CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Cheyenne’s mayoral incumbent, Patrick Collins, and Ryan Coppinger are headed to the general election ballot in November.
The results for Tuesday’s primary election are in, and voters have decided that Collins and Coppinger will face off against one another on the Nov. 5 ballot. Collins was elected mayor in 2020 and went head to head against Coppinger in that year’s general election as well.
Six candidates ran in this year’s primary to earn the title of Cheyenne mayor. For the primary election, the two mayoral candidates who receive the highest number of votes advance to the Nov. 5 general election, according to Laramie County Clerk Debra Lee.
The following is the final vote count for each candidate, per results from the Laramie County Clerk’s Office:
- Patrick Collins: 6,286
- Rick Coppinger: 2,787
- Jenny Hixenbaugh: 974
- Victor Miller: 327
- Buddy Tennant: 292
- Justin Nadeau: 288
- Write-In Totals: 82
- Total Votes Cast: 11,036
About the mayoral candidates
Since being elected in 2020, Patrick Collins has worked closely with community groups to create a city “where businesses want to come, where businesses want to invest,” the mayor said at a Politics in the Park Q&A event in June. For instance, Collins has worked with Cheyenne LEADS and Meta to establish a data center in Wyoming’s capital city.
During the June Q&A event, Collins said Cheyenne faces two big issues moving into the future. The first is the city’s water supply. Currently, around two-thirds of Cheyenne’s water supply originates from the Colorado River, Collins said. The incumbent said the challenge moving forward will be to look for new water resources and use those resources wisely.
Cheyenne’s second biggest problem, Collins said in June, is the city’s lack of affordable housing. He said the issue boils down to supply and demand: not enough housing exists, and so high numbers of residents search for housing skyrockets cost. The mayor said the city needs to build more housing units to meet the demand, and prices will reduce accordingly. The mayor frequently discusses Cheyenne’s ongoing housing development in his weekly column, “The Mayor’s Minute,” which Cap City News publishes on Fridays.
Rick Coppinger solicited the second-highest number of votes from voters Tuesday. He has leadership training in the military, the airline industry and the Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce, according to his Q&A with Cap City News. Further, he states in his Q&A that he identifies as a conservative who does not believe in “tax and spend” and believes “in the U.S. Constitution and the Wyoming Constitutions as written. Cheyenne will always protect your rights.”
At the Politics in Park event in June, Coppinger said he believes crime is one of the biggest issues Cheyenne currently faces. He said the remedy to address this is to coordinate with law enforcement, including the sheriff’s office, police department, DEA and homeland security. He said drug trafficking is a problem of particular concern. The city’s second largest problem, Coppinger added, is housing.
To view Coppinger’s full Q&A with Cap City News, click here.
