Fewer Than 2 Percent of Registered Democrats Participate in Wyoming Caucus

President Joe Biden speaks during a campaign rally at Pearson Community Center in Las Vegas, Nev., on Feb. 4, 2024. Saul Loeb/AFP

Just 402 people statewide voted in the April 13 Wyoming Democratic Caucus. A few factors contributed to the low voter turnout.

First, the presidential primary is all but decided, with Democrat President Joe Biden and Republican former President Donald Trump the presumptive candidates representing their parties in the general election.

Second, the population of the entire state of Wyoming, 581,000, is sparse. It is about the same as the population in Baltimore, Maryland, or Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and not everyone is old enough to vote. As of April 1, the Wyoming Secretary of State’s office reported 218,815 total registered voters, including 178,1267 Republicans, 23,463 Democrats, and 15,779 unaffiliated voters. The state also has some Constitution and Libertarian voters—less than 2,000 combined.

Of the nearly 24,000 registered Democrats, just 402—that is 1.7 percent of Democrats—voted in the caucus. Of those, 96 percent, or 386 people, voted for President Biden, 13 people voted uncommitted, just one person in Wyoming voted for Marianne Williamson, and two votes went to David Olscamp, a Colorado businessman who calls his campaign an “improbable quest.”

Mr. Olscamp’s website promotes an open convention, with delegates at the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago selecting a different nominee than President Biden.

Mr. Olscamp’s platform includes making everyday life affordable. “Our country is run by the rich and out of touch, many of whom who haven’t stepped foot into a supermarket in years, who own multiple homes and cash in from absurd housing prices,” his website reads. And he touts compassion with limits. “We are a country of faith, values, and compassion but should never cut basic government services to Americans to fund migrant housing and care.”

Uncommitted Movement

There has been a pro-Palestine activist movement across the United States urging Democrats to cast their primary and caucus votes as “uncommitted” instead of showing support for President Biden. They are unhappy with his response to the war between Israel and Hamas and are calling for a ceasefire.

A group called Wyoming 4 Palestine held a “die-in” and protested outside the Capitol building in Cheyenne on the first day of the 2024 state legislative budget session. According to media reports, some 50 people attended that event.

Another group, Free Palestine Casper, was also involved in that event. Free Palestine Casper has a private Facebook group with 45 members. Despite their numbers, just 13 people voted “uncommitted” in Wyoming’s caucus.

The movement started during Michigan’s Feb. 27 primary, when 13.2 percent of Democrat voters—more than 101,000 people—picked uncommitted over President Biden, who earned 81.1 percent of the votes. The state has a large population of Arab-Americans, and it has been said by political pundits that a presidential candidate cannot win the state without their support.

On Super Tuesday, March 5, in Minnesota, President Biden got 70 percent of the Democrat votes, but 45,914 (18.9 percent) voted uncommitted.