The Buzz: Wyoming, West get political press

Wednesday, July 02, 2008

By Henry Sweets

Jackson Hole, Wyo.-Western voters are being targeted more than ever by Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain for their potential to sway the presidential election, and the national press is keeping a close watch.

Obama’s campaign has announced it will open offices in Wyoming, as well as in other traditionally red states.

In a recent interview with Politico.com, Obama’s campaign manager Steve Hildebrand said Obama is campaigning in states he’s not likely to win because he hopes his presence could help swing local and congressional elections.

On NBC’s “Meet the Press,” filmed last week in Jackson Hole, Tom Brokaw questioned Wyo. Gov. Dave Freudenthal and Colo. Gov. Bill Ritter Jr., both Democrats, about their states’ voters and what McCain, a Republican, and Obama, a Democrat, can do to win them over.

Freudenthal said he wouldn’t “bet the ranch” on Obama’s ability to win Wyoming, but added that he thought the Illinois senator would “do much better than expected, because there’s a really independent attitude and a real candid view of how we assess people [in Wyoming], and Obama has struck a pretty good chord here.”
Freudenthal endorsed Obama earlier this year.

Considered a solidly red state with 67 percent registered Republican voters, Wyoming has seen a recent increase in registered Democrats after campaign stops earlier this year by Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton seemed to renew enthusiasm for the party.
On Meet the Press, NBC’s political director Chuck Todd said several other states in the western region have switched from Republican to Democratic governors since the 2000 elections. He identified the “swing” voters responsible for that shift as Republicans with libertarian or pragmatic values, who are turned off by the new Republican “brand.” Those voters are more interested in a candidate’s ability to solve problems and are less focused on his or her political party affiliation, he said.

Though Wyoming’s two Senate seats and single House seat are all held by Republicans, Democratic challenger Gary Trauner came within about 1,000 votes of unseating six-term incumbent Barbara Cubin, a Republican, in 2006. Trauner, who is running again this year, said Wyoming voters are looking for straight talk and honest leadership.
Will an Obama campaign office in Wyoming help Democratic campaigns like Trauner’s?
“I think in the long run it’s probably a good thing for me and my campaign,” he said, adding that “if they are able to energize people to be involved, it’s a great thing for the state.”

Wyoming Republicans may already be feeling the pressure of the emerging Democrats in the state. Earlier this year, the party started the Wyoming Republican Legislative Trust, which they hope will help keep the two-thirds majority in the state legislature.
So, are the Republicans worried about new strides by Obama in Wyoming?
No, said Jan Larimer, a Jackson resident and national committeewoman for the Republican Party.

“We have a great election plan for the fall, and we’ll do what we always do,” she said.

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