NEWS


HULETT — On Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026, less than three weeks after Ogden Driskill survived a close Republican primary challenge in Senate District 1, an eyewitness says the former Wyoming Senate president met in the back room of a Hulett restaurant and bar with Mary Throne of Prometheus Hyperscale and Cheyenne lobbyist Jessie Dafoe.

The timing is politically significant. Official results show Driskill defeated Rep. Chip Neiman by 218 votes out of nearly 5,700 ballots cast. During the campaign, the region's energy future—including large industrial loads, utility costs, water demand, and nuclear waste—was a subject of intense concern among voters.

Driskill's public position on nuclear development has not been a categorical rejection. At a June 2026 debate, he said he opposed bringing nuclear waste from other states into Wyoming, while also saying that blanket refusals were not the answer, and expressing support for nuclear manufacturing. That distinction makes the purpose of the Hulett meeting—not merely its existence—important to establish.


Who was reportedly at the table

Prometheus Hyperscale announced Mary Throne's appointment as general counsel in June 2025. Current company materials identify her as its director of Wyoming regulatory and government affairs. Prometheus is developing large, liquid-cooled data-center campuses, including a planned project near Evanston that the company says will exceed 1.25 gigawatts. Throne cut short her appointment to the Wyoming Public Service Commission August 1. Her commission would have run through 2027. After unsuccessfully running for Wyoming Governor as the Democratic nominee in 2018, Governor Gordon nominated Throne to the PSC on February 20, 2019. Prior to that, she served as the Democrat Representative for House District 11 in Laramie County from 2007-2016.

Jessie Dafoe is a Cheyenne government-affairs consultant and registered lobbyist whose appearance at a 2025 Wyoming legislative meeting provides a direct link to advanced nuclear policy. Official minutes from the July 29–30, 2025, Joint Minerals, Business & Economic Development Committee meeting identify her as “Jessie Dafoe, Radiant” during the committee's consideration of draft legislation involving advanced reactor manufacturers and the storage of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. Dafoe thanked the committee for discussing the topic. Radiant executives also addressed the committee about the company and its reactor technology.


Driskill's earlier appearance during the Radiant discussion

The same official minutes list Driskill among those who provided public comment during that portion of the meeting. The minutes do not summarize his remarks or characterize his position.

Dawn Marquardt wrote a contemporaneous account on Aug. 4, 2025. She reported that Driskill arrived late for the meeting and sharply criticized committee members who had questioned the proposal. Her account described his intervention as supportive of moving the nuclear discussion forward, and hostile toward lawmakers pressing transparency and public-safety concerns.

The 2025 record matters now because Dafoe was not simply a generic lobbyist appearing beside Driskill in Hulett. She had previously appeared for Radiant in a legislative proceeding where Driskill also spoke. It therefore raises a specific, answerable question: Was Dafoe representing Radiant, another client, or herself at the Sept. 6 meeting?


Questions sent to Driskill

The Open Range Record sent Senator Driskill two requests for comment before publication to all of his publicly available email addresses:

“Senator Driskill, less than three weeks after campaigning on concerns about high-impact data centers and nuclear development, you reportedly met privately in Hulett with Mary Throne of Prometheus Hyperscale and lobbyist Jessie Dafoe. Who arranged that meeting, whom was Ms. Dafoe representing, what specifically did they ask of you, and did you make—or agree to consider—any commitment involving legislation, regulatory policy, public funding, tax incentives, water, or power for their projects?”

Driskill did not respond by the deadline. As of publication, he has not confirmed the purpose of the meeting, identified whom Dafoe represented, or said whether any policy or legislative request was discussed.


Why an answer matters

A private conversation with an industry representative is not, by itself, proof of wrongdoing or of any policy commitment. Legislators routinely hear from businesses, advocates, and constituents. The public-interest issue is whether a powerful lawmaker discussed matters that could affect legislation, tax treatment, regulation, public infrastructure, water, or the electric grid—and whether voters will be told what was requested and what, if anything, was promised.

That need for transparency is heightened by the identities at the table and by the prior public record. Throne represents a developer seeking enormous power capacity for hyperscale computing. Dafoe previously appeared for Radiant for advanced reactors and spent-fuel storage.

Driskill may have an explanation that resolves the questions surrounding the Hulett meeting. He was asked to provide it. By not answering by the publication deadline, he left his constituents without that explanation.