Man with Big Horn County roots launches Senate bid

A man who was schooled in south Big Horn County has launched a grassroots campaign to unseat incumbent U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis.

Jimmy Skovgard, now a resident of Casper, filed a Statement of Candidacy with the Federal Elections Commission earlier this year and is the only Republican to date to challenge Lummis, who will be seeking a second, six-year term in the Senate.

Skovgard was born in Spearfish, S.D., but spent the first four years of his life in Hulett. In the early ‘70s, his family moved to Greybull, where Jimmy attended elementary school. They moved to Basin in 1980, purchasing a piece of property that had been homesteaded by Jimmy’s great-grandfather, Simon Skovgard.

“My dad was a lumberjack so we used to go up to the mountains and watch him do the loggers rodeo, that kind of stuff, quite a bit,” Skovgard said, adding that his father worked for Cowboy Timber in Manderson.

Skovgard graduated from Basin High School in 1984, then went to University of Wyoming where he earned a bachelor’s degree in history in 1989.

Skovgard served 12 years in the Wyoming Army National Guard and was honorably discharged as a captain.  Since 2011, Jimmy and his wife have resided in Casper.

Skovgard says he’s worked in the private sector, run his own business and built a life grounded in Wyoming values.

That said, Skovgard recognizes that he has an uphill battle ahead in trying to unseat an incumbent, particularly one with a war chest of the one belonging to Lummis.

“I can look at FEC filings for September of this year that show her at 1.3 million dollars — and me, I just had to file a form indicating I’ve raised less than $5,000. In actuality, I have financials on my website showing I’ve raised just two hundred dollars.”

Skovgard added, “I don’t win this campaign by trying to outspend Cynthia Lummis. I’m not even going to try. My strategy is to focus on the grassroots.”

Skovgard’s stances on the issues can be found on his website, skovgard2026.org.  He also shares his views daily on his Substack page, which can be found at jimskovgard.substack.com.

In a letter shared recently with the state’s newspapers, Skovgard said he is running for U.S. Senate because he’s concerned about the direction of the country, citing “division, distraction and fear being used as fuel to fan uncertainty and manipulate us.”

Skovgard added that it’s “not for a party ... not for a title ... (but) for principle ... (and) for the people of Wyoming.”

“We do not need a rubber stamp in Congress. We don’t need a career politician afraid of retribution. We need service. We need accountability. We need tools that bring our voices to the table, not more backroom deals.  I bring no strings, no debts, and no ties to the political machine. Just a clean slate and a full heart.”