September 20, 2021 |
A newcomer to statewide politics in Wyoming outpolled Harriet Hageman at a candidate forum Friday night in Rawlins organized by the Carbon County Republican Party. Marissa Selvig, a former mayor of Pavillion who now lives in Riverton where she operates her business, was present at the forum, entitled “Rural Wyoming Matters.” Harriet Hageman, who received Donald Trump’s endorsement, declined the invitation saying she had a previous engagement.
Two straw polls were conducted Friday night — one among Republicans present and another among the Carbon County Central Committee. Selvig outpolled Hageman handily in both surveys by an average of 45 to 30 percent.
Liz Cheney, the person both candidates want to defeat received only slim support — three percent among registered Republicans and none among central committee members. Although the Wyoming congresswoman was not present Friday night, and support was meager, Cheney was, in some ways, the whole reason for the forum. County party chairman Joey Correnti framed the event this way during the introduction.
Pictured above: Screenshot of a Q&A session at the Carbon County Wyoming Republican Party forum Sept. 17, 2021 via Carbon County Wyoming Republican Party/Facebook.
The Republican party here in Carbon County was the first in the state to censure Cheney for her vote in Congress to impeach Donald Trump. Other county organizations soon followed, with the central committee of the State GOP voting in early February for censure. The Wyoming Republican Party also formally requested that Cheney resign immediately.
Cheney has been radio silent with grassroots Republicans since then, although she gives regular interviews to the Casper Star Tribune.
Friday night’s Republican forum went through several changes last week because of Trump’s endorsement of Hageman. Several candidates exited the race. State Senator Anthony Bouchard has not dropped out, but he was not at Friday’s forum. Selvig, who remains active in Fremont County politics as she operates a small farmers-market kombucha business in Riverton, took advantage of the stage Friday night to talk about her goal of restoring Constitutional-style government in Washington.
Also present at the forum was Sheridan businesswoman Robyn Belinskey. She did not fare much better than Cheney in the polling. Bouchard drew a 21 percent combined poll average, suggesting his ability to play the spoiler if he stays in the primary race next year.
In a message to Bigfoot 99, local party boss Correnti described the forum as interesting and entertaining. “As always,” Correnti wrote, “Carbon County Republicans had some fun while producing tangible results!”
