Help us improve in just 2 minutes—share your thoughts in our reader survey.
James Byrd
James Byrd (Democratic Party) was a member of the Wyoming House of Representatives, representing District 44. He assumed office in 2009. He left office on January 7, 2019.
Byrd (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Wyoming House of Representatives to represent District 11. He lost in the Democratic primary on August 16, 2022.
Byrd served as Minority Whip from 2013 to 2015. He was elected to serve as Minority Caucus Leader in 2015.
Biography
Byrd attended both Laramie County Community College and the University of Wyoming.
Byrd worked in the following positions: Security Consultant, Computer Network Design, Exploration Geophysicist for the Compagnie Générale de Géophysique and American Oil Company (British Petroleum/Amoco), Contract Computer Project Manager for Communication Systems Interactive, and Software for American Express, Cargill, and Network Assessment and Optimization Group.[1]
Committee assignments
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Byrd served on the following committees:
2013-2014
In the 2013-2014 legislative session, Byrd served on the following committees:
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Byrd served on the following committees:
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Byrd served on the following committees:
| Wyoming committee assignments, 2009 |
|---|
| • Minerals, Business and Economic Development |
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2022
See also: Wyoming House of Representatives elections, 2022
General election
General election for Wyoming House of Representatives District 11
Incumbent Jared Olsen defeated Marguerite Herman in the general election for Wyoming House of Representatives District 11 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Jared Olsen (R) | 52.6 | 1,145 |
 | Marguerite Herman (D)  | 46.6 | 1,013 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.8 | 17 | ||
| Total votes: 2,175 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Wyoming House of Representatives District 11
Marguerite Herman defeated James Byrd in the Democratic primary for Wyoming House of Representatives District 11 on August 16, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Marguerite Herman | 64.0 | 162 |
 | James Byrd | 35.6 | 90 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.4 | 1 | ||
| Total votes: 253 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Wyoming House of Representatives District 11
Incumbent Jared Olsen advanced from the Republican primary for Wyoming House of Representatives District 11 on August 16, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jared Olsen | 95.6 | 1,359 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 4.4 | 62 | ||
| Total votes: 1,421 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2020
See also: Wyoming State Senate elections, 2020
General election
General election for Wyoming State Senate District 8
Incumbent Affie Ellis defeated James Byrd in the general election for Wyoming State Senate District 8 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Affie Ellis (R) | 61.3 | 4,231 |
| James Byrd (D) | 38.0 | 2,623 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.7 | 47 | ||
| Total votes: 6,901 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Wyoming State Senate District 8
James Byrd advanced from the Democratic primary for Wyoming State Senate District 8 on August 18, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | James Byrd | 99.3 | 912 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.7 | 6 | ||
| Total votes: 918 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Nate Breen (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Wyoming State Senate District 8
Incumbent Affie Ellis defeated Dan Young in the Republican primary for Wyoming State Senate District 8 on August 18, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Affie Ellis | 64.1 | 1,120 |
| Dan Young | 35.7 | 623 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 4 | ||
| Total votes: 1,747 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2018
General election
General election for Wyoming Secretary of State
Incumbent Edward Buchanan defeated James Byrd and Kit Carson in the general election for Wyoming Secretary of State on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Edward Buchanan (R) | 68.8 | 137,026 |
| James Byrd (D) | 26.8 | 53,355 | |
| Kit Carson (L) | 4.3 | 8,561 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 156 | ||
| Total votes: 199,098 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Wyoming Secretary of State
James Byrd advanced from the Democratic primary for Wyoming Secretary of State on August 21, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | James Byrd | 100.0 | 16,754 |
| Total votes: 16,754 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Wyoming Secretary of State
Incumbent Edward Buchanan advanced from the Republican primary for Wyoming Secretary of State on August 21, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Edward Buchanan | 100.0 | 94,603 |
| Total votes: 94,603 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2016
Elections for the Wyoming House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election took place on August 16, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was May 27, 2016.
Incumbent James Byrd defeated John Romero-Martinez in the Wyoming House of Representatives District 44 general election.[2]
| Wyoming House of Representatives, District 44 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  James Byrd Incumbent |
53.93% | 1,412 | |
| Republican | John Romero-Martinez | 46.07% | 1,206 | |
| Total Votes | 2,618 | |||
| Source: Wyoming Secretary of State | ||||
Incumbent James Byrd ran unopposed in the Wyoming House of Representatives District 44 Democratic primary.[3][4]
| Wyoming House of Representatives, District 44 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | James Byrd Incumbent (unopposed) | |
John Romero-Martinez ran unopposed in the Wyoming House of Representatives District 44 Republican primary.[3][4]
| Wyoming House of Representatives, District 44 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican | John Romero-Martinez (unopposed) | |
2014
Elections for the Wyoming House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on August 19, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was May 30, 2014. Incumbent James Byrd ran unopposed in the Democratic primary and was unchallenged in the general election.[5][6]
2012
Byrd won re-election in the 2012 election for the Wyoming House of Representatives District 44. He ran unopposed in the Democratic primary on August 21 and defeated Tom Zachary (R) in the general election on November 6, 2012.[7]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | James W. Byrd Incumbent |
58.3% | 1,486 | |
| Republican | Tom Zachary | 41.4% | 1,054 | |
| Write-Ins | Various | 0.3% | 8 | |
| Total Votes | 2,548 | |||
2010
Byrd was re-elected to the Wyoming House of Representatives, District 44. He was unopposed in the August 17, 2010, primary and in the November 2, 2010, general election. [8]
| Wyoming House of Representatives, District 44, General election (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| James W. Byrd (D)
|
1,337 | |||
| Wyoming House of Representatives, District 44 Democratic Primary (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| James W. Byrd (D)
|
337 | |||
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
James Byrd did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
2020
James Byrd did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
2018
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
James Byrd completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Byrd's responses.
What would be your top three priorities, if elected?
1. New voting machines and upgrade existing statewide system 2. Move WY away from burning fossil fuels to a synthetic carbon manufacturing business model using coal, oil, and natural gas as the source materials. 3. Streamline the on-line access of the business entities divisions. Remove unnecessary rules & regs. 4. Keeping public lands in public hands.
What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?
Revamping the budget and budgeting process to follow GAP models. Getting WY out of the energy fuels market Developing high-tech industries (block-chain), data centers, and manufacturing.
Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?
Nixon, Kennedy (president), Saddat, MLK, Mohammed Ali. Most of all my parents and grandparents who taught me how to respect every individual along with strong morals and ethics.
Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?
Pale Blue Dot and Varieties of Scientific Experience by Carl Sagan.
What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?
Compassion, morals and ethics. An understanding of the "cause/effect" relationship of government policy.
What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?
Percipience, tenacity, a very thick "skin", and a view that the "glass is half full".
What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?
To provide for the welfare of the general public while creating a platform for new business and intellectual advancement without damage to the historical past.
What legacy would you like to leave?
Wyoming get back to leading by example of how to make the energy development co-exist beneficially with environmental requirements. Fix the state budget process nightmare.
What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?
Sputnik. In elementary school.
What was your very first job? How long did you have it?
Paper route. then fast food cook, a local hamburger place. Lasted two weeks (age 14) at fast food.
What happened on your most awkward date?
All of them were/are awkward.
What is your favorite holiday? Why?
Holloween. Reminds me of happy times as a kid.
What is your favorite book? Why?
Pale Blue Dot. Because of Sagan's understanding of humanity, the planet, and the cosmos.
If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?
Ben Rumson, from Paint Your Wagon
What is your favorite thing in your home or apartment? Why?
My toaster oven. I can cook anything in it.
What was the last song that got stuck in your head?
This little light of mine.
What is something that has been a struggle in your life?
Maintaining the balance between work and personal lives.
What qualities does this office possess that makes it a unique and important part of the state government?
Ten years of legislative experiance and direct working with the SOS/county clerks. Geophysics/science and computer science (security & networking) for twenty years. Most important I am an independent business owner with employees so I get it, when talking about the problems between business and the government.
What responsibilities of this office do you personally consider the most important?
Elections, business entities and the SLIB (State Lands & Investment)
What kind of skills or expertise do you believe would be the most helpful for the holders of this office to possess?
Communication at all levels.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Wyoming scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2020
In 2020, the Wyoming State Legislature was in session from February 10 to March 12.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2019, the Wyoming State Legislature was in session from January 8 through February 28.
|
2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2018, the Wyoming State Legislature was in session from February 12 to March 15.
|
2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2017, the Wyoming State Legislature was in session from January 10 through March 3.
|
2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2016, the Wyoming State Legislature was in session from February 8 through March 4.
|
2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2015, the Wyoming State Legislature was in session from January 13 to March 12.
|
2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2014, the Wyoming State Legislature was in session from February 10 through March 7.
|
2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2013, the Wyoming State Legislature was in session from January 8 to February 27.
|
2012
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2012, the Wyoming State Legislature was in session from February 13 through March 9.
|
2011
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2011, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2011, the Wyoming State Legislature was in session from January 11 through March 3.
|
Wyoming Liberty Index
The Wyoming Liberty Index, a study created in 2003, issues a Scorecard that rates all final bills in the Wyoming State Legislature on whether the bills supported or hindered liberty. Legislators are also given a "liberty score" based on their voting patterns. The Wyoming Liberty Index 2012 report was issued on the 61st Legislature during the 2012 budget session. Scores range from the highest score (100%) to the lowest (0%). A higher score indicates a higher level of "aye" votes on bills considered pro-liberty and "nay" votes on what the organization considers anti-liberty bills.[9] Byrd received a score of 9% in the 2012 scorecard, ranking 58th out of 61 members of the Wyoming House of Representatives. Although there are 60 members of the House, a 61st "hypothetical legislator" voting nay on every bill was also included.
See also
2022 Elections
External links
- Wyoming State Legislature
- Profile from Open States
- Legislative Profile from Project Vote Smart
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign Contributions: 2012, 2010, 2008
Footnotes
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Biography," accessed August 1, 2014
- ↑ Wyoming Secretary of State, "2016 Official General Election Results," accessed November 29, 2016
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Wyoming Secretary of State, "2016 Primary Election Candidate Roster," accessed May 31, 2016
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Wyoming Secretary of State, "2016 Official Primary Election Results," accessed September 12, 2016
- ↑ Wyoming Secretary of State, "2014 Primary Candidate Roster," accessed May 31, 2014
- ↑ Wyoming Secretary of State, "2014 Official General Election Results," accessed November 12, 2014
- ↑ Wyoming Secretary of State, "2012 Primary Candidate Roster," June 11, 2012
- ↑ Wyoming Secretary of State, "2010 Election Results," accessed July 25, 2010
- ↑ Wyoming Liberty Index, "2012 Wyoming Liberty Index," accessed April 30, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Wyoming House of Representatives District 44 2009–2019 |
Succeeded by Sara Burlingame (D) |
