For Obama and Democrats, Wyo. remains inhospitable country

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

By Ben Cannon

Jackson Hole, Wyo.-To the north and south of Wyoming’s borders, Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign is making a hard push in Western states traditionally viewed as Republican strongholds. Montana, Colorado and even far flung Alaska have become the focus of the Illinois senator’s campaign as it attempts to gain new grounds in what some have said is a shifting political landscape.

So will the Cowboy State get the same attention from Obama’s camp in the lead up to November’s general election?
Not likely on the same scale, various race watchers and analysts said this week.
 “The only thing more foolish than [the Obama campaign] spending money in Wyoming would be spending it in a conservative state like Utah or Idaho,” said Dr. Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics.

That is not the case for Montana, once a heavily Republican state that still, according to many polls, leans toward Sen. John McCain, the likely Republican Party nominee. Though Montana is not expected to turn fully blue this year by going for Obama, the Democratic contender’s campaign will heighten its presence there, Sabato said. Ditto for Colorado, a relatively diverse Western state with more urban centers, where Democrats are expected to get a boost with the party’s National Convention in Denver later this month.

Colorado also has a Democratic governor, Bill Ritter, whose election in 2006 became part of that state’s shift in the Democrats’ favor.

“Montana, at least, has a history of populism and unionism,” Sabato said, “But Wyoming has more of a frontier culture of guns, self-reliance, ‘don’t tread on me,’ and libertarianism. I doubt Wyoming will ever again even have two Democratic [U.S.] Senators.”

The Obama campaign, though, is pushing to have some presence in all 50 states, and just last week appointed longtime Wyoming Democratic operative Michelle Sullivan to manage a state campaign office in Casper. That is as much an effort to garner some popular vote in Wyoming as it is part of a move to engage voters across the country with the allure of a more accessible candidate looking to reinvigorate public interest in presidential politics, Sullivan said.

 “It’s about making all citizens feel as if they’re important and galvanizing energy from our caucuses,” Sullivan said. She added, “It’s consistent with the campaign’s interest in having a 50-state strategy.”

March’s Democratic presidential caucuses saw Wyoming Democrats turn out in droves, with some precincts – including Teton County – reporting up to 10 times as many participants as was seen in the 2004 presidential elections.

Sullivan said the state Obama campaign would continue to focus on registering voters early, though many counties in the state allow registration at the polls on election days.
As of July about 60,000 Wyoming voters were registered as Democrats, compared to more than 137,500 Republicans. Those numbers are similar to the breakdown of Wyoming voters in the last presidential election, according to records on file with the state.

Meanwhile, a private event in Jackson Hole last Friday night raised well over $400,000 for the national Obama campaign, Story Clark Resor, an event organizer, said. While Teton County may have some ardent (and wealthy) Obama supporters, dollars raised in Wyoming will likely go to campaign efforts outside of the state.

“There’s not a whole lot of excitement about Wyoming with Democrats here because it’s not likely to translate into a Democratic victory here,” said Jim King, who directs the political science department at the University of Wyoming. “It’s very difficult to imagine that a push here could do anything to get more than 40 percent of the vote.”

In the fight for Wyoming’s lone U.S. House seat, Democrat Gary Trauner, who was narrowly beat by incumbent Republican Barbara Cubin in 2006, said he expects little help from the Democratic Party against whatever strong Republican challenger emerges from the pack of five candidates.

“From a financial perspective and having resources, I don’t want the national party running my campaign or telling me what to do,” Trauner said. “But does it look bleak? I wouldn’t be running if I didn’t think I could win.”

For Amy Larimer, the executive director of the Wyoming Republican Party, it is now a matter of waiting to see what GOP candidates make it through the Aug. 19 primaries before the state GOP kicks into full gear the “very conservative grassroots” efforts to keep Republicans dominant at the state and federal levels.

Republicans currently outnumber Democrats three-to-one in the Wyoming Legislature, and poll watchers are not expecting the Blues to take much ground after November.
“It is more or less campaigning as usual,” Larimer said.
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For Obama and Democrats, Wyo. remains inhospitable country | Planet JH News Article: General Politics

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