A Hardy Welcome: Wyoming's U.S. Senate Challenger Rages Against the Money Machine
by Carl Gibson
Seventy-five-year-old Charlie Hardy, the former Catholic priest who just won the Democratic nomination in Wyoming’s U.S. Senate race, may be the only senatorial candidate this year not accepting money from corporations or PACs. Hardy told me about a recent call he made to Colorado Sen. Mark Udall’s campaign office, in which staffers told him they’d have to raise $20 million this election to keep Udall in office. Udall’s Republican opponent is expected to raise $16 million.
“Why is a senate seat that valuable?” Hardy said. “Where does that money come from? Who does that make you beholden to?”
Hardy is running against Mike Enzi, a three-term incumbent Republican who has proven himself a professional at soliciting money from corporate donors. According to Opensecrets.org, Enzi's chief campaign contributors are coal titans like Murray Energy and Peabody Energy, and health insurance corporations like Blue Cross/Blue Shield.
Koch Industries has given $12,600 to Enzi, who has raised nearly $1 million from extractive industries and health insurance alone. And the senator’s voting record, available at ontheissues.org, reflects his deference to his donors.
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