By Marie Horrigan, CQ Staff

Wyoming Republican Rep. Barbara Cubin on Saturday officially ended months of speculation by announcing that she would not seek an eighth term in the House.

Given her anemic fundraising, absenteeism and near loss in 2006, the move boosts Republican hopes for retaining the seat. CQ Politics has changed the race rating for Wyoming At Large from ‘No Clear Favorite’ to ‘Leans Republican.’

Speaking in Casper, Wyoming at the meeting of the Wyoming Republican Party State Central Committee, Cubin said, “In contemplating 2008, my overwhelming consideration has been the need of my family for me to come home.”

Family crises, including the continued ill-health of her husband, Frederick William Cubin, have kept Cubin out of Washington and led her to miss nearly half the House votes this session, more than any other member of Congress.

Dissatisfaction with Cubin’s performance had led to calls for her to drop a bid for 2008, while an October editorial in the Casper Star-Tribune encouraged Cubin to consider resigning.

“What Cubin needs to decide is whether she can complete her current term effectively, or whether her place is in Wyoming, with her family,” the editorial said.

Had she run, Cubin would have faced a difficult contest in 2008. Several Republicans already had signaled they would challenge Cubin in the August primary and Democrat Gary Trauner, who trailed Cubin by only 1,012 votes in 2006, had signed on for a rematch in 2008.

As of Sept. 30, Trauner had $165,000 in his campaign coffers for the race vs. $9,000 for Cubin.

Republicans who had already intended to challenge Cubin include state Rep. Colin Simpson, the majority floor leader in the Republican-controlled state House and son of Wyoming Sen. Alan K. Simpson; Bill Winney, who lost the 2006 primary against Cubin 60 percent to 40 percent; and part-time teacher and motivational speaker Swede Nelson.

The GOP field is expected to expand significantly with an open-seat race in a state that historically has been a Republican stronghold. Sixty-two percent of the state’s voters are registered Republicans and 69 percent voted for President Bush in the 2004 election.

Speaking Saturday, Cubin said she looked forward to “coming home to be a friend, wife, mother and especially a grandmother.”

She used the speech as an opportunity to excoriate the Democratic Party for what she said were its legislative failures since gaining the majority in the midterm elections.

Cubin also took the opportunity to criticize her erstwhile Democratic opponent. “We cannot let Gary Trauner win. He is wrong for Wyoming, wrong for America, and I know we won’t let him win,” she said.

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