Candidates slowly file for office in area

Filings for office in North Big Horn County have begun trickling in, according to area town clerks, the Big Horn County Clerk’s office and the Wyoming Secretary of State.

Though a presidential election year, 2024 is an off year for local and state offices, with most elected officials midway through four-year terms.

As of Tuesday, there were only two filings for town council in the area. Ray Messamer has filed to run for his seat on the Lovell town council as has Frannie councilman Roger Ganoung.

Other council seats as yet unfiled for are held by Carol Miller in Lovell, Rob Johnson and Dexter Woodis, Jr., in Cowley, Richard Horton and Karma Sanders in Byron, Aspen Beall and Nick Loftus in Deaver and Guy DeSantis in Frannie.

There is one Big Horn County commission seat up for election this year, a seat currently held by Republican Bruce Jolley, who filed for office on Tuesday.

At the regional level, Rep. Dalton Banks, R-Cowley, has filed for the seat he currently holds in the Wyoming House of Representatives representing District 26, and on the state level, incumbent Senator John Barrasso has filed to retain his seat in the U.S. Senate. He is being challenged for the Republican nomination by John Holtz of Laramie.

Also filing was U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman, who is seeking her second two-year term in the House.

Filing for office began last Thursday, May 16, and runs through Friday, May 31. Town council candidates may file with their local town clerk, and county commission candidates file with the county clerk. Candidates for state or federal office file with the Wyoming Secretary of State’s office.