Wyoming, U.S. Senate
Race Forecast: Safe Republican
2008: Sen.
Vote for winner in 2002: 73 percent
A strong Republican lean in Wyoming gives Enzi strong chances of winning a third term in November. While he was disappointed at not winning a seat on the Senate Finance Committee, Enzi agreed in April to stay in the race.
Enzi
’
s Senate race is one of two this year in Wyoming, both considered Safe Republican seats. The other, a special election to fill the vacancy of Republican Sen.
Race Information
- Incumbent: Sen. Michael B. Enzi, R
- First Elected: 1996 (2nd term)
- Last Elected: 2002 (72.95%)
- Incumbent Status: Running for re-election
- Challengers: Chris Rothfuss, D
- Race Forecast: Safe Republican
State Information
- U.S. Senate Delegation: 2 Republicans
- U.S. House Delegation: 1 Republican
- Wyoming's Other Senator
- Sen. John Barrasso-R
- First Appointed: 2007; Selected by Gov. Dave Freudenthal, D, to fill the vacancy created by the death of Craig Thomas, R
- State Offices
- Governor: Gov. Dave Freudenthal, D
- First Elected: 2002 (2nd term)
- State House Control: Republican
- State Senate Control: Republican
- Demographics (2000 census)
- Population (2005):509,294
- Under 18:26.1%
- Over 65:11.7%
- Non-Hispanic White:88.9%
- Black:0.7%
- Hispanic:6.4%
- Asian:0.5%
- American Indian:2.1%
- Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander:0.1%
- Median Household Income: 37,892
- Median Household Income Rank: 35
| Year | Election | Candidate | Votes | Percent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | general | Michael Enzi (R) | 188,999 | 77.2% |
| Chris Rothfuss (D) | 58,814 | 22.8% | ||
| 2002 | general | Michael Enzi (R) | 133,710 | 73% |
| Joyce Corcoran (D) | 49,570 | 27% | ||
| 1996 | general | Michael B. Enzi (R) | 114,116 | 54.1% |
| Kathy Karpan (D) | 89,103 | 42.2% | ||
| W. David Herbert (LIBERT) | 5,289 | 2.5% | ||
| Lloyd Marsden (NL) | 2,569 | 1.2% | ||
| Year | Democrat | Republican | Independent |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | John Kerry: 29% | George W. Bush: 69% | |
| 2000 | Al Gore: 28% | George W. Bush: 68% | |
| 1996 | Bill Clinton: 37% | Robert Dole: 50% | |
| 1992 | Bill Clinton: 34% | George H. W. Bush: 40% |
Campaign Finance Details for the 2008 Race
| Filers | Through | Total Receipts | Total Disbursements | Total From PACs | Total From Individuals | Ending Cash | Debts Owed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| THOMAS, CRAIG (R) | September 30, 2008 | $27,805.00 | $617,593.00 | $0 | $250.00 | $27,292.00 | $0 |
| ENZI, MICHAEL B (R) | November 24, 2008 | $1,644,954.00 | $1,204,403.00 | $113,550.00 | $358,928.00 | $621,619.00 | $0 |
| GROUTAGE, F DALE (D) | January 31, 2007 | $143.00 | $875.00 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $68,406.00 |
| CARTER, NICHOLAS H (D) | November 24, 2008 | $210,914.00 | $273,688.00 | $0 | $106,963.00 | $9,362.00 | $0 |
| ROTHFUSS, CHRISTOPHER J (D) | November 24, 2008 | $33,163.00 | $27,351.00 | $0 | $31,963.00 | $4,666.00 | $0 |
| GOODENOUGH, KEITH B. (D) | September 30, 2008 | $6,330.00 | $0 | $0 | $6,330.00 | $0 | $0 |
| BARRASSO, JOHN A (R) | November 24, 2008 | $2,583,117.00 | $1,945,006.00 | $255,642.00 | $1,119,047.00 | $638,111.00 | $0 |
