Barlow says he answers to Wyoming, not White House

Shares deep concerns that legislators are being shaped by ‘outside influences, money and outside ideology’

Republican gubernatorial candidate Eric Barlow told a crowd of about 25 people at the Lovell Fire Hall last Wednesday that Wyoming’s future depends on strong communities, limited government and leaders willing to answer to the people of Wyoming rather than political factions or pressure from Washington.

Barlow is a fourth-generation rancher, Marine Corps veteran, large-animal veterinarian and longtime Wyoming legislator. He was introduced by former Wyoming House member from Lovell, Elaine Harvey, who described Barlow as both a “trusted colleague and a close friend.”

“I helped Eric get this meeting going today because I want you to know for me how valuable and how important I think Eric is,” Harvey told the crowd. “He has integrity. He has values. Old-fashioned values, our values and small-town values.”

Harvey said she served with Barlow for six years in the legislature and later watched him continue to rise in leadership. She said she believes he would have “a big impact on our state” if elected governor.

Wyoming raised

Barlow shared a biography grounded in Wyoming roots, hard work and public service. He graduated from Campbell County High School in Gillette, served four years in the Marine Corps, then went on to veterinary school and practiced for 20 years. He later served in the Wyoming Legislature, including as Speaker of the House from 2021 to 2023.

He and his wife, Kelly, whom he described as his ninth-grade sweetheart, eventually took over the family ranch following his father’s death.

He also emphasized a lifetime of service beyond elective office including work in a local soup kitchen, 4-H leadership and other community organizations. He said that commitment to service, both public and private, including his time in the military and the state legislature, is what ultimately led him to run for governor.

He added that he and his wife believe it is “part of our faith and part of how we’re supposed to give back from the abundance and blessings we’ve received.”

He returned often to the theme that his campaign is grounded in a deep personal connection to the state.

“I love Wyoming,” Barlow said. “I love the people of Wyoming.”

He said his vision for the state rests on a few core ideas: “limited government, a strong economy, quality schools and health care” and “communities where families want to stay and raise children.”

“I believe a limited government protects our freedoms, delivers services efficiently and effectively and lives within its means,” he said.

The White House and Freedom Caucus

Still, it was the question-and-answer session that produced some of the night’s strongest moments, especially when Barlow was asked a series of questions about whether he was taking his marching orders from the White House, whether he was a member of the Freedom Caucus and whether his goal was to push Wyoming further to the right. His response was direct:

“No, no and no.”

His answer was immediate and blunt.

“No, no, and no,” Barlow repeated. “I’m not taking orders from the White House. I’m not a member of the Freedom Caucus. And no, I have no interest in Wyoming going to a place that Wyoming people don’t want to be a part of.”

That answer drew strong interest from the audience and seemed to capture one of Barlow’s central themes of the evening: that Wyoming has changed politically in recent years, and not for the better.

Barlow did not reference the role of the White House in Wyoming politics, and audience questions remained focused on state and local issues.

Money and outside ideology

He was intent on showing how he felt the mood and rapport in the Wyoming State Legislature has changed in the past 20 years. He said that when he first entered the legislature, lawmakers with sharply different views could still work together respectfully.

“There were no litmus tests,” Barlow said. “How you voted wasn’t a demerit on your character. It wasn’t a demerit on how American you were or how Wyoming you were.”

By contrast, he said, today’s political environment has been shaped by “outside influences, money and outside ideology” that have flowed into Wyoming politics.

“That is the triad that is really, really troubling — money, influence and the issues being pushed,” he said.

He argued that the state government should once again reflect Wyoming communities rather than national political trends.

Sale of public lands

Barlow drew a clear line on public lands, another issue that generated discussion during the meeting. Asked about efforts to sell or privatize federal land, forests and national parks, he rejected the idea of broad public land selloffs.

“The wholesale, fire sale of public lands is BS,” he said. “I’m just not there.”

He acknowledged frustrations with federal land management but said Wyoming people must remain at the center of the conversation.

“We can demand better, but we also have to demand to be at the table when those decisions and discussions are taking place,” he said.

On education, Barlow said Wyoming has both a constitutional and moral responsibility to provide a meaningful education for its children. He said the legislature had finally made progress this year in recalibrating the school funding model after years of delay, although he acknowledged more work remains.

He also pushed back against recent budget maneuvering involving the University of Wyoming, calling the drama surrounding proposed cuts “completely unnecessary.” He said the university is not optional.

“The University of Wyoming is a constitutional institution,” Barlow said.

Wyoming Health Care

Barlow said he also sees health care as one of the state’s biggest challenges, especially in rural communities trying to maintain hospitals, elder care, obstetric services and emergency response.

“We have real challenges in health care,” he said.

If elected governor, he said, one of his first priorities “would be bringing key voices together to confront those problems honestly.”

“One of the first things I’d do as governor is convene those health care communities, providers, payers and patient advocates and say, ‘all right, sort it out,’” he said.

Keeping Wyoming graduates here

Throughout the evening, Barlow returned often to the need to build a Wyoming where young people can choose to stay. He said that takes more than campaign slogans. It requires a functioning economy, quality schools, health care, recreation and communities that continue to invest in themselves.

“It’s not some governor sitting in Cheyenne saying, ‘I’ve got all the plans,’” he said. “It needs to be a collaboration between all the parts of the state.”

As the meeting closed, Barlow urged those in attendance to become more involved politically, whether by supporting candidates they believe in, running for office themselves or simply showing up to vote. He noted that just 27 percent of eligible Wyoming voters participated in the last Republican primary two years ago, a number he said should concern anyone who cares about the direction of the state.

“We can’t do that, folks,” Barlow said.

For much of the evening, Barlow presented himself as a traditional Wyoming conservative arguing for steadier leadership, more respectful debate and less outside influence. In a political season likely to be filled with sharp rhetoric, that may be exactly the contrast he hopes voters remember.