Josh Barta
jbarta@uwyo.edu
Ted Cruz won big on Saturday after taking in all of Wyoming’s 14 elected delegates.
Wyoming, like Colorado, did not have a presidential preference vote. Instead, the delegates elected to the National GOP Convention in Cleveland would have to vote on which candidate they prefer.
The delegates were chosen at the Wyoming Republican Party State Convention held this past weekend at the Parkway Plaza in Casper.
Cruz’s win in Wyoming was a landfall after other GOP candidate Donald Trump failed to attend the convention.
Trump spoke on his absence in a phone interview on Saturday on “Fox and Friends.”
“I don’t want to waste millions of dollars going out to Wyoming many months before to wine and dine and to essentially pay off these people, because a lot of it’s a payoff, you understand that?” Trump said.
Trump still leads the overall delegate race with 744 delegates to Cruz’s 559, according to the AP delegate count.
Matt Micheli, chairman of the Wyoming GOP, said the Wyoming win will help Cruz in the race.
“We have more delegates than what our population may suggest,” he said. “Our state has more sway than states with higher populations like Oregon. We get all bonus delegates.”
Cruz spoke at the convention Saturday morning. He addressed certain issues such as the current state of the coal and oil industry in Wyoming, promising to end Obama’s “war on coal.”
Wyoming has seen hundreds of coal industry layoffs in recent months as several of the nation’s largest coal companies have filed for federal bankruptcy protections.
Cruz also spoke on gun control in Wyoming, drawing applause from the crowd
“Pretty sure, here in Wyoming, y’all define gun control the same way we do in Texas — and that is hitting what you’re aiming at,” Cruz said.
The University of Wyoming College Republicans made their first appearance at the convention after taking a hiatus from the last two state conventions. Members of the RSO helped distribute papers to the delegates and tabled at the event.
Joe Jackson, treasurer for College Republicans, was in attendance at the convention and Ted Cruz’s speech.
“The state party always loves to have volunteers and especially young enthusiastic volunteers present,” he said. “It is important to show that we as a club are present around the state and at important state functions.”
