By Joel Funk
Wyoming Tribune Eagle
Via Wyoming News Exchange
CHEYENNE – A local Republican is challenging U.S. Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., for his seat in Congress, putting gun rights at the forefront of his campaign.
Anthony Van Risseghem of Cheyenne filed his candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat with the Wyoming Secretary of State’s office Tuesday, the second Republican in recent days to do so. The other is John Holtz of Laramie.
At 33 years old, Van Risseghem would be the youngest member of the Senate, if elected. Barrasso is relatively well-regarded among Republicans in Wyoming and tends to stack up campaign contributions, already in excess of $4 million for 2017-18. Compare that with Van Risseghem’s status as a political newcomer, who said he knows his resources and name recognition don’t come close to his opponent’s, and it appears he has something of an uphill battle on his hands.
But Van Risseghem said he’s undaunted by the long road ahead and plans on fighting until it’s over.
“If I get funding, if I don’t get funding and do it all out of my own pocket, at least I can say I tried to accomplish something great in my life,” he said. “At least I can say I gave it an honest try.”
While Van Risseghem has views on a broad array of policy issues, Second Amendment rights rise to the top. For him, no constitutional provision could be more important.
“It’s my firm belief that the Second Amendment is the one amendment protecting all other rights,” he said. “An armed populace is harder to control than an unarmed populace.”
Wyoming is one of the most gun-friendly states in the country, but Van Risseghem said the national conversation surrounding gun violence concerns him. In his view, people on the left proposing further gun control measures in trying to curtail violence would only make it easier for nefarious actors to carry out criminal acts.
If elected, Van Risseghem would oppose any further gun control legislation and roll back certain provisions. While he understands the importance of some measures, such as limited background checks, Van Risseghem said he would, for example, want to see laws preventing private citizens from owning automatic weapons taken off the federal books.
Barrasso’s Democratic opponent, Gary Trauner of Wilson, is at this point unopposed and likely to coast to the general election. Trauner told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle in April that he’s not interested in “taking anyone’s guns,” but he appeared in line with many gun control proposals being floated, such as expanding background checks, raising the age limit for buying certain weapons and banning so-called “bump stocks.”
And whatever Republican President Donald Trump considers – he’s also said bump stocks could soon be banned – Barrasso has remained stalwart that no further gun control should be implemented.
Aside from gun rights issues, Van Risseghem said he would advocate for several policies relating to education at the federal level. K-12 education in the U.S., he said, is “failing our kids” on a number of fronts.
For one, he wants to see policy that would ensure equitable funding for all schools, regardless of performance measures. If elected, Van Risseghem said he’d make a push away from putting all high school graduates on a college track, instead reforming schools to offer vocational training in more hands-on trades. When it comes to curriculum, he said he’d like to see students focus on research, data analysis, critical thinking and problem solving. Social studies should be more concentrated on U.S. civics and government to make for a more involved citizenry, Van Risseghem said.
While Barrasso has been a supporter of gun rights and other conservative platforms Van Risseghem supports, he said it’s more about how the senator conducts himself in office.
Van Risseghem said he has visited Barrasso’s Cheyenne office to express concerns and was disappointed when he never received even a canned response. And Van Risseghem said he’s not convinced Barrasso asserts himself in Congress in a way that has positive impacts in Wyoming. If elected, Van Risseghem said he’s confident he’d make a splash in a way that couldn’t go unnoticed.
“He’s, in my opinion, not vocal at all,” Van Risseghem said of Barrasso. “I’m willing to stand up for my Wyoming values and beliefs.”
Though it seemed in late 2017 that allies of Trump might be mounting a primary challenger to Barrasso, he’s been one of the president’s closest allies. Barrasso told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle recently that Trump said he’d campaign for him in Wyoming in a show of strong support from a president, who is popular among conservatives.
Barrasso wiped the floor with his most recent primary challenge, garnering 73,516 votes compared to his runner-up’s 5,080. But Van Risseghem said he’s in to win, no matter the odds.
“I do understand it’s kind of an uphill battle, but sometimes that’s not the worst thing,” he said.