All Three Wyoming D.C. Spots Stay With GOP

Lummis Beats Trauner for Wyoming Congressional Seat

By Charles Pelkey and Reese Jenniges, WyoFile.com, 11-04-08

Bolstered by a last minute appearance by Vice President Dick Cheney, Former Wyoming treasurer Cynthia Lummis handily defeated Democrat Gary Trauner Tuesday in the most expensive U.S. House race in Wyoming history.

By 10 p.m. Tuesday with more than 98 percent of the ballots counted, Lummis held an insurmountable 20,000 vote lead, 50 percent compared 43 percent for Trauner.

Not even the 10,000 votes gained by Libertarian David Herbert, a potential spoiler, could have changed the fate of the two-time Democratic candidate.

Lummis joined GOP U.S. Senate candidates Mike Enzi, the incumbent seeking his third term, and John Barrasso, an interim appointee vying to replace the late Sen. Craig Thomas, in a clean sweep of the state’s three Congressional seats. The election marked the first time in more than a century that both Wyoming U.S. Senate seats and its single U.S. House seat have been up for grabs.

And true to recent form, all three remained in GOP hands.

Both Enzi and Barrasso scored lopsided victories over meagerly-funded Democratic opponents. Enzi was opposed by University of Wyoming professor Chris Rothfuss. Barrasso easily outdistanced Gillette attorney Nick Carter.

The Trauner-Lummis race, however, was much closer. Lummis had to overcome the stigma of her predecessor in office, Barbara Cubin, generally rated one of the least effective members of Congress and very unpopular in her own party. Cubin retired earlier this year.

Trauner, 49, who lost narrowly to Cubin in 2006, tried his best to link the two Republican women, at one point appearing in a campaign ad in front of identical campaign signs for Lummis and Cubin.

But Lummis, 54, a soft-spoken attorney and former rodeo beauty queen who spent decades in the state legislature and public office, was a much more formidable opponent. In fact, many in her party had favored her to fill the vacant Craig Thomas seat following Thomas’ death last year. Instead, Gov. Dave Freudenthal appointed Barrasso, a Casper M.D.

As of October 15, Trauner has raised nearly $1.5 million and Lummis slightly more than $1 million, making this the most expensive House campaign in the state’s history. Indeed, with a last-minute infusion of cash from her own savings, coupled with independent expenditures from their respective national parties, the final figure will easily top $3 million.

Even with his substantial funding, Trauner faced formidable odds. The last Wyoming Democrat to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives was Rock Springs lawyer Teno Roncalio, 1967-78. The last Democratic U.S. Senator from Wyoming was Gale McGee, 1959-76.

During the campaign. Lummis, attempted to portray the New York-born and educated Trauner as an “outsider” who would take away Wyomingites’ gun rights and who was soft on immigration. Trauner countered by appearing in campaign adds bristling with hunting rifles, criticized Lummis for “negative” campaign tactics and seemed to have the edge over his opponent in public debates.

However, Lummis, a devout Lutheran, benefitted from very strong support from the state’s Mormons, a generally conservative bloc that constitutes about 10% of the vote. She also received a boost from a last minute campaign appearance by Cheney who, despite his negative image on the national stage, remains popular here in his home state.

Polls conducted in the state in early October showed the Trauner-Lummis race to be virtually tied. The most recent shows Lummis with a five percent lead, but stronger than usual voter turnout could easily affect the outcome, particularly in a state the size of Wyoming.

Trauner spent the day Tuesday making a final appeal for voters around the state.

“I’m spending the day making stops as I head back to Jackson,” he said from Cheyenne. “It’s the last chance we have to encourage everyone to get out there and vote.”

This story is from WyoFile.Com.

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