Cowboy State Daily Radio News: Tuesday, October 20, 2026

It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Tuesday, October 20th.  I'm Mac Watson.

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Although Wyoming has sent only Republicans to the U.S. House for 50 years, a national nonpartisan analysis group says the GOP lock on the state is no longer a certainty. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports Inside Elections has moved the race from "Solid Republican" to "Likely Republican."

"So you got a political columnist saying, 'yeah, you got strife in the Republican Party nationally,' some 'Anyone But Chuck' people there in Wyoming, so couple that with Gray running ads on national, pretty generic, high interest issues right now. That Politico columnist took it as, 'Yep, this maybe is shaky.' Whereas Mary Kay Hill, a longtime politico here in Wyoming, who served as Governor Mead's chief of staff, she said, "Well, some of that advertising could be a response to just natural uncertainty about how many voters he'll pull from only having 25% coming out of the primary, and so there's a lot of unknowns."

Wyoming hasn't elected a Democrat to its U.S. House seat in 50 years, and the GOP primary election historically decides the general election winner.

Read the full story HERE.

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When a horse got lost in Yellowstone with an iPhone in his saddle last week, Verizon declined to ping its location to help. Cowboy State Daily's Kolby Fedore reports the owner, Paige Chavez, was thrilled the horse was found safe, but remains unhappy with the company.

"According to federal law, Verizon is legally obligated to help when there is a threat or danger to a person, but that provision did not apply in this situation because it was just the horse that was lost that is considered property. When Chavez and her family contacted Verizon, desperately seeking their help, the phone company was adamant that they could not give her any information. Ultimately, they did find the horse, but Chavez spoke with Cowboy State Daily and said she still hates Verizon."

In its transparency reports, Verizon says it receives emergency requests from law enforcement involving threats of death or serious physical injury. In the second half of 2024 alone, Verizon reported rece