Trump-Backed Hageman Charges Into Wyoming Senate Race, Vows to Defend State Values

Paul Riverbank, 12/24/2025Trump-backed Hageman leads Wyoming Senate race, championing energy, local control, and conservative values.

Hageman, of course, is already a familiar name in Wyoming, not just because she outmaneuvered Liz Cheney just two years ago, but because she turned that bruising primary into a national news item. Few forget that 2022 contest: Hageman—Trump-endorsed, plainspoken, and deeply tied to the region’s ranching roots—versus Cheney, who’d made herself a national figure on January 6th and the future of the GOP. The resulting landslide wasn’t subtle; it was an emphatic statement from Wyoming voters about what kind of Republican they wanted.

In the lining of Hageman’s message is something close to a promise: that the traditional concerns of Wyoming—energy, autonomy from Washington, defending locally driven priorities—wouldn’t just survive but be reinvigorated. She never misses a chance to reference the coal, gas, and cattle that built the state’s wealth. “Our standard of living has exploded this past century,” Hageman said recently, “and the primary reason why: commercial production of affordable and reliable energy.” It’s hardly an exaggeration; drive down I-80 and you’ll see that legacy in every direction.

Lummis, for her part, offered little drama about her exit. Her statement—candid, even weary—spelled out a reality of Washington service rarely said out loud: “the difficult, exhausting session weeks this fall.” Her allies remember her for an approach that could work across aisles but stayed firm on energy policy and small government principles. Hageman, in a rare moment of bipartisan warmth, publicly thanked her and called Lummis’s service “admirable.” But Hageman’s message circled right back to the Wyoming identity.

It’s not just Trump lining up behind Hageman. He posted a blistering endorsement on his social media—“Harriet Hageman has my Complete and Total Endorsement to be your next Senator—SHE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!”—but other national Republicans were quick to echo him. Senator Tim Scott, a handful of senators including Bernie Moreno and Markwayne Mullin, all signaled their support almost as soon as Hageman’s video hit the web. Such rapid-fire endorsements are neither accidental nor cosmetic in today’s GOP; they are meant to clear the field early.

Hageman has leaned into her Congressional record when questioned on her priorities. She’s quick to cite, for instance, $15 million directed towards Wyoming’s critical infrastructure projects—not the sort of figure that breaks national headlines but vital news in a state where highways and rural roads see more cattle than cars. Similarly, her approach to federal lands—Wyoming is 48 percent federally owned—has been adversarial, sometimes combative, always intending to signal that local control comes before distant bureaucratic priorities.

On immigration, she has positioned herself among the more hardline voices. The legislation she’s recently pushed—such as barring student visas to educational institutions located in so-called sanctuary cities—has been delivered as much to underline her credentials as to court headlines.

Her foreign policy rhetoric is not notably nuanced, but unmistakably direct. “We’ve been sending money to Hamas...” she said in one recent interview, “what a horrific organization, and we’ve been funding it.” Whether this resonates beyond her base remains to be seen, though in Wyoming, bluntness is often prized over careful foreign policy parsing.

To grasp Hageman is to spend a moment considering her personal story—not because she leans on biography for votes, but because Wyoming does. She’s a fourth-generation resident, her family’s name etched into land records and local memory. In her rhetoric, there’s always a thread that loops back to this: “Wyoming is a beautiful state, but our people matter the most... That’s what we care about. That’s what we fight for.” It doesn't feel accidental, nor obligatory, but rather rooted in the familiar rhythm of a family that never left.

The contest is just beginning. There are persistent rumors of Governor Mark Gordon dipping his toes into this race, and no political watcher would rule him out. Still, as things stand, Hageman is the visible front-runner. In a state where political tectonics can rumble beneath the surface, this particular campaign is already shaping up to be a clear test—of state priorities, of national influence within the GOP, and of whether the model of combative, place-based conservatism that Hageman personifies remains Wyoming’s guiding star.

When Senator Cynthia Lummis announced she would not seek another term, Wyoming politics shifted almost overnight. There’s something about political vacancies in such a deeply conservative state—the sense of an open frontier, but with the stakes unmistakably high. As speculation kicked up, Rep. Harriet Hageman’s campaign launch put a quick end to any vacuum. Her entry, delivered with a direct nod to “Faith, Family, Community, and Country,” was less a political platitude than a summary of her underlying message—and very likely her strategy.Hageman, of course, is already a familiar name in Wyoming, not just because she outmaneuvered Liz Cheney just two years ago, but because she turned that bruising primary into a national news item. Few forget that 2022 contest: Hageman—Trump-endorsed, plainspoken, and deeply tied to the region’s ranching roots—versus Cheney, who’d made herself a national figure on January 6th and the future of the GOP. The resulting landslide wasn’t subtle; it was an emphatic statement from Wyoming voters about what kind of Republican they wanted.In the lining of Hageman’s message is something close to a promise: that the traditional concerns of Wyoming—energy, autonomy from Washington, defending locally driven priorities—wouldn’t just survive but be reinvigorated. She never misses a chance to reference the coal, gas, and cattle that built the state’s wealth. “Our standard of living has exploded this past century,” Hageman said recently, “and the primary reason why: commercial production of affordable and reliable energy.” It’s hardly an exaggeration; drive down I-80 and you’ll see that legacy in every direction.Lummis, for her part, offered little drama about her exit. Her statement—candid, even weary—spelled out a reality of Washington service rarely said out loud: “the difficult, exhausting session weeks this fall.” Her allies remember her for an approach that could work across aisles but stayed firm on energy policy and small government principles. Hageman, in a rare moment of bipartisan warmth, publicly thanked her and called Lummis’s service “admirable.” But Hageman’s message circled right back to the Wyoming identity.It’s not just Trump lining up behind Hageman. He posted a blistering endorsement on his social media—“Harriet Hageman has my Complete and Total Endorsement to be your next Senator—SHE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!”—but other national Republicans were quick to echo him. Senator Tim Scott, a handful of senators including Bernie Moreno and Markwayne Mullin, all signaled their support almost as soon as Hageman’s video hit the web. Such rapid-fire endorsements are neither accidental nor cosmetic in today’s GOP; they are meant to clear the field early.Hageman has leaned into her Congressional record when questioned on her priorities. She’s quick to cite, for instance, $15 million directed towards Wyoming’s critical infrastructure projects—not the sort of figure that breaks national headlines but vital news in a state where highways and rural roads see more cattle than cars. Similarly, her approach to federal lands—Wyoming is 48 percent federally owned—has been adversarial, sometimes combative, always intending to signal that local control comes before distant bureaucratic priorities.On immigration, she has positioned herself among the more hardline voices. The legislation she’s recently pushed—such as barring student visas to educational institutions located in so-called sanctuary cities—has been delivered as much to underline her credentials as to court headlines.Her foreign policy rhetoric is not notably nuanced, but unmistakably direct. “We’ve been sending money to Hamas...” she said in one recent interview, “what a horrific organization, and we’ve been funding it.” Whether this resonates beyond her base remains to be seen, though in Wyoming, bluntness is often prized over careful foreign policy parsing.To grasp Hageman is to spend a moment considering her personal story—not because she leans on biography for votes, but because Wyoming does. She’s a fourth-generation resident, her family’s name etched into land records and local memory. In her rhetoric, there’s always a thread that loops back to this: “Wyoming is a beautiful state, but our people matter the most... That’s what we care about. That’s what we fight for.” It doesn't feel accidental, nor obligatory, but rather rooted in the familiar rhythm of a family that never left.The contest is just beginning. There are persistent rumors of Governor Mark Gordon dipping his toes into this race, and no political watcher would rule him out. Still, as things stand, Hageman is the visible front-runner. In a state where political tectonics can rumble beneath the surface, this particular campaign is already shaping up to be a clear test—of state priorities, of national influence within the GOP, and of whether the model of combative, place-based conservatism that Hageman personifies remains Wyoming’s guiding star.