Miller: Congratulations to those who prevailed in the Wyoming Republican Party primaries

There's something almost quaint about a Wyoming county chairman sitting down to write out congratulations after the canvassing boards finish their work. No spin, no grievance, just the plain business of a primary being certified and the winners being acknowledged. In a lot of states that would barely register as news. In this environment, it kind of does.

We say that because the last several cycles have trained everyone to expect a fight after the votes are in. Lawsuits, recount demands, insinuations that the machines were rigged or the county clerk had it out for somebody. Wyoming Republicans just ran their primary, canvassed it, certified it, and moved on to naming names and shaking hands. That is what the system is supposed to look like when it works, and it is worth noticing precisely because it has become notable.

None of this means Wyoming Republicans agree on everything, or that the primary fights themselves were tame. Anyone who follows that state's GOP knows the factional battles get plenty sharp. But sharp disagreement before the vote and gracious acceptance after it are not contradictions. They are actually the whole point of a primary. You argue hard, you let the voters decide, and then you congratulate whoever earned it, including people you may have argued against a month earlier.

It is a small piece of news, a state chairman's letter, nothing more. But small gestures like this are how a party keeps its credibility with its own voters. Wyoming Republicans certified an election and congratulated the winners without turning it into a referendum on the system itself. That should not be remarkable. Lately, it is.