Visit the Wyoming Democratic Party's website

Another sign of the incredible energy expressed by Democrats are the record voter registration numbers.

The past seven states to hold primaries registered more than 1 million new Democratic voters; Republican numbers mainly ebbed or stagnated. North Carolina and Indiana, which will hold their presidential primaries on May 6, are reporting a swell of new Democrats that triples the surge in registrations before the 2004 primary.

State parties will publish their delegate selection rules and clearly explain how to participate in the summer of 2007.

Wyoming Democratic Party
254 North Center Street, Suite 205
Casper, WY 82602
800-729-3367 (toll free)
307-473-1457 (local)
307-473-1459 (fax)

District-Level Delegates: 7
At-Large Delegates: 3
Pledged Party Leader & Elected Official (PLEO) Delegates: 2
Unpledged Delegates: 6
TOTAL Number of Delegates: 18

Alternates: 4

TOTAL DELEGATION SIZE: 22

System type: Caucus

State convention page: Available
State plan: Plan Available (PDF)
State filing form: Not available online. Please contact the state party to receive a copy.

** This information is prepared by the DNC's Office of Party Affairs and Delegate Selection and may be subject to change. For more information, please call 202-863-8000.

Bill Luckett, Communications Director for the Wyoming Democratic Party:

"Soliciting public comments on the draft of our delegate selection plan is an important step in finalizing the plan for the Democratic National Convention in Denver next year. Because the convention is being held so close to Wyoming, we expect an unprecedented level of interest in how we will choose our delegates."

If you are a Wyoming Dem, definitely check out the Party's site and the plan. If you aren't, be on the look out for your state's plan!

Democrats Discover New Political Frontier
By Carl Hulse
New York Times
November 1, 2006

"...Despite a Republican edge in registration, Democrats are discovering the Mountain West - and Colorado in particular - to be a new political frontier as the party benefits from a potent mix of changing demographics, anger over the war in Iraq, resentment toward conservative social initiatives and millions of dollars' worth of advocacy advertising.

"...If that trend holds, Democrats could be in for a big day next Tuesday. The Democratic candidate for governor, Bill Ritter, is leading in his race against Bob Beauprez, a Republican congressman. If Democrats can retain control of the State House and Senate, which they gained in the 2004 elections, they would have total control of the state government for the first time since the early 1960s.

"...In neighboring states, Democrats are seen as having a good chance of capturing a Senate seat in Montana, are battling in what should be safe Republican House seats in Idaho and Wyoming, and have their eyes on Republican seats in Arizona and New Mexico. The increasingly blue tinge of the formerly red region - some say it gives new meaning to the phrase 'purple mountains' - has the national party seriously considering holding its 2008 presidential convention here at the foot of the Rockies. ..."

To read the entire article, please click here.

Democrats push for gains in Mountain West, look to '08
Billings Gazette (Montana)
By Noelle Straub
October 28, 2006

"Democrats' hopes for a political resurgence in the Mountain West have soared nearly as high as the region's snow-capped peaks recently. Party officials want not only to increase their tally of governors and members of Congress next month, but to put some Western states in their column come the 2008 presidential election.

"...They are trying to build on a number of recent successes. Four Western states, including Montana and Wyoming, that all had GOP governors have elected Democrats since 2002. In Colorado in 2004, Democrats won control of both houses of the state Legislature for the first time in 40 years, and the Salazar brothers won U.S. House and Senate seats that had been Republican. The state may elect a Democratic governor Nov. 7. ...Democrats control at least one house in half the Mountain West state legislatures. They have a chance to pick up U.S. House seats in Colorado, Nevada and Arizona. Even in Idaho, which went 68 percent for President Bush in 2004, Democrats have a shot at picking up the governorship and a congressional seat.

"...Between 30 and 40 full-time staffers are on the ground in the West, according to DNC officials. State parties make the hiring selection and supervise the staff, who work to mobilize voters and get the national party's message out. ..."

To read the entire article, please click here.

The race between Rep. Barbara Cubin, R-Wyo., and Democratic challenger Gary Trauner is about even, according to a new poll commissioned by the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle of Cheyenne.

However, Cubin's lead falls within the poll's margin of error, and the data suggest Cubin's support dropped sharply - and Trauner's rose sharply - after her confrontation with Libertarian candidate Thomas Rankin, when Cubin told the wheelchair-bound Libertarian that she wanted to "smack" him.

...

But among people contacted Oct. 23-25, Trauner took the lead with 47 percent; Cubin polled at 35 percent, with Rankin pulling 8 percent and another 8 percent undecided.

If you live in Wyoming and would like to volunteer in these last eight days before the election, you can contact your state party at 1-800-729-3367.

The Libertarian challenger for Wyoming’s lone U.S. House seat says Rep. Barbara Cubin offended him by uttering a slur related to his physical disability.

Thomas Rankin said Cubin approached him after a campaign debate on Sunday and said, "If you weren't sitting in that chair, I'd slap you across the face."

The Cubin campaign did not deny the remark, but a spokesman for the six-term congresswoman said Rankin started the exchange.

So what happened? According to the Star Tribune:

After the cameras and lights were shut off, Cubin walked on the stage behind Trauner and then to Rankin, who was still sitting at the table, Rankin said.

Rankin, who is disabled with multiple sclerosis and uses an electric wheelchair, had not moved yet.

While his aide Jeremy Moniz was helping him, Moniz heard Cubin's comment, too.

"She came right up and said it," Moniz said.

Rankin didn't say anything to Cubin before she confronted him, he said.

"It took me totally off guard," he said. "I said, 'Barbara, if you feel the need to slap me, go right ahead.'"

Cubin then turned around and walked away.

Rankin called her comment an inappropriate slur to the disabled.

This is just another, in a long line, of desperate moves by the GOP - who is so scared of losing power that they will resort to personal attacks, lies and smears every time.

Luckily, for Wyoming and for the United States Congress, Democrat Gary Trauner, who is running against Cubin, is an honorable man who will represent all the people of Wyoming with dignity.

Last week, Markos pointed out the way the 50-State Strategy has boosted Wyoming Democrats.

Today, we see Trauner keeps gaining momentum.

“Yesterday was another great day for Democrats. We had strong turnout and great support across the country and we applaud all the candidates who worked hard and campaigned. In Wyoming, Governor Freudenthal is ready to lead the state for another four years. Gary Trauner, an accomplished small business owner, is poised to take on weak Republican incumbent Barbara Cubin. Cubin is a six-term incumbent who received only 60 percent of the vote, even after outspending her opponent 30 to 1.

“In Alaska, former Governor Tony Knowles won the gubernatorial primary by offering Alaskans a fresh vision for the future. Alaskans rejected the failed policies of incumbent Governor Frank Murkowski and are ready for change.

“Across America, Democratic candidates are offering the strong leadership and vision that Americans want.”

But her underwhelming showing against a little-known opponent suggested that she could be vulnerable in November in a state that usually leans strongly to Cubin's party.

Let's not forget Wyoming has a Democratic Governor. Keep your eye on Democratic candidate Gary Trauner and the 50-state strategy in Big Sky country.

Update: DNC Chair Howard Dean had this to say about Wyoming's primary yesterday:

Gary Trauner, an accomplished small business owner, is poised to take on weak Republican incumbent Barbara Cubin. Cubin is a six-term incumbent who received only 60 percent of the vote, even after outspending her opponent 30 to 1.

Sweet.

Trauner is on a quest to become the first Democrat to represent Wyoming in the House since Dick Cheney replaced Teno Roncalio in 1978. It is a quest he is taking one door at a time.

In a battle to unseat Wyoming's six-term Congresswoman, he's not missing the chance to earn a single vote; for example, trekking through areas like Rustic Ridge, a neighborhood made up of affluent ex-oil executives, both elderly and Republican. Trauner realizes that voters need to know the people that they elect, and therefore wants to make sure they know him.

It's no wonder, with all momentum Wyoming Democrats have had lately, that they are some of the first folks kick-off their efforts for Victory in 2006!

State Senate Candidate Larry Clapp (left) chats with a fellow activist at
the barbecue following the volunteer canvass in Casper.

Lee Moser reviews a walk list during
Saturday's canvass in Casper. Lee is
one of the 493 local activists who
have been trained in Wyoming through
Governor Dean's 50-State Strategy

Jane Ifland, a Democratic candidate for the Natrona County Commission,
makes notes on her walk list in one of the 57 targeted precincts in Wyoming.

In Wyoming:

In 2004, Mike Gierau and other Wyoming Democratic leaders wanted to boost the Kerry-Edwards ticket's local profile by securing some bumper stickers. But helping local Democrats in a state that the ticket was certain to lose in a landslide was not exactly the first priority of either the national party or the presidential campaign. So Gierau, now the state party chairman, was reduced to ordering the items from an online store.

What a difference two years - and a new Democratic National Committee chairman, Howard Dean - can make.

As part of Dean's strategy to build up the Democratic Party infrastructure in all 50 states, the DNC has committed $120,000 to Wyoming over two years - enough to hire a field director and a communications director, rather than just an executive director, as in the past.

The DNC also donated $5,000 to jump-start the party's grass-roots organization, said party executive director Kyle DeBeer. The party plans to have teams of 25 volunteers deployed in 57 key precincts on Election Day.

"I don't see that as too much money to create a presence and rattle the boat and win some more seats" in the Republican-dominated Legislature, said Democratic state Rep. Pete Jorgensen, who also serves as a Democratic national committeeman. Jorgensen argued that House challenger Gary Trauner might be able to knock off Rep. Barbara Cubin (R) this fall and that Democrats may be able to defeat some of the weaker Republican legislators. If so, he said, "that would be money well spent."

The idea behind Dean's 50-state strategy is to rebuild the Democratic Party, even in long-forsaken areas, from the ground up. Fundamentally, it is a long-term plan for Democratic revival.

...

"We understand the situation in swing seats, and that's important, but if we don't stand up in places like Wyoming, it will be a self-fulfilling prophecy - we'll always stay where we are," Gierau said. Since the money was allocated, "we've gotten more candidates running and more quality candidates for state legislative seats. We've got a contested primary for county treasurer in Teton County, Wyo. - an office we had not filed for in 30 years."

Gierau and other Democrats in the Mountain West are realistic about their chances.

In Wyoming, for instance, rather than unrealistically shooting for a legislative takeover, Gierau and Jorgensen talk of flipping a couple legislative seats, which would enable Democrats and moderate Republicans to prevent GOP leaders from overriding a Freudenthal veto.

In Montana:

In 2004 and 2002, for instance, Democrats Brian Schweitzer and Dave Freudenthal won the governorships of Montana and Wyoming, respectively, and the party won control of the Montana House and Senate two years ago. This year, Sen Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) is in a fight for his political life.

...

To many party insiders, such developments suggest that the Mountain West could be one of the most important growth areas for Democrats in the coming years.

"The attention and financial help has created a historic shift in most of the states of the Rocky Mountain West," said former Rep. Pat Williams (D-Mont.). "One party, the Republicans, thought they could win the Rockies if they tilted their Stetson just so, and my party believes that if you come out to [the ski resort area of] Sun Valley once every four years, you'll win the west. Dean has seen it otherwise."

In Missoula, Mont., state House Democratic Leader Dave Wanzenried said in lightly populated regions, even a little money "can make a difference in legislative races and county elections." Winning such races builds up a farm team for higher office, he added - a crucial factor in rebuilding the party over the medium- and long term. The Dean money, he said, is "absolutely a good thing."

...

The DNC funds either directly or indirectly have aided Democrat Jon Tester, who's challenging Burns, Montana's three-term Republican Senator, said Chuck Denowh, the executive director of the Montana Republican Party.

"I think it will have a major impact here, and I worry about that money, as well as 527 committee money," he said. Measured by ad rates and cost of living, "we're a 'cheap' state, and it doesn't take much to make a difference."

In Idaho:

Though Idaho lags well behind Montana in evidence of a Democratic resurgence, Democrats are targeting an open House seat in which the GOP nominee, Bill Sali, won a divisive primary with just 26 percent of the vote. And in the gubernatorial race, Democratic newspaper publisher Jerry Brady is making a second aggressive run, squaring off against Rep. Butch Otter (R).

Money from the DNC "has made a world of difference," said former Rep. Richard Stallings, now the state Democratic Party chairman in Idaho. "It has essentially tripled my staff, from two to six. For years, we were unable to respond to every stupid thing the other side said about us. Now, I've got a full-time press person, a very good former reporter, plus two community organizers, one for the north and one for the south, and a fundraiser. It couldn't have come at a more opportune time."

In some cases, said Corey Taule of the Idaho Falls Post-Register, local Democratic Web sites are now much better than those of their GOP counterparts.

"The Dean money has inspired people to work harder, because they know the party has the assets to back us up," added John McGimpsey, who's running for the Legislature from an Idaho Falls-area district. "Having two field coordinators is incredibly helpful in getting candidates information and teaching us how to use the databases and the other infrastructure."

Former Idaho state Rep. Jim Hansen (D), who's challenging Rep. Mike Simpson (R), added that "there's been a good grass-roots organization on the ground for years, but it hasn't been reinforced until now. It's been ignored by the national party."

In a nutshell - this is what the 50-State Strategy looks like on the ground. When you take these words:

The Democratic Party is committed to winning elections at every level in every region of the country, and we're getting started right now with a massive effort to fund organizers on the ground in every state.

The ultimate goal? An active, effective group of Democrats organized in every single precinct in the country.

And then turn them into a reality. You get hundreds of trained organizers and volunteers working side by side to move their precincts, towns, counties, states and country forward.

More on Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho.

The one interesting statewide race is the battle for Wyoming's seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Wyoming is one of seven sparsely-populated states which send only a single congressman to that chamber. Since 1942, with one exception, the state's Member-at-Large has been a Republican.

But Representative Barbara Cubin, first elected in 1994, now leads Democratic challenger Gary Trauner by only four percentage points, 47% to 43% and the GOP can hardly take her reelection for granted. This becomes one more contest to which the GOP may have to devote resources during an election year in which the party is proving especially vulnerable.

Fast forward to 2006 and Democrat Gary Trauner's inspired campaign to take on Cubin. The race is getting a substantial amount of "buzz" in political circles -- most recently a Congressional Quarterly piece this weekend that included a run-down of some of the congresswoman's "lighter moments."

Just before her first House race, Cubin survived controversy in the state Senate: She reportedly received a basket of penis-shaped cookies and distributed them to male colleagues she said were in on the joke.

A fervent opponent of restrictions on gun ownership, Cubin said during a House floor debate in 2003 that a proposed amendment would have barred the sale of guns "to anybody who was on drugs or in drug treatment." Cubin then added, "Well, does that mean if you go into a black community, you can't sell guns to any black person?"

But Cubin has more problems than foot-in-mouth syndrome and absenteeism in the House, chiefly, the campaign of Gary Trauner. I actually had an occassion to meet with Wyoming's future Democratic congressman while in New Orleans last weekend. He took a few moments from pressing the flesh to sit down with me and my video camera to send a message into online community. In fact, he was so excited to tell people "on the blogs" about is campaign that he sought me out. Take a look.

Video: Gary Trauner Talks About His Race

Amazingly, Trauner has kept pace with the incumbent Congresswoman in the funding race necessary to compete for a seat in the House. As of the April filing, Cubin has $173,492 CoH vs. Trauner's $157,360.

The regional political director at the DNC for the little slice of heaven that is Wyoming walked up to me at the start of the week in New Orleans and said, "I want to introduce you to the biggest story of 2006. His name is Gary Trauner and he's running for the at-large seat in Wyoming."

I kind of chuckled at first, but then I met the man. No more than 10 seconds after the interview was complete, I met the Executive Director of the Wyoming Democratic Party, a fresh-faced Kyle DeBeer. Kyle handed me a nice little fact sheet on the race and we talked about the innovative ways Trauner is getting it done on-the-ground.

In fact, Gary's "open door tour" is almost like a mini fifty state strategy in his home state. Of Wyoming's 23 counties, Trauner has already visited seventeen at least once during the campaign, and most more than once ... and it's only April!

Plus, you gotta love a candidate who includes "doing the right thing" as one of his issue positions alongside ethics, education, and health care.