Wyoming Vote Tracker

It’s not much of a secret that this year’s Congressional and Senatorial elections in Wyoming are going to be huge. Here’s a quick look at what’s happening on the campaign trail and what I think it means.

Wyoming Democrats Going Pro-Choice (Senatorially Speaking):

Not just one but two Democrats running for each Senate seat. Yes, that’s right, four Democrats seeking to unseat our two Republican Senators in November. I’ve already told you about Kieth Goodenough. Nick Carter has since come along to vie for the remaining four years of the term begun by the late Sen. Craig Thomas. Reason he’s going for Sen. Barrasso’s seat and not Sen. Enzi’s? Sen. Enzi is a friend of the family. You mean to tell me that you can’t have a debate with a friend and not be an enemy at the end of the day? Sounds like someone has issues.

Now let’s look at Sen. Enzi’s potential competitors, should he so choose to run. I saw this headline today: UW Professor Running For Enzi’s Seat. My first thought was “PETE SIMPSON’S RUNNING FOR SENATE!!!!!!!!!!!” Just think of how ironic that would be. Sen. Al Simpson preceded Sen. Enzi, and then Sen. Al’s brother Pete Simpson succeeding Sen. Enzi. I clicked on the headline and waited for all the ads on CST to load, and finally the article. I read the opening paragraph:

University of Wyoming professor Christopher Rothfuss announced at his parents’ house in Casper Saturday that he will run for U.S. Senator Mike Enzi’s seat in the upcoming Congressional race.

My next thought was “Is this a Republican? Has Sen. Enzi decided anything and I just missed it?” The next line answered my first question. The prof is not only not Pete Simpson, but is also not a Republican. So what’s Professor Rothfuss want to do?

We need a fresh group of policy makers that are willing to put the needs of their country, and the needs of their states, ahead of their personal rivalries and the desires of their political party — individuals who seek solutions through bipartisan collaboration and support, rather than through the simple tyrrany (sic) of the majority party.

Can someone remind the professor that currently the majority party in the Senate is the Democrat Party? That’s OK, it gets better:

Rothfuss, who has a doctoral degree in chemical engineering, said he hopes to bring the perspective of a scientist to the predominantly lawyer-based Senate.

“We need skilled professionals with a diversity of backgrounds that are better suited for the challenges of the 21st century,” Rothfuss said. “There are currently zero scientists in the Senate. Zero PhDs. One engineering degree. And 60 lawyers.“

I wonder what he thinks of the two medical doctors (one of which is from right here in Wyoming, and the other was, ironically, born here in Wyoming), the two veterinarians (one from Colorado and one from Nevada), and the one CPA. Oh, wait, he’s running against the CPA. Now we know…

And if you wonder what it would be like to have a house painter and felon serving as your Senator (for the sake of career diversity), vote for Al Hamburg! That’s right, Al Hamburg now has his eyes on the Senate, specifically, the seat held by Mike Enzi.

What in the world is Al Hamburg doing??? He must be doing his version of Operation: Chaos. A while back, he noted that he was running for the Democrat nomination for President. The Governor didn’t give him any attention, so he announced his intent to give Gary Trauner competition. I think he should have stuck in the presidential race for a while though, at least to the Wyoming Caucuses. After all, Ron Paul admits he won’t get the nomination and he’s still hanging in there. Anyway, I was supportive of Al Hamburg’s House bid; not that I would have contributed, but I was half-tempted to just to do my part to make life hard fro Trauner in the primary cycle. Then Mike Enzi (half-jokingly, I’m sure) commented on how he was seeking Sen. Barrasso’s seat. Now, he’s seeking Sen. Enzi’s seat, if he can out smart the professor. We better keep an eye on Mr. Hamburg. He’s liable to go over to Nebraska and loose a legislative race over there and come back to be a thorn in some Democrat’s side.

In the mean time, I think Tedd Ladd should go up against Gary Trauner. Really. I mean, why should Gary Trauner get a free ride to November? We should find out who the better Wilson Democrat is. They’ve both got experience losing to Rep. Cubin, and this time around, they can’t run on not being Barbara Cubin. I can see the debate now:

Trauner: I lost closer than you did!
Ladd: At least I’m not from New York!
Trauner: At least I’m not young!
Ladd: At least I’ve got hair!

And speaking of the U.S.House race, Republican Cynthia Lummis will be formally announcing her candidacy twice on Tuesday; in Casper at noon and Cheyenne at 5:30. What I think this means is that Cynthia Lummis is going to be a fine candidate for U.S. House and I’m proud to be supporting her!

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