In elections for the Wyoming Legislature, every vote counts. 

This is especially true in the primary elections, which tend to have very low turnout but also essentially decide who will win the seat in most races.

In a new series, EVERY VOTE COUNTS, Better Wyoming looks at primary elections from recent years for the Wyoming House and Senate that featured two very different candidates and were decided by just a handful of ballots.

This should serve as a reminder that your vote matters, and encouragement to commit to vote in both the primary and general elections in 2026.

 

RACE: House District 8 - Cheyenne

YEAR: 2024

Rep. Dave Zwonitzer (incumbent) vs. Steve Johnson

OUTCOME: 

Steve Johnson - 1,183 votes

Dave Zwonitzer - 1,135 votes

MARGIN OF VICTORY: 48 votes

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Rep. Dave Zwonitzer, like his son Rep. Dan Zwonitzer, was a traditional Republican member of the House. Both were considered moderates, and both were targeted by the far-right Freedom Caucus in 2024.

Dave Zwonitzer was opposed by Freedom Caucus-endorsed Steve Johnson, who beat him by 48 votes.

This wasn’t the first time Zwonitzer was involved in an incredibly close election. In 2016, he lost his Wyoming Senate seat to Anthony Bouchard, who beat him by just five votes in the primary.

Zwonitzer successfully returned to the Legislature by winning a House seat in 2022, defeating several candidates—including Johnson—in the GOP primary.

A dirty race

Zwonitzer said he had been thinking about retiring from the Legislature until an incident at the Laramie County Republican Party Convention in 2024. While he was speaking, people in the audience cat-called that he was a “RINO” (Republican in Name Only).

Another motivating factor was a Johnson brochure at the state GOP convention that attacked Zwonitzer before he even decided to run for re-election.

“Wyoming shouldn’t be this way, and for sure Laramie County shouldn’t be this way,” Zwonitzer told Cowboy State Daily. “It’s not what politics are.”

Johnson, a 71-year-old commercial general contractor, told the news outlet he was running because, in his view, too many Republicans like Zwonitzer were actually Democrats.

Differences on funding, taxes, and reproductive freedom

Johnson and Zwonitzer had clear differences when it came to policies and how the state should be run.

Zwonitzer, a longtime legislator, supported a fiscally responsible approach to the state budget and spending. He advocated for keeping Wyoming’s investments and savings strong so they could produce investment returns that keep state finances afloat during Wyoming’s boom-and-bust economic cycles.

“That’s one of my main objectives, to try and bring some civility and keep things that are right for Wyoming and we’re going to be proud of in 10 or 20 years,” he said.

Johnson, on the other hand, supported cutting taxes and draining the state’s savings accounts in order to give money back to individuals.

Similarly, while Zwonitzer supported incremental solutions to lower Wyoming property taxes, Johnson wanted to abolish property taxes altogether.

Zwonitzer had also taken a measured approach to reproductive freedom. For instance, he voted against an all-out ban on abortion in 2023, which the Wyoming Supreme Court later found unconstitutional.

Johnson, on the other hand, supported a ban on any and all abortions, even in cases of rape or incest.

Freedom Caucus Johnson seeks a second term

When August rolled around, voters in Cheyenne’s House District 8 chose Steve Johnson by 48 votes. Rep. Johnson has been an active member of the Freedom Caucus during his first term.

Rep. Johnson plans to run for re-election in 2026.