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CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A member of the Cheney family will once again hold the state's lone congressional seat.
Republican Liz Cheney easily defeated Democrat Ryan Greene on Tuesday to capture the seat once held by her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney.
"It's a hugely important year and time for us in our state," Cheney said. "It's going to be very important for us to begin to roll back this federal overreach and make sure we can begin to restore our freedom."
In her campaign, Cheney has strongly criticized the policies of President Barack Obama, both domestic and on matters of national defense.
Cheney has claimed Obama's policies have targeted the coal industry in Wyoming, the nation's leading coal-producing state. Several major coal companies have laid off miners in the state in recent months while seeking federal bankruptcy protections.
With 22 of 23 counties reporting, the Wyoming Secretary of State's Office was reporting early Wednesday that Cheney had received roughly 153,000 votes to 74,000 for Greene.
The Republican Party enjoys a considerable voter registration advantage. Registered Republicans statewide outnumbered Democrats on Election Day by 160,000 to 46,000, according to the Secretary of State's Office.
Unofficial results show Republican President-Elect Donald Trump received roughly 171,000 votes in the state while Democrat Hillary Clinton received over 55,000.
Wyoming voters also approved a change to the state constitution that will allow state officials to consider investing billions more in state funds in the stock market.
Wyoming State Treasurer Mark Gordon lobbied for the measure, saying the state's faltering energy economy combined with low yields in the bond market made it important to have the flexibility to diversify investments.
Gordon said he's happy voters approved the change.
"The responsibility doesn't stop here," he said of the vote. "We take responsibility for making sure that we safeguard Wyoming's funds, and manage them prudently, extremely seriously."
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