Rift In Republican Party Between Moderates and Ultra-Conservatives

The Republican Party in Wyoming is undergoing changes; moderate Republicans have to battle more conservative members from their own party.  Sometimes that’s during an election, but other battles occur in committee rooms and on the legislative floor.   University of Wyoming History Professor, Phil Roberts, says the influx of ultra-right ideals is coming from Southern Republicans. "I for the life of me can't figure out why the Wyoming republican party is allowing itself to get run over the by southern republicans, but that's what's happening in the congress everyday that happens in the congress, and everyday it's filtering in Wyoming. Because Wyoming has never had a tradition of social conservatism, of religious conservatism, that's alien to WY." Roberts says Democrats in the state have been moving to the right in response to the shift, as well. He adds that’s a bad long-term strategy for the Democrats.