WyoFile

ELECTION GUIDE 2026

Wyoming's candidates for federal, statewide and legislative offices.

Last update: Oct 2, 2026 - 11:39 AM
Karlee Provenza
Wyoming Democratic Candidate/ WY House District 45

Karlee Provenza

IncumbentCandidate Status: ➡️ Active

Active candidates for WY House District 45

Republican

On the Issues

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The answers below were solicited from candidates via a written questionnaire created by WyoFile reporters and editors in June 2026. Responses are presented exactly as submitted, without fact-checking, wordsmithing or editing for grammar, punctuation or spelling errors.

Legislative candidates were invited to respond to the questionnaire several times by email and by phone. Out of fairness to the candidates who met the deadline, WyoFile will not add responses after the guide's publication.

Where do you live currently? How long have you lived there? How long have you lived in Wyoming? Where were you born?

I currently live in beautiful West Side Laramie. My husband and I bought our home here in 2018 but I have lived in Laramie since 2014. I was born in Pueblo, Colorado.

What age will you be on Election Day, Nov. 3, 2026?

37

Please tell the voters about yourself including your background and qualifications.

It is an honor to currently be serving my third term. I serve on the Agriculture and Public Lands Committee and the Travel, Recreation, and Wildlife Committee. I have previously served on the Education and the Judiciary Committees.

During my time in the legislature, I have passed laws protecting public land access and various bills aimed at government transparency and accountability. In 2024, after years of community organizing, I helped pass legislation that strengthened oversight of law enforcement in Wyoming.

I am a nonprofit coach for organizations aiming to build grassroots power. I believe deeply that power is inherent in the people and I work to engage communities on how they can participate in their local governments. I earned my Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology at the University of Wyoming and I enjoy wildlife photography. You may have seen some of my recent work of Rebecca Bextel handing out checks to members of the Freedom Caucus on the Wyoming House Floor.

What are the biggest challenges and opportunities facing Wyoming today? As a legislator, how would you address them?

The greatest issues facing Wyoming is healthcare, the heartbreak of our young people leaving due to lack of opportunities, and out of state extremists funneling resources into Wyoming to divide us and dismantle our public institutions.

The first two struggles can be solved together – funding programs in healthcare would create jobs for young people, support them in growing their families, and support our aging population. We need new programs that expand maternal healthcare, senior services, and rural healthcare solutions so the money Wyomingites put into healthcare is spent in here, not in bordering states.

The issue of extremism plays a central role in our state legislature. This burden can be solved by the people in the upcoming elections. Outside of civic accountability through the ballot, I am committed to centering Wyoming problems and solutions, and I will continue working on anything that will improve the lives of the people of Wyoming so they have the freedom to prosper.

We asked WyoFile readers to rank issues that are important to them, and healthcare costs and access topped the list. What can the Legislature do to make healthcare more affordable and accessible to Wyomingites?

Given the recent cuts to healthcare at the federal level, the state should work towards providing insurance and healthcare services to the people of Wyoming beyond Medicaid. We need bold solutions that increase healthcare affordability for everyone while also supporting our critical access hospitals and the healthcare services that currently exist. A state-run healthcare system would provide jobs, increase the number of providers, reduce costs, and make it more accessible.

Short of creating a statewide healthcare system, we should create a public health trust fund that pays for healthcare services provided throughout the state from savings and investments. The state already has programs like this, such as the Wyoming Wildlife & Natural Resource Trust Fund which pays for conservation projects using income from investments. These funds could pay to keep our rural critical access hospitals and maternal services afloat while also helping increase services like community health clinics.

Do you support efforts to sell or transfer public land in Wyoming? How do you plan to ensure that state and federal land is managed in the best interest of the people of Wyoming?

Hell no, I do not support efforts to sell off our public land. The idea that the federal government could transfer lands to the state for management is just a foot-in-the-door technique towards public land sales. The state does not have the resources to manage these lands and would ultimately sell most of them off. Once they’re gone, we will never get them back and our future generations will not have the same opportunities we do to enjoy wide open spaces and abundant wildlife.

I support thoughtful, community-led efforts towards public land swaps, which means that a local community is able to trade property for public land which would increase public access.

In 2023, a bill I sponsored was passed which made it illegal for private property owners to post private property signs on public land and I have been the lead lawmaker towards protecting corner crossing. If re-elected, I intend to work towards a constitutional amendment towards no net loss of public lands in Wyoming.

No two Wyoming counties are the same when it comes to how they generate revenue. As a legislator, how would you approach the public's desire for property tax relief with local revenue needs?

The legislature has created a shell game where we have no plan for how to make up for lost revenues to pay for services, so some day the people of Wyoming will be forced to pay through increased sales tax or other means. No plan is a bad plan. Right now, the state has no plan for how to offset the cuts and no appetite for solving this issue.

In 2024, the legislature addressed the spike in property values through the property tax refund program and the 4% assessment caps. Of course, we may need to bring a solution for how to make the 4% assessment cap constitutional if the courts find that it is not. I believe property tax cuts should only be available through means tests – where the people who need relief get it, and the billionaires who use Wyoming as a tax haven don’t.

The legislature also passed a constitutional amendment that allows for various tax rates for different types of properties which would allow us to increase property tax rates on data centers.

What role, if any, should the Wyoming Legislature play in economic development?

If the free market and low taxes were going to solve our economic diversification problem, it would have done so already. The state needs to help solve some of the problems that keep businesses from coming here – namely our housing shortage, unaffordable and inaccessible healthcare, and opportunities for young families such as childcare and preschool.

Aside from structural changes to help businesses be able to support their workforce here, we also need to further support our economic development programs such as the Wyoming Business Council. With the current climate of Wyoming’s legislature being hellbent on tearing down the WBC, we are not going to be able to attract new business. The legislature should take a more supportive role towards supporting the people behind our small businesses and the programs on the ground that help them grow.

Explain your values when it comes to campaign donations. Does Wyoming's system for monitoring campaign donations and expenditures need reform?

I believe that money in politics is corrupting our entire system. I don’t take AIPAC money and I never will. I prefer our campaign is funded by small donations from working class people who already share my values.

When it comes to PAC money, my policy is that I will take a contribution and I will NOT hesitate to vote against their interests when they don’t align with my community’s values. This stance has meant that I can spend less time raising money and more time doing work on behalf of my community.

Wyoming has a serious campaign funding problem – out of state interests have long viewed us as a cheap and easy place to influence. Wyoming should require more frequent reporting of campaign donations, especially since the reporting deadline is only a week before the election. We should mandate greater transparency in reporting for independent expenditures such as mailers that are used to sow division and spread lies. Wyoming elections should be Wyoming led and Wyoming funded.

As of Aug 17, 2026, per state filings.

Total Raised$8,382
Total Spent$6,128

Shown relative to the top fundraiser in the Wyoming House: Julie Jarvis, with $58,900 raised.

Top Contributors*

  1. CALLER, LARRY (JACKSON)$1,500
  2. MARTIN, JENNIFER (ROCK SPRINGS)$1,000
  3. HARRIS, MOLLY (TETON VILLAGE)$1,000
  4. Unitemized contributions under $100$682
  5. WY REALTORS PAC (CASPER)$500

* Contributions are grouped by donor name and reported ZIP code — two donors who share both could be counted as one, and the same donor could be split into separate entries if they were reported giving from two different addresses. Errors in how a candidate or committee reported a contribution may also make these totals inaccurate.

Full records, individual transactions, and filings for all Wyoming candidates are available from the Wyoming Campaign Finance Information System.

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About this Project

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WyoFile produced this guide with coding and web development by Thomas Musselman, editing by Tennessee Watson and production assistance by Calla Shosh. Contact Tennessee Watson with questions, corrections or suggestions at tennessee@wyofile.com.

WyoFile is a Wyoming 501(c)3 nonprofit, independent, member-supported, public-interest news service reporting on the people, places and policy of Wyoming. WyoFile's donor base is politically diverse, including some donors who are candidates in this year's election. We maintain separation between sources of revenue and editorial direction, decisions and oversight. Acceptance of financial support does not constitute implied or actual endorsement of donors or their products, services or opinions, and does not confer editorial influence, nor does donor support imply any endorsement of WyoFile's reporting, commentary or editorial position.

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