Thomas Lear
Thomas Lear (Republican Party) ran for election to the Wyoming House of Representatives to represent District 12. He lost in the Republican primary on August 20, 2024.
Lear completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Thomas Lear was born in Cheyenne, Wyoming. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Wyoming in 2008 and a graduate degree from the University of Northern Colorado in 2012. His career experience includes working as an educator and in college and professional sports.[1]
Elections
2024
See also: Wyoming House of Representatives elections, 2024
General election
General election for Wyoming House of Representatives District 12
Incumbent Clarence Styvar won election in the general election for Wyoming House of Representatives District 12 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Clarence Styvar (R) | 94.2 | 2,252 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 5.8 | 139 | ||
| Total votes: 2,391 | |||
 = 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. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Joseph Ramirez (Independent)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Wyoming House of Representatives District 12
Incumbent Clarence Styvar defeated Thomas Lear in the Republican primary for Wyoming House of Representatives District 12 on August 20, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Clarence Styvar | 55.7 | 419 | |
 | Thomas Lear | 43.8 | 329 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.5 | 4 | ||
| Total votes: 752 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Lear in this election.
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Thomas Lear completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Lear's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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For more than a decade I pursued a career in college and professional sports, working mostly in Baseball Operations and Scouting. However, I always held a passion for education and would return to it when I was between jobs in sports. Then, in 2016, I was offered the opportunity to teach in the Adult Education (ACES) program at Laramie County Community College. My experience with those students persuaded me to leave sports behind and become a teacher full-time. It is a decision that completely changed my life.
I have taught ESL & U.S. Civics/Citizenship in the ACES program for nearly eight years now, while previously teaching Sport Management at LCCC part-time as well. On a personal note, I am married to my astounding wife, Camila, and we have a beautiful and spunky baby girl named Maia. And despite my old age, I still love to exercise and compete in as many sports as I can.- I decided to run for the Wyoming House of Representatives because I want to change the tenor of politics in our state. Too many of our current legislators are focused on in-fighting and personal agendas and not focused on the issues facing Wyomingites. That division is hurting our state by ignoring the problems right in front of our faces. If I am elected, I will not become a part of that system. I will work with the residents of HD 12 to identify their most pressing concerns, and I will work to pass legislation that ensures Wyoming's future.
- Wyoming faces an economic cliff in the very near future. Our population is older than ever and one of the oldest in the nation. Our young people leave at the highest rate in the United States. That combination means that soon we will not have the talented, educated, and trained workers to replace our current workforce as they retire. It also means we will have fewer younger workers contributing to our economy, putting the money into it that is necessary to pay for the services our older Wyomingites require. All of this will contribute to an economic downturn in our great state if it is not addressed.
- Our problems are fixable. If we honor our tradition as a mineral extraction state, while embracing the future via diversification of our economy through a focus on small business infrastructure and renewable energy expansion, while addressing the cost of housing in our state, we can attract and keep the young workforce necessary to ensure economic prosperity.
I also believe that an elected official should be transparent, honest, and forthright with their constituents. The people deserve to know exactly what they are working on and how they view or feel about particular policy areas. Even if the legislator disagrees with the views of their constituents, they should be open about that and explain why it is they do not see eye-to-eye.
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.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on July 16, 2024
