On January 29, 2026, Senator Ed Cooper was quoted in the Greybull Standard as saying,
“The state’s Freedom Caucus (FC) in D.C. has pledged $30,000 to each house race in Wyoming. The (FC) members are judged on how they vote on each of their agendas and the email that they get every day. The more you are in line with the voting the better your campaign donation is. I’ll just leave it there. No matter what they think, that is what they are told to do.”
I reached out to him to ask about his source for this statement and he told me, “That information has been out there for quite a while. I couldn’t tell you exactly where I got it.” He went on to say,
“I can’t substantiate it in writing, so unfortunately that’s hearsay but the people that deal in these things every day tell me it’s absolutely true, so that’s all I got is what some of these folks have told me. So that’s my bad. I made a mistake with that and as such I guess I stand by the statement.”
He also said that he had contacted the Greybull paper with a letter to the editor apologizing for what he called “hearsay” and that he would resubmit his article once he could back up his statement.
The Greybull Standard published Senator Cooper’s letter on Feb. 5th, and it reads in part,
“That is what I was told by several very reliable individuals. Since then I have been unable to substantiate this. I would like your readers to know this. I apologize for not verifying the information before sharing it. When I can substantiate the information, I will reissue the statement.”
When I asked Sen. Cooper if he would be willing to share who gave him the information regarding campaign money to Freedom Caucus members in exchange for votes, he declined, saying,
“I called a couple people last week that I’ve talked to about it over the past few months and they all stand by their thoughts on it. But they haven’t been able to get back to me with written substantiation so I’m not going to put them on the spot.”
His final statement to me before the call ended was,
“That doesn’t mean it’s not true. It means I just simply didn’t substantiate it.”
On Feb. 5th, Tom Lubnau, former legislator and Speaker of the House, wrote an opinion piece for the Cowboy State Daily where he quoted the original statement by Sen. Cooper, adding this line:
“As Senator Ed Cooper noted, Freedom Caucus operatives openly tie campaign money to obedience.”
Mr. Lubnau also accused the Freedom Caucus of wanting to “bankrupt schools and libraries.” At a town hall in Crook County on Tuesday Feb. 3rd, Speaker of the House Chip Neiman explained that no school funding cuts are up for discussion during the upcoming budget session, which begins Monday Feb. 9th. In fact, the recalibration committee is recommending an increase in funding over the next two years.
Another “truth” stated by several government officials and most media sources is that the 25% property tax reduction passed by the legislature in 2024 has devastated local municipalities. The fact is the loss of revenue hits different communities differently, depending on size and spending habits. According to Karla Brandenburg, mayor of Pine Haven in Crook County, her city was hit harder by the loss of the SPOT tax (Specific Purpose and Options Tax) than by the property tax reduction. Pine Haven lost $400,000 when the SPOT tax was voted down, compared to $20,000 from the property tax reduction.
On the Feb. 4th edition of the Cowboy State Politics podcast, David Iverson interviewed Andy Roth, president of the State Freedom Caucus Network in Washington, D.C. He asked Andy if he is the “D.C. Overlord”, calling the shots for the Wyoming Freedom Caucus members. The answer was no.
Andy explained how the network operates, helping conservatives to organize in order to be more effective in fighting the swamp that exists in every state, not just in the nation’s capital. The Freedom Caucus Network does not tell members how to vote.
The accusation of receiving campaign donations for votes is significant. It’s also easily proved or disproved. Every politician and PAC is required to file campaign finance reports, and that information is available to anyone who chooses to look it up. Honorwyoming.org, opensecrets.org and wycampaignfinance.gov are just three of the places you can look at campaign donations, all of them show where they come from and where they go.
It is important to know what the real truth is when it comes to politics. We are living in the digital age, where information is available to us at the touch of a finger. We carry computers in our pockets every day. We can see our legislators’ voting history and watch committee meetings in real time.
While access doesn’t always equate to accuracy, especially when it comes to statements based on feelings rather than facts, the information we seek is readily available.
Senator Cooper made a statement based on what he believes to be true but has yet to offer any proof of his claim. Careers and reputations can be irreparably damaged by unsubstantiated accusations. Elections can be swayed by gossip. We must hold our elected officials, as well as the media, accountable for the things they say and print.
Editor's Note: After Sen Ed Cooper's "retraction" was printed by the Greybull Standard, the Cowboy State Daily published their own article written by Clair McFarland. While McFarland did mention Cooper's comments, she did not mention the exact same comment, referenced above, in a piece by Cowboy State Daily columnist Tom Lubnau published February 5, 2026.