In this episode, Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray joins Jenny Beth Martin to discuss how Wyoming became the first state in the nation to require proof of citizenship to vote in all elections. Gray shares his fight to strengthen election integrity, stop mail-in voting expansions, and implement voter ID laws to protect the sanctity of the ballot box. He explains the challenges of pushing these reforms through opposition from state officials and the federal government, and how Wyoming’s success can serve as a model for other states. The conversation also covers energy independence, the radical green agenda, and the battle to preserve Wyoming’s coal industry against left-wing environmental policies. Don’t miss this powerful discussion about protecting election security, defending state sovereignty, and standing for America’s founding principles.
In this episode, Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray joins Jenny Beth Martin to discuss how Wyoming became the first state in the nation to require proof of citizenship to vote in all elections. Gray shares his fight to strengthen election integrity, stop mail-in voting expansions, and implement voter ID laws to protect the sanctity of the ballot box. He explains the challenges of pushing these reforms through opposition from state officials and the federal government, and how Wyoming’s success can serve as a model for other states. The conversation also covers energy independence, the radical green agenda, and the battle to preserve Wyoming’s coal industry against left-wing environmental policies. Don’t miss this powerful discussion about protecting election security, defending state sovereignty, and standing for America’s founding principles.
X/Twitter: @ChuckForWyoming | @jennybethm
Website: https://chuckforwyoming.com/
Production Note: About 32 minutes into the podcast, the microphones quit recording and we had to use the camera audio to finish building out the episode. This explains the difference in audio quality toward the end of the episode.
Chuck Gray (00:00):
2022. Most states had only a proof of identity requirement when you registered to vote, but really it should be a three-pronged process. Jenny method. It should be identity, citizenship, and residency
Narrator (00:13):
Keeping. Our republic is on the line and it requires Patriots with great passion, dedication, and eternal vigilance to preserve our freedoms. Jenny Beth Martin is the co-founder of Tea Party Patriots. She's an author, a filmmaker, and one of time magazine's most influential people in the world. But the title she's most proud of is Mom to Her Boy, girl Twins. She has been at the forefront fighting to protect America's core principles for more than a decade. Welcome to the Jenny Beth Show.
Jenny Beth Martin (00:45):
Today we are joined by Wyoming Secretary of State, Chuck Gray. I got to know him recently at our only Citizens Vote bus tour in stop in Washington dc He spoke at our event in Washington DC and now today you're going to get to know him as well. Chuck, thanks so much for joining me today.
Chuck Gray (01:01):
Thanks for having me on.
Jenny Beth Martin (01:04):
So you're a statewide elected official in Wyoming, but it isn't your first election, right? You were an elected official before becoming Secretary of State?
Chuck Gray (01:12):
Yes. I was inspired to get involved in 20 13, 20 14, had a radio show at my family's radio business in Casper, which is in the center of the state and ran for state legislature. Came a little bit short the first time, then in 2016 tried again, and that time we were able to take it to the finish line. And then in 2017 became a state legislator, was sworn in 2017 and served six years representing portions of East Casper, which is in the center of Wyoming in Oil and Gas Center Key Economic Center for Wyoming. So served there six years and then the Secretary of State's office came open in 2022, put my name in the hat in the ring for that and won a very vigorous primary and then was sworn in January of 2023 and Wyoming, the Secretary of State is the chief election official for the state of Wyoming, and then also does all the business registrations for the state and then is the Chief Securities official for the state of Wyoming as well. And also sits on a number of state boards that are key and then serves as the second in command as well. In the Wyoming State Constitution, we don't have a lieutenant governor, so the Secretary of State serves in that role. So I've gotten really involved in election integrity over the last decade and heavily involved in the only citizens vote movement.
Jenny Beth Martin (02:50):
Well, and that's very good, and I want to talk about what you've done with only Citizens vote in Wyoming. But before we do that, let's just talk a little bit more about your state legislative experience, because becoming Secretary of State was not the first time you cared about election integrity, right? You worked on that even in the state legislature.
Chuck Gray (03:07):
Yes, and Jenny Beth, for people that are getting involved out there, this is a great way for individuals to run for office to get involved in public services serving in the state legislature. And during my time serving in 2017, there was a movement to move towards an all mail in voting system. And this is before this issue was really at the forefront, mid 2010s, there was a lot of momentum that was really unfortunate to move towards these systems. So I get sworn in 2017, literally one of the first bills we heard in the house was attempting to move Wyoming towards a mail in system and the Senate. The thought was that they had the votes there and the Secretary of State at the time, two Secretary of States ago was for it. And the thought was that the governor would sign it. And so our chance to stop it was in the house and got up there on third reading and we were able to swing six votes and we won by four.
Chuck Gray (04:14):
And I think that was a key inflection point because stopping that mail-in voting system, I mean that would've really taken us down a bad path in Wyoming. Now after that, there was just a lot of things we needed to get done to advance election integrity, not just stop the bad bills, but also advance the good bills and go on offense. And one of the things that we didn't have was a voter ID requirement. I just found that outrageous. I mean, you got to have ID to get on a plane, you got to have ID to buy alcohol, but to vote central to our republic, there wasn't a voter ID requirement. So started filing in 2018, voter ID bills for three years running. They were stopped by a coalition of a RP, some special interests. The county clerks weren't on board, but in 2021 we were able to get it done.
Chuck Gray (05:18):
And so that was sort of a three year process and worked on a lot of other things, fiscal conservatism, trying to reduce the state budget, which is a very difficult issue. Also trying to gain access to markets for our coal. Coal is a key industry in Wyoming, and we've been blocked in the west coast of the United States from being able to export our coal gain access to markets for our coal. It's an infringement on our trade. So worked a lot on that issue as well. And then in 2022, the secretary of state office came up.
Jenny Beth Martin (05:58):
Very good. Now what were the clerk's opposition to voter id?
Chuck Gray (06:07):
Well, the clerks were saying that one, trying to go back to 2018 and 2019, for one, they said that it was a burden that people wouldn't be able to get the ID, that some didn't have them. I mean, all the arguments that you hear from all the standard arguments, the standard arguments that we talked about yesterday that we talked about the only citizen vote rally, and it was just they were able to stop it three years running. And there has been, I work well with them and have a vibrant conversation with them, but we agree to disagree a lot of the time because, and ultimately it's a process a lot of times and they get there eventually. And on only citizen voting proof of citizenship for registering to vote, it was the same way.
Jenny Beth Martin (07:06):
Okay, so let's talk a little bit more about that because you worked on only citizen voting as Secretary of State, correct?
Chuck Gray (07:13):
Yes. And we were really ahead of the curve on this. I mean in 2023 we said this is an upcoming issue. The registration process really needs to be a three step process. You think about what it has been in the past, registration was mainly proof of identity. That's the one thing you needed to prove. Well, it really should be three things at the point of registration. Now voter ID is separate, and we got that done. We've really crossed the Rubicon as a nation on that. In terms of red states getting that done, I'm very hopeful. President Trump has talked about executive action on that. His first election integrity executive order is so important in advancing election integrity. But in the registration process, that's really the next frontier.
Jenny Beth Martin (08:06):
And let's just pause for just a minute because people know this, but sometimes they don't think about it. Registration happens normally once every few years when you move or when you first become eligible to vote. It is. We're not talking at all about what happens every time you go to vote, which happens a couple times in every even year and sometimes more often than not.
Chuck Gray (08:30):
Right.
Jenny Beth Martin (08:31):
Okay.
Chuck Gray (08:32):
And proof of citizenship for registering to vote is an integral part of that registration process. Pre 2022, most states had only a proof of identity requirement when you register to vote. But really it should be a three-pronged process, Jenny Beth, it should be identity, citizenship and residency. You should need to prove that you are a United States citizen, that you live where you say you live and that you are indeed who you say you are. And that's the three check process that we should have. That's I think, the gold standard. So we started saying in 2023, we need to advance the ball on this. So we put forward a rulemaking to have a proof of residency requirement, and it also beefed up some of the procedures around proving citizenship. And we worked on that with the clerks, thought I had them on board, and unfortunately then they decided to oppose it and the governor vetoed it because in Wyoming, in order to put forward changes in our procedures, it has to go to the governor. And he vetoed it on April 12th, 2024, which is the same day that President Trump did that really important press conference in Mar Lago announcing the Save Act
Jenny Beth Martin (09:48):
Speaker Johnson. Yes,
Chuck Gray (09:49):
Exactly. And so think about that juxtaposition. I mean, we're in a red state. We have this pretty liberal governor who is vetoing these procedures that are advancing what President Trump is saying at the very same moment are key priorities of the 24 campaign and then of the upcoming administration. So we didn't give up though. We decided to go to the legislature in 2025 to advance proof of citizenship and proof of residency for registering to vote. And we got it done with veto proof majorities. It was a true process getting it to the finish line because the governor refused to sign it even after the 2024 election, all of the election integrity focus, he still refused to sign proof of citizenship for registering to vote. But our founders, Jenny Beth, are very prescient, very forward thinking. And one of the things in our state constitution is pocket vetoes aren't allowed.
Jenny Beth Martin (10:54):
That's good.
Chuck Gray (10:55):
So it became law without a signature.
Jenny Beth Martin (10:57):
It's shocking to me that he was not willing to sign it. Does Wyoming have a lot of non-citizens in the state?
Chuck Gray (11:07):
Do
Jenny Beth Martin (11:07):
You know? Well,
Chuck Gray (11:07):
We've, I'm sure there's been an case
Jenny Beth Martin (11:12):
In the last
Chuck Gray (11:13):
Four years, a non-citizen voting in an election, and the media brushes it off says, oh, well, they say, well, do you have proof of this? Where's the case of it? Well, as has been pointed out, it's kind of a circular argument, right? When you don't have proof of citizenship for registering to vote, it's very difficult to prove right now all you have is an attestation, an affidavit. So it's a piece of paper that somebody signs saying that there are qualified elector. This was before we got this done, and this is what we're trying to pass at the federal level as well with the save act. But then when we have a case that is proven, they say, well, that's only one case. The magnitude's not there. I mean, they always have another, they're always moving the goalposts. Every single case of election fraud is an individual who is their vote, their qualified electors, their vote is being diluted,
Jenny Beth Martin (12:15):
Right?
Chuck Gray (12:15):
And so election integrity poll after poll, it is still top priority, the people of the American people and Save Act, which is proof of citizenship for registering to vote at the federal level. It's basically in federal statute putting in place what we have in Wyoming. Now, what some states have, it's not by any stretch of majority, it's under 10, but it's putting in place that proof of citizenship requirement in the federal code. It's really important.
Jenny Beth Martin (12:49):
It is important. Now in Wyoming, you are not subject to the National Voter Registration Act, is that correct?
Chuck Gray (12:55):
Yes. We are one of the six states that has had an exemption since the early 1990s. And so we are able to have that proof of citizenship requirement for all races, including federal races. Arizona passed their proof of citizenship requirement in 2004 and in 20 years of cases that went back and forth across the federal court system, ultimately there was a ruling that they could not apply that requirement to federal races because of the NVRA, the National Voter Registration Act as the full title of that act from 1993. Well, Wyoming has an exemption. We're one of six states that has an exemption. So when we passed that proof of citizenship requirement, we became the first state in the nation that was able to put in place for all races with an ironclad requirement that can't be waived, and we're really proud of that. Now, other states, when you think about Jenny Beth, how we move forward in getting proof of citizenship for registering to vote done, that is also sort of a three-prong process. I mean, we've got the Save Act, which is proof of citizenship for registering to vote in the federal code. We've got President Trump's executive order of March 25th, 2025, and the important work of putting a proof of citizenship requirement on the federal voter registration form. And then we have state efforts to put this in their state codes, and that's what we did in Wyoming. But outside of the six states that have an exemption, those requirements according to this federal jurisprudence will not be able to be applied to federal races outside of those six exceptions.
Jenny Beth Martin (14:47):
So the form that stems from the National Voter Registration Act, which is also called the Motor Voter Law, has the simple checkbox that you affirm you are a citizen and it is under penalty of perjury. But I've learned as we got into the writing of the legislation for the Save Act, that form actually cannot ever be used in a court of law. So even though it's under penalty of perjury, if someone fills it out wrong, they're never going to be prosecuted for it because it can't be used in a court of law, which is bizarre to me. Or maybe there are pieces of it that can be, but that component of it cannot be, I don't understand all the ins and outs of that, but now President Trump is working to change the form which he can do. So the Supreme Court said, Arizona must use the form, and if Congress wants to require proof of citizenship on the form, Congress needs basically to change the law, which is what we're doing with the Save Act. But because Congress was silent about requiring proof of citizenship, the form can be changed executively, and that's what the President is doing right now. So it'll be on that form, but we need to codify it. We need to clear it up. There shouldn't be this ambiguity or silence on proof of citizenship.
Chuck Gray (16:06):
Well, yeah, and there sort of a three-pronged approach here for us getting this to the finish line. You have sort of the one box where you have these state level statutes, but then in the federal level, as you just talked about, you've got the save act, which puts it into the code and makes it so that there is that proof of citizenship requirement in all 50 states. Now, the executive order from March 25th says, it tells the EAC, the Election Assistance Commission, you need to amend the federal form and put a proof of citizenship requirement on there. Now, the EAC has been debating that there's been some dither and Delay America First Legal filed a petition saying this needs to get done, and there are public comments on that through October 20th. It is really important that conservatives that we participate in that process because the EAC as part of the record, those comments are part of the record, but this needs to get done. The EAC needs to have that affirmative vote, and the executive order is very clear, and that proof of citizenship requirement needs to be on that federal form.
Jenny Beth Martin (17:27):
Yeah, it absolutely does. And what's so crazy right now, so in Arizona, just as a refresher to the audience, Arizona requires it for all of their state level races. So if you show proof of citizenship, you can vote, you can vote for President Senate and Congress and also governor, lieutenant Governor, all the way on down to their most local school board office. If however, you haven't shown proof of citizenship, you're given the federal only ballot and you can vote for President Senate and Congress. So it's completely messed up and twisted because you're exempt from the NVRA. You don't have to worry about that federal only ballot and bifurcating your ballot. What's bizarre to me about it is, so it becomes illegal to require proof of citizenship right now if the form doesn't require it for states to require it for federal races, but they can remove non-citizens from rules. So if you can remove non-citizens, why don't you just go ahead and prevent non-citizens from registering in the first place? Why not? Let's just stop that from happening. It is craziness.
Chuck Gray (18:36):
Well, it is, and it just shows how radical the radical left is. I mean, poll after poll, Jenny Beth, there's over 90% support amongst the American people for proof of citizenship for registering to vote. And when you're at 90%, you're not just talking about huge majorities like 98, 90 9% of Republicans or 90 plus percent of independence. You're talking about over 60 to 65 to 70% of registered Democrats support this common sense measure.
Jenny Beth Martin (19:14):
We did a poll on it last year and also this year, but last year in the election year, over 70% of Democrats, over 70% of independents, over 90% of Republicans, over 70% of black people, of Asian, of Hispanic descent of white people over, I think it was over 70% of people who supported Biden also wanted proof of citizenship. This is not a partisan issue. It's an American issue. It's a bipartisan nonpartisan American issue. We need it voted on in the United States Senate.
Chuck Gray (19:51):
Well, and Jenny Beth, thank you for those bus tour that the Tea Party Patriots have done. I mean, it's just you really have brought light to the importance of getting this done two years straight. The United States House has passed the Save Act. After that April 12th, 2024 press conference, the house got the save act through right away. They even had a provision where it would be in place with the 2024 election, 2025 after the 2024 election it passed, and the Senate has just been sitting on it. Now. Senator Lee has done great work in trying to bring it forward, very eloquent when he is eloquent all the time, and he's talked about it very eloquently, and this needs to get done. It needs to be brought forward for a vote continuously. I mean, I think that's one of the key points that came out of the rally. They need to keep being on the record on how liberal they have gotten the radical left.
Jenny Beth Martin (20:53):
Yes, they do. And I'm very hopeful that Senator Thune will do that. I can cut him a little bit of slack as he worked to get the reconciliation bill passed. That was the one big beautiful bill, and he's working on nominations, but the funding for the government is going to be determined in September. By the time we air this, it may have already been determined with a continuing resolution or appropriations or whatever they decide. And then it is time to get these radical leftists who are the fringe minority on the record for the radicalism, show the American people who they really are the support by not wanting proof of citizenship. They are okay if non non-citizens vote, they're okay with men and women's sports or okay with so many radical issues that are out of sync with the American people. And apparently they're okay with crime happening in major cities around this country.
Chuck Gray (21:53):
It is very disturbing how radical this subset, this radical left has gotten. And that's why they don't have primaries anymore in the Democrat party. Right? Because it is such a small minority. Even they did a field poll in California. Jenny Beth On's proof of citizenship for registering to vote even in California. It had 85% support amongst the entire population and amongst registered Democrats in California, it was like 67% support. So Robert Caro always said, politics always reveals, and one of the ways it reveals is through those votes that representatives take, but without it being brought to the floor, the vote's not happening and they can hide behind that. And so it is so important that it is brought forward for a vote. I think attaching it to a so-called must pass piece of legislation is another key approach.
Jenny Beth Martin (23:04):
And I hope that that is what they do. There are continuing resolutions. There's a National Defense Authorization Act. There are a few different places where that could happen. I don't know which one will be the best leverage point, but we need to figure out what is going to be the best fulcrum and get it done
Chuck Gray (23:23):
Right.
Jenny Beth Martin (23:24):
I'd like to go back to one or two, a couple other things that you mentioned that you did while you were in the legislature when it comes to mail in voting, I think that there are people around the country who are a little bit confused about what mail-in voting is. You're not talking about absentee voting. You're okay if somebody cannot get to the polls having a ballot sent them in the mail. I'm okay with that. But I think that in some states, especially states that don't have universal mail-in balloting, they don't understand what it means. So when President Trump or you were saying I was stopping mail and voting, explain why it was a problem and what was about to happen,
Chuck Gray (24:05):
Yeah, they were moving towards sort of an automatic mail-in system. So like you said, Jenny Beth absentee voting. I believe there should be a reason given for that. And in many states, Wyoming is not one of them, but many states have that requirement where there needs to be sort of a reason or an excuse as to why that's being attained. But absentee voting, that's totally separate from sort of a mail-in voting system where either everyone gets a ballot or it's semi automatic that you get a ballot and you have all these ballots floating out there that is very, very different. And thanks Jenny Beth for bringing that out a little bit because for example, Utah, I mean at that very same time when we stopped that automatic mail-in voting system, they moved towards that system. And I think it has been very damaging from an election integrity perspective.
Jenny Beth Martin (25:14):
And it's something that's happening very much in the western Western part of the country, and it'll keep moving east unless we have more states like yours that stop it. I think Arizona has mail-in, but you can opt out. California has automatic,
Chuck Gray (25:31):
And that's sort of the bill. There's different variations of it, but sort of the semi-automatic system where you opt in permanently, that is one of the variations on it and one of the iterations that the insiders try to advance in Wyoming.
Jenny Beth Martin (25:53):
So I'm very thankful that you stopped it, and I just wanted to make that clarification. So if people are listening and they're going, well, what's wrong with mail? I vote by mail. We're not talking about just absentee where you're going and personally requesting it. And hopefully your state requires a reason why you're requesting it for each and every election. This is where it's mailed out like 2020 to everyone regardless. And then you've got ballots floating around everywhere.
Chuck Gray (26:23):
Exactly. And you don't have the chain of custody. There's a lot of problems with that system.
Jenny Beth Martin (26:30):
The other thing that I wanted to talk about has nothing to do with election integrity, but you talked about how important coal is in Wyoming. Explain to people a little bit more about what is unique about Wyoming with your energy industry.
Chuck Gray (26:45):
Thanks, Jenny Beth for that question. Coal oil and gas and ag, so dash in the southwest part of Wyoming, those are really core industries in our state, and all of them have been under attack by the radical left for decades now. One of the things that the left over the last 20 years has done, we are the number one coal producer in the nation now. We could get access to markets via the west coast of the United States across the world. And this is important in reducing the trade deficit in stopping the trade imbalances that President Trump has been so eloquent in talking about and making America great again, reaching our full potential. I mean, that's one of the reasons I got involved in politics was to help people, help Wyoming Knights reach their full potential. And there were so many things that we're up against.
Chuck Gray (27:49):
And one of the things is these West coast states blocking us from being able to export our coal abroad. And that's the quickest path. That's the cheapest path through the west coast of the United States. Well, you look at the United States constitution, our founders realized that this could be an issue. Now, at that time, it was sort of exterior states blocking interior states because they wanted to get more money, get sort of more money as those goods cross those states. But they were very forward thinking. Now it's this radical sort of climate change political ideology that is infected so many of the political processes and those three West coast states, and they refuse to cite those coal export terminals. But it is a violation of that interstate commerce clause. It is a violation of states engaging in that interstate commerce. So I worked on a strategy to try to get this before the United States Supreme Court and filed a bill because we had a series of governors that weren't getting anything done on this. And oftentimes in the legislative branch, those bills can become a way of putting pressure, putting political pressure to get things done. That's what I was hoping to do, to have our attorney general who serves at the pleasure of the governor in Wyoming, or one of the five states that has an appointed attorney general to file a case, get immediate jurisdiction to the Supreme Court, which we would get because it's a state to state litigation saying, look, this is a violation of our Interstate Congress clause rights. I mean, we're talking about thousands of jobs
Chuck Gray (29:40):
In Wyoming. This would be a big deal for us to be able to get access to other markets. So filed that in 2018, came a little bit short, 2019, got it through. And our governor at the time, Mark Gordon vetoed it and he said, my ag, the ag will get it done. Just wait. And then he proceeds to wait an entire year. Well, timing is everything in politics. And in the first Trump administration, we had that opportunity where we were getting the federal permitting and he waited until early 2020 January. Well, we know what happened in March. And so that case got locked up in COVID and all the delays. And then with the disaster, that was the Biden administration, the federal approval went away. Well, now here we are in 2025 and we need to do that same case because the federal approval is there. President Trump is doing such great work. We just got approval for two mine expansions in Wyoming from the Department of Interior, from the Trump administration, and the time is now and we have that federal approval in place. So we need to do that interstate litigation so that we can be able to export our goods. And Washington state was the state that was blocking it at that time. But all three, California, Oregon, Washington state, all of those left wing states have blocked our ability to export our coal.
Jenny Beth Martin (31:17):
I don't even think most Americans know that's going on. That's unbelievable that that is happening. I hope that the attorney general acts on it or maybe your state legislature picks up the bill again and forces the issue. It needs to happen quickly. And frankly, the federal government, the Congress should be going in and codifying the kind of permitting that President Trump is doing. So it doesn't change from one administration to the other, creating chaos to both the economy and the livelihood of people who live there.
Chuck Gray (31:50):
Exactly. I mean, the permitting reforms that the Department of Interior is doing, the Trump administration is doing are so important. The executive order that was signed in May, I mean every single day is Trump administration is getting incredible work done for the people of the United States.
Jenny Beth Martin (32:16):
They really are. Every day. It's hard to keep up with it. It's almost impossible to keep up with everything that they're doing. So you're using every single believer of government to try to make a difference and save our great country.
Chuck Gray (32:30):
Well, and the other thing that has become a really emergent issue of Wyoming is the attempt by the sort of green boondoggle companies to plot down wind turbines in oil. And the big beautiful bill got rid of a lot of the subsidies. President Trump has taken executive action to remove a lot of the subsidies, but there's sort of this expiration process and then some are still out there. And so we're seeing right now about eight to 10 projects being proposed in the state of Wyoming on these green bullocks. And it's really important that the state leaders take a strong stand. President Trump has taken a strong stand on this. I mean just a few months ago he did that true social post saying not one more turbine in the United States. I mean this is jeopardizes our national security. They're made at China. They're not reliable. They're wasteful. I mean, the disposal process from these wind turbines are a disaster.
Jenny Beth Martin (33:44):
I think Cody was speaking with the lady from Scotland. He pointed that they don't last very long.
Chuck Gray (33:53):
Yes,
Jenny Beth Martin (33:55):
They're horrible.
Chuck Gray (33:56):
They burn up. They ruin the soil through the fiberglass, just shedding and then different fires that happen. I mean, I took off
Jenny Beth Martin (34:10):
Birds all around.
Chuck Gray (34:12):
Yes.
Jenny Beth Martin (34:14):
For the people who claim to love the earth and love the wildlife, they don't care if these actually harm wildlife and harm the earth.
Chuck Gray (34:21):
There's a lot of hypocrisy with the left and added. And so this is another key issue that I've been taking on. It's trying to stop the woke wind that they're trying to plop down in Wyoming. And it's in direct competition with our core industries. I mean, the outsiders trying to throw around this all the above line, and they pull tested it and they throw it around very cynically, but it's in direct competition with our here coal, oil and gas industries that are creating jobs in Wyoming and that have been the backbone of our state since territorial days.
Jenny Beth Martin (35:03):
And are you able to affect change with that as Secretary of State or you do just because you know the process and care about the issue?
Chuck Gray (35:11):
Well, there's a lot of different iterations of it. One of the things happening, I was talking earlier about the boards that all the statewide elected officials sit on. One of them is called the State Board elected commissioners, which has oversight over all the state lands and the state of Wyoming. Many of these projects are proposed to be on state lands. We had a project that came before the state board four months ago, and I'm not making this up. It's a Spanish company. They want to plop down wind turbines and they're not just going to do wind. They are going to make hydrogen with a water intensive process. Then they're going to take the hydrogen and make synthetic jet fuel and pipe it down to Denver International Airport. So George Soros said, ha, George V said, all these radical left wing individuals can brag about how they're greed when they take their private jets to Davos or whatever, when it's anything but that, I mean, it's a disaster. I mean it a very, does that sound like an efficient process?
Jenny Beth Martin (36:18):
Not at all.
Chuck Gray (36:18):
Yeah, it's a totally inefficient process and it's not real. It's driven by a fantasy on so many so-called climate change. Narrative is a fantasy. The subsidies are a fantasy. The fact that these are unreliable energy sources, it's a fantasy. So this proposal came before the state board people, Wyoming came, commented, said, do not grant these state leases. And I was the only member of the state Board of Land commissioners to vote against this proposal. Governor, treasurer, auditor, superintendent of public instruction, Megan Degen fel, they all voted for it. It's the only one to vote against it. And so out of that, I really came to the conclusion that night, we need to bring this to the forefront. More people need to see what is going on out there on this issue because otherwise we're going to lose Wyoming because these projects are going to be plot up everywhere. Now, some of the other projects have to go through county commissions in order to get permit. So that's the other thing going on with them as well.
Jenny Beth Martin (37:33):
In Wyoming, I travel the country all the time. So each state, you see different things culturally in each state that is different. But you've got a gorgeous state with national parks, wide open spaces, and it hasn't been as developed as many other states. And when you just said you're going to lose Wyoming, that's some of what you mean, isn't it? You're going to lose what the unique things that make Wyoming. Wyoming.
Chuck Gray (38:00):
Well, in the 2026 election was an inflection point, Jenny, be it really is. All the statewide electeds, governor, secretary of State all down the line are going to be up. And it's a really important moment. We defeated Liz Cheney. I mean, we saw the damage she was doing in Washington, how she was doing the exact opposite of what she claimed in her Kia Paids. And we cannot, cannot have another Liz Cheney that is doing damage to our state and our country. And so it's a really important inflection point in our state. We face the challenges that a lot of rest states have. I mean, there's an infiltration of the Republican Party in red states where individuals in purple states and blue states that would be Democrats crossover into our primary. We put in place in 2023. Actually the first session after I was elected, our number one priority was closing our primary. I think that's
Jenny Beth Martin (39:11):
Okay that you did that.
Chuck Gray (39:12):
Thanks shouldn't be. We have a 90 day closure, but outside those 90 days, they can still crossover. And really it's very difficult, basically impossible constitutionally to stop that outside of a closure within three months of the election. And so we're tied for the straws in the nation on that. But you still get this infiltration and you get the Democrats crossing over into the primary. You get the media that does everything they can to try to damage conservatives. And then you have sort of this insider big money groups that try to advance liberal candidates, and that's what we're up against. And we need to be happy warriors and articulate a vision for our state that is in lie with what the people want and do it in a way that inspires
Jenny Beth Martin (40:08):
That is exactly right. So you'll be running for office again in 2026?
Chuck Gray (40:12):
Yes. Yeah. Well, I take a look at it. I mean there's a lot of moving parts right now. Congresswoman Hagerman is a hero.
Jenny Beth Martin (40:22):
She's an actual conservative.
Chuck Gray (40:24):
Yes. She defeated Liz and is doing a great job in the Congress and we'll see if she might come back to Wyoming to run for governor and we sort of waited for that decision. I very supportive of congresswoman hang him in whatever she decides to do because she is a very important voice for the state of Wyoming and for our
Jenny Beth Martin (40:54):
Country and Sha care, it's very much about energy as well. I've had discussions with her about energy, so you just have to wait and see. But something's going to happen and there'll be elections next year and you'll be on the ballot somewhere.
Chuck Gray (41:10):
Yeah, I believe so. We need
Jenny Beth Martin (41:11):
You on the ballot
Chuck Gray (41:13):
Check. Thanks. You can come. Thank you. It's been a road the last 10 years being involved, and I recognize it's not forever. It's a little bit tight. I tell our staff every single day, every day we need to have at least a three yard run up to that. We have to advance the ball because this is a moment time where we have the opportunity and God has blessed us with the opportunity and the trust that the people have given us to do the work of the people and do what we were elected to do.
Jenny Beth Martin (41:50):
Well, I'm very thankful that you are doing what you were elected to do and that you're answering God's call on stepping up in this important time to make a difference for reserving liberty in Wyoming and in our country. Thanks for joining me today.
Chuck Gray (42:02):
Thanks, Jenny Beth. Thanks for having me.
Narrator (42:05):
The Jenny Beth Show is hosted by Jenny Beth Martin, produced by Kevin Han and directed by Luke Livingston. The Jenny Beth Show is a production of Tea Party Patriots action. For more information, visit tea party patriots.org.
Jenny Beth Martin (42:24):
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