Wyoming Freedom Caucus Claims National Group Attacking ‘True Conservatives’ 24%
By Clair McFarland19%
8/5/2026, 4:29:00 PM
BS Summary: This article contains 12 faulty reasoning types, including Hasty Generalization, Confirmation Bias, and In-Group Bias, with Framing Effect as the most egregious example at 12% saturation with 164 hits. Analysis detected 779 faulty-reasoning hits from 1,372 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 30.5% and a BS Rank of 24% (21,531 of 28,112 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 76.60% of the article peer group.
The Wyoming Freedom Caucus claims the national group Americans for Prosperity is attacking “true conservatives” running for the state Legislature.
Americans for Prosperity’s Wyoming-based director Tyler Lindholm disputes that, saying Freedom Caucus-aligned legislators aren’t always conservative.
Headquartered in Virginia, Americans for Prosperity (AFP) is a major player in Wyoming’s primary election cycle, influencing voters’ choices between different Republicans.
AFP spent $334,603 in election campaign efforts in Wyoming’s 2024 primary cycle.
That wasn’t as much as another Virginia-based group, which differs from AFP and often backs Freedom Caucus-aligned candidates: Make Liberty Win.
Make Liberty Win spent $371,260 in Wyoming’s 2024 primary election.
This year’s primary election is Aug.
18.
The primary tends to be more decisive in Wyoming because it a Republican-majority state.
Republican in-fighting, not partisan divide, defines most political factions on the state legislative level.
None of AFP’s picks is a known Freedom Caucus member.
AFP’s favored Republican candidates in contested legislative races this year are:
Sen.
Evie Brennan, Cheyenne (an incumbent opposed by Rep.
Daniel Singh)
Rep.
Julie Jarvis, Casper (an incumbent opposed by former Rep.
Jeanette SP Ward)
Bar Nunn Mayor Peter Boyer (running for Rep.
Bill Allemand’s seat)
Dwayne Dillinger, Gillette (running against Rep.
Abby Angelos for Senate)
Sen.
Ogden Driskill, Devils Tower (an incumbent challenged by House Speaker Chip Neiman)
Former Rep.
Tony Niemiec, Green River (rematching Rep.
Marlene Brady)
Troy Claycomb, Upton (running against Zeta Nuckolls Anderson for Neiman’s current House seat)
Sen.
Taft Love, Cheyenne (incumbent opposed by Roy Birt)
Melissa Butcher, Ranchester (running against Rep.
Ken Pendergraft for Senate)
Dan McIntosh, Cheyenne (running against Paul Wing for outgoing Rep.
Jacob Wasserburger’s seat)
Jessica Crowder, Cheyenne (against incumbent Rep.
Ann Lucas)
Ronda Boller, Gillette (against Bill Fortner for Angelos’ seat)
Erin Edwards, Cheyenne (challenging incumbent Rep.
Gary Brown)
Doug Moore, Gillette (challenging incumbent Rep.
John Bear)
Rep.
Jr Riggins, Casper (an incumbent challenged by Neil Jeske)
Nah, Says Allemand
Casper Rep.
Bill Allemand, against whom AFP has launched mailers, told Cowboy State Daily the group has come out against “conservative” candidates and wants to end the Wyoming Freedom Caucus.
“They want to destroy the movement of the Freedom Caucus, which is a very conservative, anti-tax, pro-family movement,” said Allemand.
“In all their publications they say how conservative they are, but yet they’ve endorsed the least conservative people.”
Lindholm countered.
“We don’t look at caucus alignment,” he said.
“If this was an anthem against the Freedom Caucus we’d be in the (Freedom Caucus-aligned Rep.)
Ocean Andrew race supporting Cam Wright.
We’d be in the (Freedom Caucus Rep.)
Steve Johnson race supporting Luke Reiner.”
It boils down to a few key votes, Lindholm said, including how legislators opposed energy projects, “for the sake of voting against energy projects.”
Being pro-business is a huge factor, said Lindholm.
“Absolutely.
Economics, first and foremost,” he said.
Simplifying regulations in health care, and improving school choice are also AFP goals.
Lindholm said Wyoming Freedom Caucus members want people to think they’re the conservative gold standard, but they’re not always conservative.
And he pointed to Riggins as an example of a Freedom Caucus-aligned, AFP endorsee.
About Riggins
Riggins is a bad example because he’s never been in the Freedom Caucus, said Allemand, who is himself a known member of the caucus.
“JR is a good friend of mine.
JR has not voted conservative,” said Allemand.
As for Riggins, he said it’s more complex than that.
He cast himself as conservative, but thoughtful.
He voted in favor of giving state employees raises this year, which the Freedom Caucus largely opposed.
He voted to rescue the Wyoming Business Council from being dismantled because, Riggins said, the dismantling effort didn’t give a long enough off-ramp for the economic development agency.
And he voted against the 2026 Second Amendment Preservation Act.
That failed bill sought to impose $50,000 civil penalties on Wyoming police agencies that help with federal gun-crime enforcement operations against "law-abiding" citizens, or hire former federal agents who’ve conducted those operations.
All 23 Wyoming sheriffs opposed it, saying it overlooks the nuances of critical and evolving situations, and chills long-wrought professional relationships that keep federal agencies from overstepping local control.
“I generally agree with most of the (caucus’) policy directions,” said Riggins in a Wednesday phone interview.
“Of course, some of my votes didn’t sit well with some of them.”
Riggins said he believes the caucus “considered” letting him join, but, “After a couple of unexpected votes from me during budget session, I think (I’m) disinvited.”
He said he respects caucus members Rep.
John Bear and House Speaker Chip Neiman immensely.
Back To AFP
Allemand said AFP’s decision not to interfere with Johnson’s Cheyenne-based House race is also a deflection.
Lindholm cited Johnson’s recent efforts to champion food-freedom measures.
“That’s really not a very good excuse,” said Allemand.
“I don’t know of one person that is in the Freedom Caucus that is not 100% behind food freedom.
In fact, we want to go so far as to include meats.”
As for Andrew, he’s been a top proponent of school choice, which is an AFP favored issue.
That Neiman Driskill Race
The Neiman-Driskill Race for northern Wyoming’s Senate District 1 has gotten feisty.
AFP dispatched mailers against Neiman, casting him as anti-energy.
Neiman took to social media to rebut and accuse Driskill of low hits.
Driskill countered, saying he doesn’t and can’t coordinate with AFP as an independent PAC.
The Wyoming Freedom Caucus noted in a July 30 blog post that Neiman has championed school-choice efforts – one of the AFP’s darling issues.
But, Lindholm said, an AFP-touted bill to let the state board of medicine license internationally trained doctors – to ease doctor shortages around the state – died in Neiman’s drawer in 2026.
Driskill had championed that same bill, without success, on the Senate side in 2025.
Neiman said the bill actually died in Majority Floor Leader Scott Heiner’s drawer.
He said he believes his record isn’t the leading factor in AFP’s disapproval of him.
“Oh the reason he opposes me is because he lost,” said Neiman, of Lindholm, whom Neiman beat in their state House district in 2020.
Lindholm has denied that assertion in prior interviews.
Neiman continued: “Compare my record and my voting and what I’ve supported from school choice, to energy, to all of it.
There’s no question I’ve got a better record.
I outperform probably all the candidates they’re endorsing.
That doesn’t wash.”
The AFP mailers characterize at least two Neiman aye votes as anti-energy: House Bill 257 of 2023 and this year’s House Joint Resolution 3 – both unsuccessful.
The former would give private landowners greater influence over reclamation work on their property.
The latter would have proposed a constitutional amendment to make any nuclear waste storage permitting go to a vote of the people at election time.
Neiman said his aye votes backed private-property rights and the popular will.
Lindholm said the first was unrealistic in the real world of energy, and the second would have burdened Wyoming’s energy sector and driven the state toward Colorado’s more democratic-style, versus representative governance, way of handling issues at the ballot.
Travis Deti, executive director of the Wyoming Mining Association, told Cowboy State Daily previously that his group opposed both the bills AFP referenced and has also endorsed Driskill.
He said House Bill 257 would have stalled mining projects for years and overlooked the split-estate ownership giving the mining sector “seniority in situations like that,” where “permits get modified all the time.”
“That was a terrible bill.
Anyone who supported it was wrong,” said Deti.
About Tax Hikes
Allemand said the Freedom Caucus is for lower taxes.
Lindholm said that’s not necessarily true: Allemand backed a failed bill this year that sought to raise taxes on solar and nuclear power generation.
“From the same crowd constantly trumpeting ‘government shouldn’t pick winners and losers,’ and yet he’s trying to stick certain industries’ generation with a new tax,” said Lindholm.
That bill, countered Allemand, sought to tax undertaxed industries’ generation in the hope of ultimately driving traditional minerals’ severance taxes down.
“I believe we ought to have all these industries on a level playing field, and all paying the same taxes,” said Allemand.
Speakers
5speakers51%attributed speech666writer words
Selected voice
76%flagged-word coverageBill Allemand
212 attributed words30% of attributed speech8.3% writer coverage
Attribution is sentence-level. Pattern percentages are calculated only from words assigned to that voice.
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Analysis
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