Rock Springs Senator Accuses Legislator’s Former Opponent of Pushing Kamala’s Agenda

Wyoming State Sen. John Kolb, R-Rock Springs, used party loyalty as part of his bid for re-election.

Kolb said voting for his Democratic opponent, former state Assemblywoman Kenilynn Zanetti, is equivalent to voting for presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris.

“She represents the Democratic Party platform in its entirety,” Kolb said.

Zanetti told Cowboy State Daily that this is not true and that a vote for her is a vote only for her. She decided to run for president again to give voters another choice on the ballot. She last held this post 24 years ago.

“I came up with my own problems that I wanted to solve,” she said. “Vote for me is vote for me, not for anyone else.”

During Tuesday’s general election debate, Zanetti said Kolb also argued that voting for a Democrat to represent Sweetwater County would be tantamount to deciding not to be represented in the Legislature because of the party’s very small presence there. Zanetti countered, saying she always goes above and beyond to listen to constituents and work with other legislators.

“I was just amazed that someone would point out that he thinks people who disagree with him don’t matter and shouldn’t have a say,” she said.

Zanetti served in the Wyoming Legislature from 1995 to 2000 as a state representative from Sweetwater County. She chose not to seek a fourth term in order to focus on her business during this time.

She said part of her motivation to run again for Senate District 12, many years after she was last in office, was fueled by the divisions and Republican infighting that has dominated Wyoming politics.

It’s a very different environment than she remembers 24 years ago.

“It’s just terrible for me,” she said. “Hopefully, if elected, I can be a voice of moderation rather than extremism.”

Kolb believes Zanetti was handpicked by local Democrats and they are upset that he became the first Republican to represent SD 12 in the district’s history when he defeated former legislator Liisa Anselmi-Dalton in the 2020 election.

“I think they would like to reclaim the spot,” Kolb said.

Sweetwater County used to be a Democratic stronghold in Wyoming, but those days are gone as the county lost its last Democratic state legislator in 2022. Zanetti believes the differences between the two parties are exaggerated at all levels.

“Democratic representation may not be as strong, but I still believe in the two-party system,” she said.

While Zanetti is likely the underdog in the race, she could get additional support from Sweetwater County Democrats, who vote only in presidential and general elections.

But Kolb said he is confident Sweetwater County and Wyoming will support former President Donald Trump, whose policies Kolb believes will be good for Wyoming’s future.

“His policies are good for the United States, and they are good for me,” Kolb said. “The reason I support Trump is not because of his personality or his comments, but because he is good for Wyoming.”

Who is Kolb?

Kolb is originally from the East Coast but served two terms as a Sweetwater County commissioner before being elected to the Legislature.

He is a Trump supporter, a fiscal conservative, and an ardent supporter of Second Amendment rights, the latter he believes protects citizens from government tyranny and enshrines free speech.

“I’m running as a Republican candidate with Republican values,” he said.

Kolb led Republican challenger Jeff Ramaj by about 500 votes in the Republican primary.

If re-elected, Kolb would like to reduce the time people can file for unemployment in Wyoming by about three to four weeks, an issue he has already tried to address through legislation in 2023.

The current maximum unemployment period in Wyoming is 26 weeks. Kolb believes shortening that time period will motivate people to find new jobs faster.

“This will get people back to work,” he said.

He also wants to reduce the state’s mandatory contributions to the state’s unemployment trust fund, which he believes will be adequately funded in the future.

Zanetti, the employer, doesn’t think that’s the right approach and says it can be difficult for people to find new jobs in a rural state like Wyoming.

“I don’t think there’s any harm in giving people as much time as they have now,” she said. “Stop taking away people’s rights, they need to expand them, not diminish them.”

When it comes to property taxes, Kolb supports short-term solutions but believes long-term answers need to be carefully examined.

He also believes a vote for Trump would bring more confidence to Wyoming’s energy industry, which he considers the state’s lifeblood.

Southwest Wyoming is the state’s most important region for energy production, a role that will likely increase in the future as nuclear power develops in the area.

Zanetti, whose father was a coal and trona miner, considers himself an ardent supporter of industry as well as oil and gas.

But she also stressed that Wyoming shouldn’t ignore the fact that coal revenues have declined over time. She believes that too much of the blame for the decline lies with the federal government and that the demands of global markets also play a big role.

Who is Zanetti?

Zanetti is a small business owner who grew up in Reliance before graduating from Rock Springs High School. She considers herself a moderate Democrat, a fiscal conservative, and worries that extreme political views will discourage some industries from moving to Wyoming.

Her top priority if re-elected to office would be maintaining access to public lands and public education funding.

To combat declining access to health care in rural Wyoming, Zanetti said she would also support Medicaid expansion.

“I understand there will be a large upfront cost to the state, but the projected benefit from this is about 7 to 1,” she said.

Zanetti is also a strong pro-life advocate, but says he understands the pro-life position. Kolb is pro-life and voted in 2023 to support legislation banning most forms of abortion in Wyoming.

“Even if it’s a personal decision, I just don’t think the people sitting in Cheyenne have the right to make decisions about people’s medical decisions,” she said. “I don’t know of any law that would prohibit a man from having the medical procedures he needs.”

When it comes to energy and mining, Zanetti said she supports every form Wyoming has, from Tron to coal, nuclear and solar.

“We are very lucky to have the throne mines and I couldn’t advocate for them any more,” she said.

But she also stressed that she sees tourism playing a significant role in Wyoming’s future and believes maintaining or expanding access to public lands and protecting wildlife corridors will help grow the sector.

“My problem with public lands is actually an economic problem because of tourism,” she said.

Tourism is already Wyoming’s second-largest industry, but it is second in revenue to the mining industry.

“We’re not going to just do tourism,” Kolb said. “If we have to rely on tourism, it will be the death of Wyoming.”

When it came to the controversial BLM resource management plan for Rock Springs, Kolb was a vocal opponent. Zanetti saw this as a compromise that prevented either side from getting everything it wanted.

Zanetti, a gun owner, says she supports Wyoming’s Second Amendment laws. But it also does not support the use of automatic assault weapons.

“I don’t think anyone needs them,” she said. “I’m a hunter, you don’t go hunting with an automatic weapon.”

Regarding transgender issues, Zanetti said parents should make their own decisions about what happens to their children. Earlier this year, the Legislature passed a law banning transgender health care for minors in Wyoming.

This fall, the University of Wyoming volleyball team lost the match it was scheduled against a team that has a transgender member. Zanetti said that while she does not support transgender women and girls playing women’s sports, she hopes the decision to withdraw from the game was made by the team and not due to public pressure.

Appeal to all parties

Kolb won his first election by 700 votes. If registered Republicans hold out in the election, Zanetti will have a very difficult time getting elected, given that Republicans outnumbered Democrats more than 5-1 in Sweetwater County as of Oct. 1.

Zanetti spent $5,232 on her campaign while receiving $7,100, nearly half of which came from the Sweetwater Democratic Party.

Kolb spent just $3,116 on the general election campaign after spending $13,391 to defeat Ramai.

Both Kolb and Zanetti acknowledged that they are reaching out to voters of all stripes in their general election campaigns.

While Zanetti said she would represent every voter in her district if elected, Kolb was reserved, saying he would listen to everyone, but most of all Republicans and independents.

Leo Wolfson can be contacted at [email protected].