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Anthony Bouchard

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Anthony Bouchard
Member of the Wyoming Senate
from the 6th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 10, 2017
Preceded byWayne Johnson
Personal details
Political partyRepublican
SpouseBillie Jean
Children4
Websitehttp://senbouchard.com/

Anthony Bouchard is an American politician serving as a member of the Wyoming Senate from the 6th district since 2017, as a member of the Republican Party.[1] Bouchard was previously a candidate in the 2022 United States House of Representatives election in Wyoming.[2]

Education

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Bouchard attended the Florida State College at Jacksonville.[3]

Career

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Prior to entering politics, Bouchard was a businessman, automotive technician, and welder. He later worked as an automotive business management consultant. Since 2017, Bouchard has also worked as a real estate agent. He and his wife own and operate a septic-draining business.[4]

Lobbying

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Bouchard spent several years as a lobbyist for Wyoming Gun Owners, a group he founded.[5]

In 2010, Bouchard led an effort to oppose receiving $1 million of federal money to protect against large increases to health insurance premiums. Bouchard said that accepting the money would have undermined Wyoming's ability to fight the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in court.[6]

Wyoming Senate

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Bouchard unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for a seat in the Wyoming Senate in 2012 and a seat in the Wyoming House of Representatives in 2014.[7][8]

When incumbent State Senator Wayne Johnson announced his retirement in 2016, Bouchard announced his candidacy for the seat. Bouchard ran against State Representative David Zwonitzer and Laramie County Conversation District Supervisor Lindi Kirkbride in the Republican primary. Bouchard defeated Zwonitzer by five votes to become the Republican nominee, with Kirkbride running a close third. He defeated independent candidate Kym Zwonitzer, the wife of David Zwonitzer, in the general election with 52% of the vote.[9]

In the state Senate, Bouchard voted against proposals to expand Medicaid to cover more uninsured Wyomingites.[10] Bouchard is a proponent of capital punishment, opposing a proposal in 2019 to abolish the death penalty in Wyoming.[11][12]

In 2017, Bouchard supported a bill to allow people to carry guns into government meetings; the bill was vetoed by Governor Matt Mead.[13]

In March 2018, Bouchard introduced a bill to the Wyoming Senate to allow a person to use deadly force in order to protect themselves without requiring the person to retreat from the perpetrator and, in the case of a person who shoots an intruder to their home, assumes that the person acted in self-defense.[14] The bill passed into law. Later that year, a man shot a man nine times with an AR-15 at the entrance of his home. A district court judge dismissed the first-degree murder case against the man, and the Wyoming Supreme Court upheld the dismissal.[15]

In 2021, Bouchard shared a meme on Facebook calling for the execution of US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Anthony Fauci.[16]

2022 U.S. House of Representatives campaign

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Main article: 2022 United States House of Representatives election in Wyoming
Bouchard's congressional campaign logo

In January 2021, Bouchard announced that he would challenge incumbent U.S. Representative Liz Cheney in the 2022 Republican primary.[17] Cheney, who had been serving in Congress since 2017, was criticized by fellow Republicans, including Bouchard, for her vote in favor of impeaching President Trump because of his actions leading up to the January 6 United States Capitol attack.[18] Bouchard accused Cheney of being "out of touch," and added that Wyoming needed a Representative who would "stand up to Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats."[19] In March 2021, Bouchard voted in favor of a bill, endorsed by Donald Trump Jr., that would have required candidates to win a majority of votes in primary elections to avoid a runoff election; the bill, which would have undermined Cheney's reelection campaign, failed on a 15–14 vote.[20] Bouchard has stated that he has raised over $500,000 in his campaign against Cheney.[21] He finished third in the primary.[22]

Personal life

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In May 2021, Bouchard claimed he was pre-empting a media exposé by telling his supporters on a Facebook Live video that, when he was a teenager, he impregnated a girl who was "a little younger than me" in Florida "more than 40 years ago."[23] He later told the Casper Star-Tribune that he was 18 years old and the girl was 14 when she became pregnant.[23] Bouchard said they married when he was 19 and the girl was 15, and the girl eventually gave birth to their son. He said the couple divorced after three years of marriage; she died by suicide in 1990 at age 20.[24]

References

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  1. ^ "Anthony Bouchard". Ballotpedia. Lucy Burns Institute. Retrieved January 5, 2017.
  2. ^ Greenwood, Max (January 20, 2021). "Liz Cheney gets 2022 primary challenger after voting to impeach Trump". The Hill. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
  3. ^ "Anthony Bouchard, Republican". Wyoming Tribune Eagle. July 23, 2020. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  4. ^ Vallen, Lindsay (January 20, 2021). "Wyoming State Sen. Anthony Bouchard announces 2022 campaign for Cheney's House seat". Buckrail - Jackson Hole, news. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  5. ^ Hancock, Laura (February 8, 2014). "Wyoming lobbyist profile: Anthony Bouchard". 307 Politics. Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyoming. p. 9. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
  6. ^ Pelzer, Jeremy (June 25, 2010). "Gov won't apply for federal health care grant". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyoming. p. A4. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
  7. ^ "Statewide Senate Candidates Official Summary Wyoming Primary Election - August 21, 2012" (PDF). Wyoming Secretary of State. Retrieved January 5, 2017.
  8. ^ "Statewide Senate Candidates Official Summary Wyoming Primary Election - August 19, 2014" (PDF). Wyoming Secretary of State. Retrieved January 5, 2017.
  9. ^ "Statewide Senate Candidates Official Summary Wyoming General Election - November 8, 2016" (PDF). Wyoming Secretary of State. Retrieved January 5, 2017.
  10. ^ Gruver, Mead (March 31, 2021). "Wyoming lawmakers again vote to reject Medicaid expansion". Associated Press.
  11. ^ Gruver, Mead (February 13, 2019). "Death penalty repeal getting first serious debate in Wyoming". Associated Press.
  12. ^ Gruver, Mead (February 14, 2019). "Death-penalty repeal fails in Wyoming despite new support". Associated Press.
  13. ^ Gruver, Mead (March 15, 2017). "Calling it 'murky,' Mead vetoes government-meetings gun bill". Associated Press.
  14. ^ Rosenfeld, Arno (February 27, 2018). "Despite warning from NRA, Wyoming Senate guts immunity provision in 'stand your ground' bill". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyoming. p. A1. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
  15. ^ Sanderson, Shane (April 6, 2020). "Supreme Court upholds dismissal of Casper murder case on the basis of stand-your-ground immunity law". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyoming. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
  16. ^ Haut, Sam. "Bouchard Stands by Comment Calling for Fauci's Execution". K2 Radio. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
  17. ^ Coulter, Tom (January 20, 2021). "Bouchard announces plan to run against Cheney in 2022 primary". Wyoming Tribune Eagle. Adams Publishing Group. Retrieved March 17, 2021.
  18. ^ Reynolds, Nick (January 17, 2021). "Liz Cheney voted to impeach the president. What will it mean for her political future?". Casper Star-Tribune. Lee Enterprises. Retrieved March 17, 2021.
  19. ^ Poley, April (January 20, 2021). ""CALLING CHENEY OUT OF TOUCH" — SEN. BOUCHARD ANNOUNCES RUN" (Press release). Anthony Bouchard for Congress. Retrieved March 17, 2021.
  20. ^ "Wyoming election changes pushed by Donald Trump Jr. fail". Associated Press. March 25, 2021.
  21. ^ Olsen, Tyler. Republicans who voted for impeachment face barrage of pro-Trump primary challengers, FOX News, June 14, 2021.
  22. ^ "Statewide Candidates Official Summary Wyoming Primary Election - August 16, 2022" (PDF). Wyoming Secretary of State. p. 1. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  23. ^ a b Astor, Maggie (May 21, 2021). "A G.O.P. challenger to Liz Cheney says he impregnated a 14-year-old when he was 18". The New York Times. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
  24. ^ Eavis, Victoria (May 21, 2021). "US House candidate Bouchard says he impregnated 14-year-old when he was 18". Casper Star-Tribune. Lee Enterprises. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
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