February 18th 2026 |
Photo – Courtesy of Governor Mark Gordon
Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon on Tuesday signed Executive Order 2026-02, prohibiting the solicitation, delivery, or acceptance of campaign contributions on property where state business is conducted, such as state office buildings, and commercial buildings where the state leases offices, including the Wyoming State Capitol and Capitol Complex.
The EO is the result following an incident in Cheyenne last week when state Teton County Republican Party committeewoman Rebecca Bextel handed out checks to legislators on the House floor following adjournment of the session’s first day.
The incident triggered an internal State House investigation, a condemnation by the State Senate and an external investigation by the Laramie County Sheriff’s Department.
At least one lawmaker who accepted a check denied any wrongdoing but acknowledged it was a bad look.
Bextel wrote in a Facebook post two days after the incident, “There’s nothing wrong with delivering lawful campaign checks from Teton County donors when I am in Cheyenne.”
At the same time Bextel was handing over cash payments to state lawmakers, she was also pushing for legislation from the same lawmakers who were accepting the payout. Needless to say, the look was bad.
“Our Capitol belongs to the people of Wyoming, and even the appearance of inappropriateness should never be ignored, “Governor Gordon said in a statement. “My duty is to act to ensure the highest level of integrity is enforced for the people of this great state. I am doing so today in the spaces I have control over,” Governor Gordon said
The Governor’s Executive Order does not apply to those areas of the Capitol that, by law, are managed by the legislative or judicial branches, such as offices of the Legislative Service Office, committee rooms, and the Senate and House Chambers.
