Rep. Rachel Rodriguez-Williams, a Cody Republican and chair of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus, will run for secretary of state, she announced Wednesday.  “I plan to continue the work I started in the Wyoming House to protect the integrity of our elections and build lasting trust with Wyoming vote rs,” Williams said in a press release.  Williams, who told WyoFile she is dropping Rodriguez from her name in the statewide race to “keep it simple,” is running for the office now held by Secretary of State Chuck Gray, who announced in December he will seek Wyoming’s lone seat in the U.S. House.  As Wyoming’s second-highest executive officer behind the governor, the secretary of state’s main responsibilities include overseeing elections, and registering and authorizing businesses operating in the state. The secretary also serves on the State Board of Land Commissioners, State Building Commission, State Loan and Investment Board and as the chair of the State Canvassing Board.  “Williams pledged to keep the Cowboy State ‘open for business’ by aggressively reducing red tape, streamlining processes, and preserving one of the nation’s lowest tax burdens,” her press release stated.  She is the third candidate to announce plans to run for secretary of state, joining Converse County Commissioner and Republican Robert Short as well as Worland resident and Democrat Bryan McCarty in the race.  In 2012, Williams graduated from Alabama-based, online Columbia Southern University with a Master’s degree in criminal justice administration. She moved to Wyoming after working for seven years as a law enforcement officer in Marin County, California.  In Park County, Williams has co-owned a garage door business with her husband, held positions at Mountain Spirit Habitat for Humanity and Serenity Pregnancy Resource Center. Williams and her husband, Chris, have two children and one grandchild. Voters first elected Williams to House District 50 in 2020, a position in which “she has established herself as a fearless champion for conservative principles,” her press release states. She currently chairs the House Labor, Health and Social Services Committee.  As a lawmaker, Williams has been a staunch opponent of abortion, sponsoring measures in each session throughout her legislative tenure aimed at either restricting or altogether prohibiting abortion in Wyoming. She was the lead sponsor of 2023 legislation that sought to enact a near-total ban on abortion. In January, the Wyoming Supreme Court ruled that it and a second ban violated the Wyoming Constitution’s protection of an individual’s right to make their own health care decisions.  This year, Williams co-sponsored a partial ban now facing a separate legal challenge. She also brought an unsuccessful amendment to the budget to withhold about $3.6 million earmarked for security improvements at courthouses across the state.  “If this branch of government has a vested interest in protecting your life, why does it suddenly lose that interest when the life in question comes to the unborn?” Williams said on the floor.  The amendment failed in a 48-12 vote.  Reps. Rachel Rodriguez-Williams and Chip Neiman listen during a 2023 hearing on their request to defend Wyoming’s abortion ban. (Brad Boner/Jackson Hole NewsGuide/Pool) In 2025, Williams turned more of her attention to Wyoming’s election administration, partly leading the charge of lawmakers scrutinizing Weston County Clerk Becky Hadlock for her conduct in the 2024 election.  After Hadlock did not appear at a September committee meeting, to which she had been subpoenaed, Williams told WyoFile that lawmakers would pursue criminal charges. That case is ongoing.    On her website, Williams voiced her support for prohibiting ballot harvesting, or the gathering of ballots for the purpose of delivery — a measure Secretary Gray has championed during his time as chief elections officer.  “This common-sense measure would have capped the number of ballots any single individual could collect and deposit for counting at 5, removing the financial incentive for large-scale, organized collection efforts while still allowing limited assistance from family, caregivers, or neighbors,” Williams said on her website.  As chair of the Freedom Caucus, Williams has pushed back on criticisms the group of House Republicans has received for its organizing strategies that include vote recommendations sent to its members.  “The bottom line is this: vote recommendations only became a problem when conservatives got organized and successful,” Williams wrote in a May 2025 opinion piece. “Like all the other parroting attacks on the Freedom Caucus, this latest round of complaints is just another tactic from the left, and Republicans who collaborate with them, to hide their deep and unpopular disdain for the policies and freedom we stand for.”  The official candidate filing period in Wyoming does not open until May 14. 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