In a complete surprise, conservative megadonor Foster Friess announced on Friday that he would run in the August GOP primary for governor of Wyoming. Friess had spent months talking about challenging Sen. John Barrasso, despite having described him as "one of my heroes," but he'd given no hint that he was interested in succeeding termed-out Republican Gov. Matt Mead. Politico reports that Friess only began informing party leaders he would seek the governorship the very day he declared for the race. Friess, who pledged to serve just one term, also endorsed his would-have-been rival Barrasso.
Friess rose to prominence in 2012 when he spent millions on a super PAC backing Rick Santorum’s presidential campaign, which was basically the only thing keeping Santorum afloat for months. He also generated a firestorm over birth control during that campaign when he explained, "Back in my days, they used Bayer Aspirin for contraceptives. The gals put it between their knees and it wasn't that costly." Santorum only half-heartedly distanced himself from Friess by calling his comments a "stupid joke" and "not reflective of me," though the two remained friendly. Friess has continued to bankroll Republican candidates and causes—now including his own.
Friess's decision to run will shake up what's been a pretty low-key primary, though it's hard to know exactly what impact he'll have. Wyoming is a small state where personal campaigning is still very valuable, so even if Friess outspends his rivals, his money may not be as useful as it would be in places where politicians mainly communicate with voters through advertising. It's also worth noting that Friess, who isn't originally from Wyoming, resides in the affluent resort community of Jackson Hole, which is quite different from the rest of the state and is its best-known liberal bastion. Friess has also devoted himself more to national politics than to state-level affairs, and it's unclear how local GOP voters perceive him—or if they're even aware of him.
We likewise don't know what sort of ties Friess has to the state GOP power players he appears to have caught off guard. But Friess did spent months talking about challenging his "hero" Barrasso, who is in good standing with party regulars, so he may have made some enemies already. Friess's very strange flirtations with a Senate bid may also indicate that, money aside, he may not have the right mindset for a serious campaign for governor. Friess weirdly wrote an email last year to the Casper Star-Tribune that simultaneously praised Barrasso while also saying he was thinking about running against the senator—and yet repeatedly misspelled the incumbent's name as "Barrosso."
That quirky behavior could certainly cause Friess problems on the campaign trail. Even in an era that’s seen a steep decline in local media, local newspaper coverage in Wyoming still carries unusual weight with voters, even in GOP primaries, something that now-Rep. Liz Cheney learned the hard way during her abortive 2014 Senate run. This isn't to say that Friess can't win, especially in a crowded primary. However, while he will shine a big spotlight on a race most of the national media has all but ignored, we just don't know how he'll play at home.
We’ll also need to see how the other candidates respond to this very unexpected development. State Treasurer Mark Gordon is the only statewide elected official in the race, and he appears to be the early frontrunner. However, a few other candidates are also in the hunt: businessman Sam Galeotos, prominent attorney Harriet Hageman, and physician Taylor Haynes (who lost the 2014 primary to Mead 54-32) are also in the hunt. A few other local politicians have also expressed interest in running ahead of the June 1 filing deadline. And though Wyoming was Trump's best state, it twice elected Democrat Dave Freudenthal to the governorship in the previous decade, and the party has consolidated behind former state House Minority Leader Mary Throne.