Wyoming Supreme Court Dismisses Lawsuit Seeking Removal of Secretary Gray

The Wyoming Supreme Court on Feb. 13, 2026 affirmed a lower court’s dismissal of Tim Newcomb’s attempt to remove Secretary of State Chuck Gray, rejecting Newcomb’s claim under Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment. Newcomb is described in reporting as a retired Laramie attorney and a Democratic voter who alleged Gray supported people involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

District court proceedings were resolved before the appeal. Sheridanmedia reported that Wyoming District Court Judge Misha Westby granted Gray’s motion to dismiss, and the state high court agreed with that ruling when it issued its decision on Feb. 13, 2026, as reported by Wyoming Public Media, K2 Radio, Sos Wyo, and Wyomingnews.

The Wyoming Supreme Court’s written language, quoted by Wyoming Public Media, framed the legal limits that disposed of Newcomb’s suit: “Mr. Newcomb cannot state a claim to remove Secretary Gray under Wyoming law, which contains only two avenues for removing a statewide elected official other than through an election, impeachment and the remedy of quo warranto.” The court added, as quoted by Wyoming Public Media, “This Court has no subject matter jurisdiction to impeach a state officer where the Wyoming Constitution solely vests such jurisdiction to the House of Representatives.” The decision further said, according to Wyoming Public Media, that Wyoming statute “state[s] only the attorney general, a county attorney, or a party claiming entitlement to hold public office may bring an action quo warranto,” and that declaratory judgment is not the proper mechanism for quo warranto, leaving Newcomb unable to pursue either remedy.

K2 Radio reported additional specifics from Newcomb’s complaint and procedural history. Per K2 Radio, Newcomb filed the suit against Gray in February 2025 and cited the Trump v. Anderson (2024) decision in arguing Gray should not hold office. K2 Radio said Newcomb’s complaint “didn’t include any new facts, just documents from a previous unrelated case,” and that it tried to introduce evidence such as Gray showing the movie 2,000 Mules (2022), media reports, and Newcomb’s claim of personal harm after Gray allegedly labeled him a “radical leftist” online. K2 Radio summarized the courts’ view that Section 3 “isn’t automatically enforceable, states must have a legal process in place.”

Secretary Gray’s office issued a Cheyenne dateline press release the same day the Supreme Court affirmed dismissal. In the Sos Wyo release (Feb. 13, 2026) Gray said, “The unhinged Left’s attempts to remove me from office because of my support for President Trump shows how far the radical Left is willing to go to get its way... I am glad that the Wyoming Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal of this outrageously wrong lawsuit.” The press release listed contact Joe.Rubino1@wyo.gov and phone 307-777-5365.

Newcomb’s challenge followed an earlier legal effort to bar former President Donald Trump from future ballots; Sheridanmedia reported a district-court dismissal in January 2024 and Wyoming Public Media and K2 Radio report the state Supreme Court dismissed that appeal on March 25, 2024. The Supreme Court’s Feb. 13, 2026 ruling leaves enforcement of Section 3 in Wyoming tied to the two state mechanisms the court identified: impeachment by the Wyoming House of Representatives or quo warranto brought by the attorney general, a county attorney, or a party claiming entitlement to the office.