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LiberalMind endorses Steve Harshman
Election Day is November 3. The superintendent's seat is open — incumbent Megan Degenfelder ran for governor and lost that primary — and the Republican nominee, Steve Harshman, is a former Speaker of the Wyoming House who has sat in the Legislature since 2003. The Democratic nominee, Ana Cordova, returned to Wyoming about a month before entering the race, holds a law degree and a genetics Ph.D., and — in the words of the report that profiles her — has no experience as a primary or secondary school teacher. The Republican primary drew roughly ten voters for every one in the Democratic primary. LiberalMind endorses Steve Harshman. Read the research, and see why.
How Wyoming got here
Degenfelder (R), elected 2022, ran for governor in 2026 with President Trump's endorsement ("Run, Megan, run") and lost the Republican gubernatorial primary to Eric Barlow (SweetwaterNOW; 2026 Wyoming gubernatorial election compilation). Harshman won the August 18 Republican primary with 67,784 votes (57.9%) over Tom Kelly (31.3%) and Chad Auer (10.8%). Cordova won the Democratic primary with 7,300 votes (62.9%) over Sergio Maldonado (37.1%) (2026 Wyoming Superintendent election compilation; Wyo4News). No polling or rating for this race was located, and no campaign-finance figures were located this pass. The structural fact, printed as structure and not prediction: the Republican primary drew 117,044 votes to the Democratic primary's 11,614 — a roughly 10-to-1 turnout gap — in a state whose Democrats have not won statewide since 2006.
Steve Harshman (Republican)
Background and service: State representative from the 37th district since 2003 and former Speaker of the Wyoming House (2017–2021) — proven as a legislator across twenty-three years; unproven as an executive (2026 Wyoming Superintendent election compilation). A former teacher and coach by background in his own telling. His candidate statement claims authorship of the Hathaway Scholarship and full-day kindergarten and literacy bills, and pledges "a steady, experienced hand to our Department of Education" focused on "student achievement" with respect for "parents, educators and local school boards" (candidate statement, Green River Star voter guide — the candidate's own claims, labeled as such; the Hathaway authorship claim was not independently verified in this research). Endorsed by Gov. Gordon (Wyoming Tribune Eagle) and by the Wyoming Education Association's PAC in the primary (Superintendent election compilation). One intra-party fact, printed whole: the Wyoming Republican Party endorsed Tom Kelly in the primary, not Harshman — Harshman won anyway, with 57.9%.
Pros: Two decades of legislative leadership including four years as Speaker; the governor's and the teachers' association PAC's endorsements; a primary majority won against his own state party's pick.
Cons: His signature authorship claim (the Hathaway Scholarship) is his own and unverified in this research. He has never run a state agency.
The flaw, plainly: No flaw proven in service was located. The priced item is a campaign claim that outruns its verification — printed as his claim, not as fact.
Ana Cordova (Democratic)
Background and service: A third-generation Wyomingite raised in Cheyenne who "recently returned to Cheyenne after spending over a decade in Washington, DC where I worked for education-supporting national nonprofits and universities" (her candidate statement, Green River Star). Credentials: bachelor's from New Mexico State University, J.D. from Northwestern University, Ph.D. in human genetics from Johns Hopkins University; work for Georgetown University's Experimental Medical Studies Program, the AccessLex Institute, and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education with minority-serving institutions and indigenous communities (Casper Star-Tribune via Wyoming Tribune Eagle). The same report states plainly: "Unlike other candidates for the state office, Cordova does not have any experience as a primary or secondary school teacher." She entered the race about a month after returning to Wyoming (same report). Unproven — no prior elected office or K-12 teaching record was located.
The Manchin test: No break with her party toward our values was located; her located biography is a career in national education nonprofits and universities.
Pros: Formidable academic credentials and a decade in education-adjacent national organizations; a genuine Wyoming upbringing.
Cons: No classroom record, no elected record, and a candidacy begun about a month after returning to the state she asks to lead in education.
The flaw, plainly: An absent in-state and in-classroom record — an unproven posture, priced as such, not as a personal demerit.
A note on the outgoing incumbent
A single-source Substack investigation alleging records-exposure failures in Degenfelder's Department of Education exists in the research file. It is unverified, uncorroborated by any news outlet in this research, and concerns the outgoing incumbent — a gubernatorial candidate — not either nominee in this race. We do not print it as fact, and we name its exclusion so the omission is a decision, not an oversight.
OUR CALL
LiberalMind endorses Steve Harshman.
Harshman brings twenty-three proven years in the Legislature and four as Speaker, the endorsements of the governor and the education association's PAC, and a primary majority won over his own party's endorsed candidate. His Hathaway claim is printed as his claim. Cordova is credentialed and unproven in every dimension this office touches — classroom, elected office, and recent residence alike — with no Manchin-test break located. Endorse the proven legislator, with the executive watch stated: he has never run the department he now seeks to lead.
For the complete Election 2026 breakdown — every race, claim by claim — see the full coverage on our website.
Vote early. Research your candidates. Choose the best moderates, whatever their party — no extremism from either side. And encourage your friends and family to do the same.
Sources
- 2026 Wyoming Superintendent of Public Instruction election compilation — Harshman's primary (67,784 / 57.9%), Cordova's (7,300 / 62.9%), Harshman's House service since 2003 and Speakership (2017–2021), the state party's endorsement of Kelly, the WEA PAC primary endorsement, and the 117,044-to-11,614 primary turnout figures
- SweetwaterNOW; 2026 Wyoming gubernatorial election compilation — Degenfelder's Trump-endorsed governor run and primary loss to Barlow
- Green River Star voter guide (Oct. 15, 2026) — both candidates' statements, including Harshman's Hathaway/full-day-kindergarten claims (printed as the candidate's own) and Cordova's return-to-Wyoming account in her own words
- Casper Star-Tribune via Wyoming Tribune Eagle — Cordova's credentials and employers, the no-K-12-teaching-experience statement, and her entry about a month after returning
- Wyoming Tribune Eagle — Gov. Gordon's endorsement of Harshman
- The Degenfelder records allegation (single-source Substack, unverified) — named in the article as excluded, not printed as fact
- Standing check: no pedophile-association material meeting the proven standard was located for any candidate on this ballot
Winner: Steve Harshman (Republican) — called by the Associated Press. This result was appended on November 5, 2026 (results wave 3); the original article above is unchanged, exactly as published before Election Day.
AI-assisted article — but the sources are human, and the facts are very real.