The Freedom Caucus, a hard-right group within the GOP, is experiencing a challenging primary season. On Tuesday, several candidates supported by the caucus and its allies faced setbacks in primaries across states like Florida and Wyoming, which added to their recent series of losses.
In Florida, Catalina Lauf was defeated in a House GOP primary aiming to succeed Freedom Caucus member Florida Rep. Byron Donalds. This loss came despite support from President Donald Trump, a late advertisement purchase by the Freedom Caucus Fund, and millions from other supporting groups.
Shortly afterwards, over a dozen candidates from the Wyoming Freedom Caucus were unsuccessful against moderate opponents in the state legislature. Rachel Rodriguez-Williams, the group’s chair, lost to a moderate candidate in the secretary of state race, as did other caucus-backed candidates for state superintendent and treasurer.
These defeats followed earlier setbacks, including Rep. Andy Ogles’ (R-Tenn.) removal earlier in the month, Rep. Chip Roy’s (R-Texas) loss in his bid for Attorney General, and Rep. Ralph Norman’s third-place finish in the South Carolina gubernatorial primary. The Freedom Caucus Fund had invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in support of these candidates.
The State Freedom Caucus Network, which supported the Wyoming candidates, is not officially connected to the House Freedom Caucus. However, its website states its mission is to extend the House Freedom Caucus’s fiscally conservative principles to state legislatures nationwide.
Despite some victories for Freedom Caucus members this cycle, the trend suggests that the group’s influence is diminishing among GOP voters. This shift occurs as party factions vie for relevance post-Trump’s presidency.
GOP strategist Matthew Bartlett, who served in Trump’s first administration, noted, “They became largely an island of misfit toys: problematic in their party, and not for reasons that are necessarily popular with the public.” He added, “So you’ve seen diminished influence, and you’ve seen them losing seats, losing stature.”
In Wyoming, Robert Short, a moderate Republican, defeated Rodriguez-Williams with a campaign slogan of “make the secretary of state’s office boring again.”
Short remarked to POLITICO, “What Wyomingites were not and still are not is extremists,” criticizing the Freedom Caucus for its “extremist agenda” and attempts to “usher in a national-driven agenda that really does not have a home in Wyoming.” He added, “And I think the voters of Wyoming responded resoundingly last night in saying, ‘not up in here.’”
The losses in Wyoming are particularly significant given the state’s conservative nature. Just two years ago, Freedom Caucus-aligned members gained control of the state legislature and delivered Trump the highest vote share nationwide. Two years prior, Wyoming’s GOP primary voters decisively ousted former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), who had opposed Trump’s false claims about the 2020 election being stolen. Wyoming remains one of the few states where Trump’s approval rating is positive, making the Freedom Caucus’s losses there noteworthy.
Members of Wyoming’s Freedom Caucus faced challenges in advancing their priorities and sought to eliminate popular programs, such as public media funding and dismantling the state’s economic development agency. Their proposals often clashed with more traditional conservatives.
The caucus aimed to achieve a supermajority in Tuesday’s primaries to push its legislative agenda but was soundly rejected by voters.
Wyoming GOP state Rep. Andrew Byron, who ran unopposed and is not part of the Freedom Caucus, described the election outcome as “a butt-whoopin.” He stated, “It was a huge statement by the Wyoming voters that shows that if you’re not willing to govern and listen to your constituents, they react.”
Several Republicans in the state, including Byron, attributed the sweeping losses to heavy spending by national outside groups backing the Freedom Caucus, which made Wyomingites feel that outsiders were trying to influence their politics.
Byron remarked, “Wyoming people live in Wyoming because we like our way of life. We’re not good at getting told what to do, and we really appreciate the Wild West out here.”
In a statement posted to social media, the Wyoming Freedom Caucus declared it “IS NOT GOING ANYWHERE.”
The group stated, “Last night’s results will not undo the policy wins we’ve delivered on behalf of the people.”
Their difficulties reflect a broader trend. The Freedom Caucus Fund failed to elevate its candidates in four of the five races it invested in this year, spending a total of $1.5 million to support Lauf (who received just $30,000 from the group), Ogles, Norman, Roy, and Nevada Republican David Flippo (the only candidate the group supported who won).
A Freedom Caucus Fund spokesperson, after publication, directed POLITICO to its 29-2 win-loss record in congressional primary endorsements for this cycle, which primarily involved incumbents in uncontested races where no spending occurred.
The reasons for these losses vary. Ogles dealt with various scandals, was running in a newly redrawn district with unfamiliar voters, and had limited campaign resources. Roy faced criticism for his previous support of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and criticism of Trump in the 2024 presidential primary. Norman competed in a crowded field where Trump supported another candidate (and is still in the South Carolina special Senate primary). Lauf struggled in a crowded 10-way primary for a solidly Republican seat.
Observers note a common theme: The candidates were often embroiled in controversy.
“In a day and age where candidates matter, they tend to create their own headaches,” Bartlett said. “Sometimes behavioral, sometimes ideological.”
The Freedom Caucus Fund and a spokesperson for Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris (R-Md.) did not respond to requests for comment before publication. Several Wyoming Freedom Caucus members who lost on Tuesday also did not return calls.
The group’s sole success with financial support this cycle occurred in Nevada’s 2nd District, where it helped Flippo in the race to replace retiring Rep. Mark Amodei (R-Nevada), who has not endorsed Flippo in the general election for the deeply conservative seat. In other races without financial backing, Donalds, Reps. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), and Tom Tiffany (R-Wis.) easily secured their GOP nominations for governor, and Rep. Barry Moore (R-Ala.) won the primary to succeed Sen. Tommy Tuberville in the upper chamber.
Some of these candidates, such as Biggs and Tiffany, will face challenging general election battles in battleground states, posing another test for the Freedom Caucus among a broader voter base.
