Wyoming will go Dem

MyDD gives us reasons why Freudenthal (D) will be the next governor of Wyoming.

I've pegged this race as my sleeper upset pick (I have written about it several times, including here). A few weeks ago, the state's largest paper, the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle, endorsed Freudenthal, and his candidacy has inspired support from some of the state's most committed Republicans.

Dear editor,

I never thought I would do it -- switch parties. Since 1952 when I voted for Eisenhower by absentee ballot while at sea in the navy, I have voted in every election as a registered Republican, and have served as a member of the Natrona County Republican Central Committee, a delegate to Wyoming Republican state conventions and as a campaign chairman for two Republican candidates. In other words, I have been a life-long Republican -- until this year. But, Dave Freudenthal is so clearly the best qualified gubernatorial candidate that I switched parties to vote for him in the primary and will vote for him again in the general election.

The AP picks up on the story.

Wyoming Republicans have twice as many registered voters as the Democrats, and they hold all five statewide elected offices, all three congressional seats and strong majorities in both legislative houses. Only Idaho's statehouse is more Republican.

So it might seem that after 14 years in the Wyoming House, Bebout would be an obvious heir to GOP Gov. Jim Geringer, who is barred from seeking a third term.

But voters here are not that parochial when it comes to the state's highest office. Before Geringer became governor in 1994, two Democrats held the office for a 20-year stretch and Democrats have been governor 50 years out of the past 100.

Considering that Wyoming has the smallest population in the union -- smaller even than Washington DC, why should we care about this race? Because it is a red state, and one in which registered Republicans outnumber Democrats 137,394 to 63,232. It is the state that spawned Dick Cheney. It is a proud Republican state.

If a Democrat can win here, it will provide a Dem beachhead in forbidding political terroritory. And, if Republicans can't even win Wyoming it will show just how bankrupt their party really is.

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Incidentally, MyDD got his info from a Wyoming correspondent. That's the type of report I hope to consistently provide with my coming-soon collaborative blog -- the Political State Report. I want political reports from people in the trenches -- providing readers with first-hand accounts of political develeopments in their states and how those events may affect the national political scene.

I have commitments from writers in California (north and south), Connecticut, Idaho, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Tennessee, and Texas. All the writers so far are from the left. I also welcome writers from the right to provide some ideological diversity.

I will be launching this new blog a week or two after the elections. If you are interested in participating please drop me a line.

Posted October 27, 2002 08:20 AM | Comments (8)