LUSK, Wyo. (AP) — In some far reaches of rural America, Democrats are flirting with extinction. In Niobrara County, Wyoming, the least-populated county in the least-populated state, Becky Blackburn is one of just 32 left.
Her neighbors call her “the crazy Democrat,” although it's more a term of endearment than derision. Some less populated counties have fewer. There are 21 Democrats in Clark County, Idaho, and 20 in Blaine County, Nebraska.
But Niobrara County's Democrats, who account for just 2.6% of registered voters, are the most outnumbered by Republicans in the 30 states that track local party affiliation, according to Associated Press election data. In Wyoming, the state that has voted for Donald Trump by a wider margin than any other, overwhelming Republican dominance may be even more cemented-in now that the state has passed a law that makes changing party affiliation much more difficult.
Tuesday's primary will be the first election since the law took effect. In Niobrara County's grassy rangelands and pine-spattered hills adjoining Nebraska and South Dakota, it's not easy being blue. A paralegal for the Republican county attorney, Blackburn hears a lot of right-wing views around town.
“Normally I just roll my eyes and walk away because I’m fighting a losing battle and I’m fully aware of that," she said. "Maybe that is why I’m well-liked, because I keep my mouth shut 10 times more than I want to.” Not that she's politically shy.
She flies an LGBTQ+ flag.