Cody State House Challenger Accuses Prominent Pro-Lifer Of Flip-Flopping

House District 50 Republican candidate David Hill believes that state Rep. Rachel Rodriguez-Williams, R-Cody, has changed since entering the state Legislature in 2021.

“She talks about working for the people,” he said during a Monday debate hosted by the Park County Republican Party. “What we have is out-of-state endorsements, out-of-state supporters, out-of-state money — I think we know who she’s working for.”

Rodriguez-Williams has become a prominent voice for Wyoming’s pro-life movement and in the state Legislature since taking office. She has coordinated with and received support from various national groups and has been a major player in the state's abortion lawsuits attempting to uphold bans that were passed in 2023.

In one recent campaign post, she copied and pasted language from Texans For Fiscal Responsibility when talking about her efforts on property tax relief in Wyoming.

Responding to Hill, Rodriguez-Williams defended her voting record and said she can relate to the conversations taking place at the kitchen table around Wyoming.

Rodriguez-Williams also promoted her support for property tax reform, abortion prohibitions and school choice, and pushing back on Gov. Mark Gordon’s “radical green agenda” as her biggest priorities.

“These reasons are why Governor Gordon didn’t endorse me and I’m proud of every dang one,” she said, receiving a short applause from the audience.

‘Cheney Republican’

Rodriguez-Williams cast Hill as a “Cheney Republican” in reference to former Wyoming congresswoman Liz Cheney, saying he’s only running for office to advance his career.

She also said there are “wolves in sheep’s clothing” in Wyoming who claim to be conservative but are not, once again citing Cheney as an example.

“She betrayed Wyoming, she wasn’t conservative,” Rodriguez-Williams said.

Hill said he doesn’t support Cheney and believes certain legislation may look conservative on the surface, but is actually not.

On this point, he criticized Rodriguez-Williams’ votes against 988 suicide hotline money, National Rifle Association-sponsored legislation and money that would have provided more mental health counselors for schools.

“I don’t think it’s conservative to vote against property tax relief,” he said. “I don’t think it’s conservative to vote against parental control of children’s social media usage, and I don’t think it’s conservative to vote against a minimum age for marriage for children.”

Abortion

He also accused Rodriguez-Williams of ignoring lives after birth because of these votes.

Rodriguez-Williams, who has been endorsed by Wyoming Right To Life, said she’s the only candidate in the race that’s 100% pro-life on abortion because Hill supports access to abortion in cases of rape or incest.

She also took offense to the argument that Hill has been making during his campaign that although many of her efforts are well-intended, he could do a better job, citing the fact the abortion trigger bill she helped pass into law in 2023 is currently being upheld in court.

Hill described this legislation as “a poorly drafted bill” and he mentioned how abortions increased in the state after its passage, according to Wyoming Department of Health data.

“What we have are bills that are well-intentioned … bills that I think are moving the right direction, but have been held up in court for two and a half years, haven’t saved a single life, and abortions are out of control in our state,” he said.

Hill said he would support a constitutional amendment clarifying that abortion is not protected under Wyoming law.

Rodriguez-Williams responded, saying Hill is “disconnected from reality” and “thinks he’s much smarter than I am.”

She also said his comments are a slap in the face to the pro-life attorneys that helped her draft the trigger bill legislation.

“When my opponent says that, he is insulting an entire coalition that exists in the state Legislature, a pro-life coalition” she said.

Mental Health

Rodriguez-Williams also said Hill’s comments about her not supporting mental health are untrue, mentioning how she served on a suicide prevention coalition in Park County about 15 years ago, is a certified crisis intervention trainer, started a crisis intervention program for law enforcement officers in Park County, and has personally prevented people from taking their own lives.

“I, too, understand that life is precious,” she said. “It begins in the womb and ends with natural death.”

Rodriguez-Williams voted against House Bill 34 during the 2023 legislative session, a bill that would have created a program for school districts to apply for competitive grants to assist in providing mental health services to K-12 public education students for two years.

Although she couldn’t remember why she voted against this bill, Rodriguez-Williams said she’ll never support legislation that furthers “a woke agenda” that comes “from the radical left.”

Hill said he agrees with that perspective, but does not believe Rodriguez-Williams is fully committed to supporting mental health.

“We need people who not just have good intentions, but actually step up and do conservative things, not just what they’re told,” he said.

Rodriguez-Williams snapped back, saying she always does what she’s told by her constituents and that it’s not the government’s job to solve all of the world’s problems.

Party Loyalty

Hill said being a conservative means more than just being Republican, calling it a way of life and slate of values.

“Being a conservative is everything to me,” he said. “It’s not political grandstanding, it’s not voting to further scorecards, it’s not voting to appease special interests. Those are not conservative values.”

He considers voting to support one’s neighbors, the state and the Constitution, true conservative values.

Rodriguez-Williams is one of the leading members of the farther right Wyoming Freedom Caucus, which she said wouldn’t exist if all Republicans acted like Republicans.

“We are the conscience of the Republican Party,” she said.

She sees being a conservative as promoting legislation that promotes limited government, liberty, safety and prosperity.

In 2023, Hill wrote an op-ed in the Cody Enterprise where he said adherence to the Wyoming Constitution should take priority over the Republican Party platform.

But on Monday he clarified that in no way does this mean he does not support the party’s platform. Hill said the purpose of the piece was to encourage people to take legislative action rather than labeling them and calling them names.

Rodriguez-Williams said she had never seen or heard from Hill over the past four years before he announced his campaign, despite both of them being Park County GOP precinct committee members.

She believes Hill has been ineffective in his duties in this role, mentioning how he voted against the county party’s bylaws at its convention this spring because of the party’s censure against Gordon.

“My opponent is clearly not where the people are,” she said.

Hill said this isn’t true and that he reached out to Rodriguez-Williams about a water access issue.

He also said there’s more to a single vote than meets the eye and that the Gordon censure was the only reason he voted against the bylaws. Hill said he’s tired of “tit-for-tat political gamesmanship,” which is how he viewed the censure.

“I will stand up when something is wrong,” he said. “When against the law, when it’s contrary to the law, I don’t think we should pass bylaws that do that. And I will stand up against my friends, I will stand up against my family for what’s right. That’s what I do.”

Hill said he and Rodriguez-Williams agree on more things than not, seeing eye-to-eye for the most part on what’s wrong with Wyoming but disagreeing on the solutions. She disagreed, describing her and Hill as “very different.”

Leo Wolfson can be reached at leo@cowboystatedaily.com.