- licans preferred another candidate, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, in the battle for the GOP presidential nomination that year.

Wyoming could even choose a Democrat again. Attorney and former state Rep. Mary Throne, who was raised on a ranch not far from Gordon’s and beat three others to win the Democratic nomination for governor, will be a formidable opponent, Gordon said.

“Traditionally in Wyoming, we focus on the person and not the party when it comes to electing our governors. And that we like our governors to be independent and thoughtful and all about Wyoming,” Throne said Tuesday.

The winner will succeed term-limited Gov. Matt Mead.