Haynes Blames Hageman For Wyoming Residency Questions
Wyoming Republican gubernatorial candidate Taylor Haynes said Friday one of his rivals for the GOP nomination for governor is behind what he says are false questions about his eligibility to serve as governor.
Wyoming Secretary of State Ed Buchanan recently asked a Laramie County District Court Judge to rule Haynes ineligible to serve as governor of Wyoming on the grounds that he has not been a Wyoming resident for the last five years, which is required under the Wyoming constitution for anyone serving as the state's chief executive.
The Secretary of State had asked for an expedited ruling on the matter so that it could be issued before the August 21 primary election.
Haynes did not go along with the request to expedite the ruling, and the judge declined to do so, leaving Haynes on the ballot for the primary election.
In a Friday morning interview on KGAB radio in Cheyenne, Haynes again said the residency issue is a false one "brought up to confuse the voters." Haynes pointed to the fact that Buchanan had served as Harriet Hageman's campaign manager prior to being appointed Secretary of State earlier this year and had donated money to her campaign.
''If you are going to make me point the finger, I am going to point it at Harriet Hageman" Haynes said when asked who is behind the allegedly false residency questions. Hageman on Friday denied having anything to do with the allegations.
Haynes said the residence in question has been considered part of Wyoming since at least 1870 (before Wyoming gained statehood) and that he has always voted and paid taxes in Wyoming, as well as holding a Wyoming driver's license for many years.
He said Colorado does not consider his home to be part of that state, and probably never would, since doing so would require the state to build a $20 million road to his home. He also said he has never paid Colorado income taxes.
As for arguments that his home on a ranch is geographically located in Colorado, Haynes said they are irrelevant because the key question is "where you matriculate," and in any case the exact location of the state line in such a rural setting is vague at best