Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray (R) is projected to win the state's at-large congressional seat, according to Decision Desk HQ, extending the GOP's lock on the Cowboy State's sole House district.
With 37% of the vote counted as of late Tuesday, Gray led former state Senate Minority Leader Lisa Kinney (D) by a wide margin—59% to nearly 28%—a gap of more than 31 points. The seat was widely considered safe for Republicans, and Gray's victory keeps it in GOP hands.
Gray will succeed Rep. Harriet Hageman, who chose not to seek re-election to the House and instead ran successfully for the U.S. Senate. Hageman's Senate victory was projected earlier in the evening.
A former state representative from District 57, Gray was elected secretary of state in 2022. His political profile is defined by a staunchly conservative agenda, with his campaign highlighting efforts to enact anti-abortion legislation at the state level and to protect fossil fuel industry jobs—a key issue in Wyoming's energy-dependent economy.
As secretary of state, Gray made voter ID requirements and election restrictions a top priority. However, some of his proposals were rejected by Gov. Mark Gordon (R), who argued they exceeded the legal authority of the office. Gordon's rebuke underscored tensions within the state's Republican establishment over election administration.
Gray has also been a vocal supporter of former President Trump's baseless claims of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election. In 2021, he traveled to Arizona to observe a partisan audit of the presidential results there, a move that drew criticism from election integrity advocates.
Gray's path to Congress was not without earlier ambition. He previously ran in the 2022 Republican primary to unseat then-Rep. Liz Cheney, but he dropped out after Trump endorsed Hageman. That decision cleared the way for Hageman's eventual victory and set the stage for Gray's own bid for the House seat two years later.
With Gray's win, Wyoming's House delegation remains firmly Republican. His victory aligns with other GOP successes in the state, including the governor's race, where Republican Mark Gordon's successor was also projected to win.
Gray's focus on election integrity and conservative social policies is likely to continue in Washington, where he will join a Republican majority that has made election reform a central legislative priority. His arrival in the House comes as voter ID measures have gained traction in several states, though federal action remains stalled.
