Casper Star-Tribune - GOP House Hopefuls Make Their Pitches

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Casper Star-Tribune - GOP House Hopefuls Make Their Pitches

Republicans know it will be hard for the Democratic candidates seeking to unseat incumbent Republican U.S. Sens. Mike Enzi and John Barrasso in November.

A Democratic win for Wyoming's lone seat in the U.S. House is not out of the question, however, Republican candidates for the seat said Saturday at the state GOP convention here.

Party bigwigs said it will take a lot of hard work to keep Wyoming's congressional delegation Republican.

"The race for the House is the most important race Republicans have this year," said Rep. Barbara Cubin about the race for her successor. Cubin is not running for re-election after serving 14 years in Congress.

Cubin noted that Democrat Gary Trauner, who is running for the seat, came within 1,000 votes of beating her in 2006. She said the tally shows that a Democratic win is not out of the picture this year.

Be warned, the "national (Democratic Committee) is bringing people in by the busload, and they're going to be spending lots of money," she said. "This race starts with us, and it's critical."

Republicans Mark Gordon, Michael Holland, Cynthia Lummis and Bill Winney are running in the Aug. 19 primary for the House nomination.

Retired U.S. Navy captain and Sublette County resident Winney touted his lifetime military background and his support for smaller government, lower taxes and less bureaucracy.

Winney said it was important that Republicans put the strongest candidate forward to beat Trauner in the fall.

"Republicans need a strong candidate to ensure this seat does not fall into their hands ... and I'm that candidate," he said.

"I won't spend the most money in this campaign, but I won't be outworked. And I'm in a better position than my opponents to represent the military veterans ... there's almost 50,000 in Wyoming."

Former State Treasurer Lummis vowed to restore America's economic strength, both at home and abroad.

"We need to return to our core Republican principle of fiscal conservatism ... That is real change you can count on," she said.

Lummis said she supported making the Bush tax cuts permanent, cutting wasteful spending, and the establishment of a "culture of savings" in the country. She also touted Wyoming's huge role in securing energy independence for America.

"We need a dynamic energy future, not a low standard of living like the Democrats want," Lummis said. "We need a completely restructured, diverse fuel portfolio based on real-market solutions. I want to help Congress unleash Wyoming's strength. Congress is broken, America is not."

Johnson County rancher Gordon called for a new direction for the party and said addressing the country's problems with "the same approach ... won't get us any closer to solutions, and the solution is not big government."

Gordon said the "new century with new challenges" is best addressed "by individuals, free enterprise, and the spirit of America ... that gumption that got us here in the first place."

Wyoming "can't stand by in a nation where debt is condoned or big government is tolerated," he said. "The principles of the Republican party -- limited government, strong national defense, fiscal restraint -- offer the best way forward in this new era. This is a time of exciting opportunities, not just a time of problems that lie ahead."

Michael Holland, a Green River doctor, billed himself a "fire-breathing paleo-conservative" who sits on the "libertarian end of the Republican spectrum."

Holland said it was imperative the Republicans "return to our original mission, which is a government that serves the people." He said Congress should "spend most of its time repealing laws," not passing them.

Holland said he would work "to get the feds out of your life ... they have no business being there." He said the country's biggest problem is that "we have no control over our currency ... Our currency has been devalued deliberately."

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