Democrat Ivan Posey ousts incumbent Penn in Wyoming House District 33 race
Ivan Posey hugs a supporter after learning that he took a large lead in the House District 33 race.
By KATIE KLINGSPORN
WyoFile
SHOSHONE ROSE CASINO—It was a rough year for Ivan Posey to be on the campaign trail. His sister passed away, as did two nephews, a niece and the mother of his oldest son. At times he considered dropping out.
“But I reflected back to family support and friend support, and realized those people that left would have probably wanted me to hang in there,” Posey said. “So I think I went through this campaign with a heavy heart, and it paid off.”
Posey, a Democrat and Eastern Shoshone educator from the Wind River Reservation, captured the House District 33 seat from incumbent Sarah Penn with 56% of the vote, according to Fremont County’s unofficial results.
After giving out hugs and thank yous at the Shoshone Rose Casino, where his supporters gathered for a watch party, Posey said, “now the work starts.”
“I’m so humbled of all the support and the votes that people put their trust in me,” he said. “So I’m gonna do my best to represent all the people of District 33.”
The former Eastern Shoshone Business Council member, who is the Tribal Education Coordinator for Central Wyoming College, also vowed to be civil. “In a divisive atmosphere, nothing gets done,” Posey said.
He will be the sole Indigenous lawmaker in the Wyoming Legislature. Sen. Affie Ellis (R-Cheyenne), a Navajo lawyer who’s been in office since 2017, will retire at the end of the year. Posey was born and raised on the reservation.
Penn established herself as a reliably right-wing vote and advocate in the statehouse, raising her profile with the powerful Wyoming Freedom Caucus and becoming a favorite among its supporters. The small-government Republican believes the federal government has overreached when it comes to public land, doesn’t believe the government should fund early childhood education and is stridently pro-life.
Posey, meanwhile, supports Medicaid expansion and early childhood education. He is pro-life but does not think the government should tell a woman what to do in terms of reproductive health care.
A diverse district
Stretching over 100 miles from the Wind River Range south of Dubois to the northern Red Desert, House District 33 is diverse in both its populace and its geography. The district encompasses the major reservation towns of Fort Washakie, Ethete and Arapahoe, as well as the small non-tribal communities of Atlantic City, Crowheart and Hudson.
It covers 2,966 square miles and houses roughly 9,500 residents.
District representation has changed hands between Republicans and Democrats, as well as enrolled tribal members and white ranchers. Penn assumed office in 2023 after beating Democratic Indigenous incumbent Andi Lebeau.
The last time voters were asked to elect a representative, in 2020, fewer than 2,000 votes were cast.
Voter turnout was a big part of the Posey team’s strategy. Advocates cited several obstacles to tribal residents voting — from difficulty getting rides to the polls to indifference in voting for a state body they don’t see as truly representative of their interests.
Early on, the Fremont County Democratic Party created “commit to vote” cards as a way to incentivize people to vote for Posey. Posey’s campaign schedule also included more organized public events than Penn’s. Volunteers organized a ride-sharing network to shuttle voters to the polls on Election Day.
Voters turned out in strong numbers across Wyoming, including at the polling station in Fort Washakie.
Fort Washakie voter Nadine Meeks told WyoFile that it’s important for the majority-Native constituents of District 33 to have representation in the Legislature.
“They need to have a voice,” she said.
The results are considered unofficial until they are certified.
WyoFile is an independent, non-profit news organization focused on the people, places, and policy of Wyoming.
Republicans take Senate majority and eye unified power with Trump
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans have taken control of the U.S. Senate and are fighting to keep their majority in the U.S. House, which would produce a full sweep of GOP power in Congress alongside President-elect Donald Trump in the White House.
A unified Republican grip on Washington would set the course for Trump's agenda. Or if Democrats wrest control of the House, it would provide an almost certain backstop, with veto power over the White House.
Trump, speaking November 6 at his election night party in Florida, said the results delivered an "unprecedented and powerful mandate" for Republicans.
He called the Senate rout "incredible." And he praised House Speaker Mike Johnson, who dashed from his own party in Louisiana to join Trump. "He's doing a terrific job," Trump said.
From the U.S. Capitol, Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell, privately a harsh Trump critic, called it a "hell of a good day."
Vote counting in some races could go on for days, and control of the House is too early to call.
The rally for Republicans started early on election night in West Virginia, when Jim Justice, the state's wealthy governor, flipped the seat held by retiring Sen. Joe Manchin. From there, the Republicans marched alongside Trump across the Senate map.
Republicans toppled Democrat Sen. Sherrod Brown in Ohio, the first incumbent senator to fall, with GOP luxury car dealer and blockchain entrepreneur Bernie Moreno. They chased Democrats in the "blue wall" states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, where Vice President Kamala Harris strained to carry the party forward, though Democrats avoided a total wipeout as Elissa Slotkin won an open Senate seat in Michigan and Sen. Tammy Baldwin was reelected in Wisconsin.
Democratic efforts to oust firebrand Republicans Ted Cruz of Texas and Rick Scott of Florida collapsed. The unexpected battleground of Nebraska pushed Republicans over the top. Incumbent GOP Sen. Deb Fischer brushed back a surprisingly strong challenge from independent newcomer Dan Osborn.
In one of the most-watched Senate races, in Montana, Democrat Jon Tester, a popular three-term senator and "dirt farmer" in the fight of his political career, lost to Trump-backed Tim Sheehy, a wealthy former Navy SEAL, who made derogatory comments about Native Americans, a key Western state constituency.
All told, Senate Republicans have a chance to scoop up a few more seats, potentially delivering their most robust majority in years — a coda to outgoing GOP Leader McConnell, who made a career charting a path to power, this time by recruiting high-wealth Republicans aligned with Trump.
He told reporters at a Capitol news conference that a Senate under Republican control would "control the guardrails" and prevent changes in Senate rules that would end the filibuster.
McConnell declined to answer questions about his past stark criticism of Trump or about the prospects of potential nominees in a new administration. He also said he viewed the election results as a referendum on the Biden administration.
"People were just not happy with this administration and the Democratic nominee was a part of it," McConnell said.
The fight for control of the House became a state-by-state slog, much of which unfolded far from the presidential race.
House races are focused in New York and California, where Democrats are trying to claw back some of the 10 or so seats where Republicans have made surprising gains in recent years.
Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said the House "remains very much in play."
To gain control of the House, Democrats need to flip four seats from Republicans, while holding all of their own, a tall task especially in congressional districts where Trump has won.
It could come down to just a handful of seats, or as little as one, to determine House control.
Johnson voiced confidence, posting on X: "Republicans are poised to have unified government in the White House, Senate, and House."
Harris ignited enthusiasm for her party when Biden dropped out of the race, and she stepped in atop the ticket, a head-spinning development barely 100 days from the election. But Democrats watched their own hopes for a sweep of Washington fizzle.
Voters said the economy and immigration were the top issues facing the country, but the future of democracy was also a leading motivator for many Americans casting ballots in the presidential election.
AP VoteCast, an expansive survey of more than 120,000 voters nationwide, found a country mired in negativity and desperate for change as Americans faced a stark choice between Trump and Harris.
This is the first presidential election since the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, when Trump sent a mob of his supporters to "fight like hell" against the 2020 election. Many Republicans in Congress voted against President Joe Biden's victory. Congress will again be called on next year to certify the 2024 election.
Even still, the election followed one of the most chaotic congressional sessions in modern times as the Republican-led House kicked out its speaker, Kevin McCarthy, threatened government shutdowns and had difficulty conducting the basic operations of governance.
Johnson has said Republicans in the House and Senate have been working on an "ambitious" 100 day-agenda — cutting taxes, securing the U.S. border and taking a "blowtorch" to federal regulations — if they sweep the White House and Congress.
Trump himself has promised mass deportations and retribution on his perceived enemies. Republicans want to push federal agencies out of Washington and restaff the government workforce, Johnson said, to bring the federal government "to heel."
Trump is "thinking big" about his legacy, Johnson said.
Several states will send history-makers to the new Congress.
Voters elected two Black women to the Senate, Democrat Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware and Democrat Angela Alsobrooks, who defeated Republican Larry Hogan, the former governor, in Maryland. Just three Black women have served in the Senate, and never before have two served at the same time.
And in New Jersey, Andy Kim became the first Korean American elected to the Senate. The seat opened when Bob Menendez resigned this year after his federal conviction on bribery charges.
I
n the House, candidate Sarah McBride, a Democratic state lawmaker from Delaware who is close to the Biden family, became the first openly transgender person elected to Congress.
What's still unclear is who will lead the new Republican Senate, as longtime leader McConnell prepares to step down from the post.
South Dakota Sen. John Thune, the No. 2 Republican, and Texas Sen. John Cornyn, who previously held that post, are the front-runners to replace McConnell in a secret-ballot election scheduled for when senators arrive in Washington next week.
Billions of dollars have been spent by the parties, and outside groups, on the narrow battleground for both the 435-member House and 100-member Senate.
I
f the two chambers do in fact flip party control, as is possible, it would be rare.
Records show that if Democrats take the House and Republicans take the Senate, it would be the first time that the chambers of Congress have both flipped to opposing political parties.
Associated Press writers Stephen Groves, Kevin Freking and Farnoush Amiri contributed to this report.
