Low-profile Centennial candidate joins Wyoming governor race

Curt Blake, a Centennial resident, is the fourth Republican on Wyoming’s Aug. 18 governor primary ballot, putting an Albany County name into a race that will help decide who leads the state next year. He filed in May and listed P.O. Box 324 in Centennial on the candidate roster.

Blake said in his first interview since filing that he is “not really your traditional candidate.” He said he has not accepted donations, endorsements or debate invitations and is relying on word of mouth instead of the public campaign style that has defined the better-known GOP field.

His campaign message points to issues he says state leaders are missing. Blake said he is focused on healthcare costs, political divisiveness and what he sees as Wyoming getting too little back from tourism and property development tied to the state’s resources. He argued that the state needs more balance so Wyoming benefits more from development and does not simply trade away what he described as its “soul.”

Blake’s background is rooted in the Albany County corridor between Laramie and Centennial. He described himself as a fifth-generation Wyomingite who grew up in Laramie and attended the University of Wyoming before leaving before finishing an engineering degree. He later worked most of his life as a general contractor and in real estate development. He now owns a production company that stages western events, including rodeos and bull riding.

His entry adds a different style to a Republican field that already includes Eric Barlow, Brent Bien and Megan Degenfelder, all of whom have campaigned publicly for months. Blake stayed out of the June 18 GOP debate in Dubois, which drew more than 100 people and lasted about 80 minutes. Ginger Bennett, the Wyoming Republican Party’s interim executive director, said he did not respond to the party’s invitation.

The budget fight in Cheyenne has become a central issue in the race, with proposed cuts to the Wyoming Business Council, Wyoming Public Media, the University of Wyoming block grant and state health funding. WyoFile said in January that five candidates had announced for governor overall, including one Democrat and one unaffiliated contender, but the Republican primary remains the contest that matters most in Republican-dominated Wyoming.

That political math is familiar in the state’s recent gubernatorial history. Wyoming Republicans have won the last two open governor’s races after primary victories with less than 50% of the vote, a pattern that keeps attention on conservative credentials, turnout and which candidates can build support beyond the loudest corners of the party.