In West, GOP no longer a shoo-in

[Judi Lynn]

In West, GOP no longer a shoo-in
Updated 9/26/2006 1:16 AM ET
By Tom Kenworthy, USA TODAY

CASPER, Wyo. — If history is any guide, Democrat Gary Trauner is on a fool's errand as he campaigns door-to-door to unseat six-term Republican Rep. Barbara Cubin.
A Democrat hasn't held Wyoming's at-large House seat since 1979, when Rep. Teno Roncalio retired after five terms — and an up-and-coming politician named Dick Cheney replaced him. In this state where Republicans are 61% of registered voters and Democrats 26%, President Bush won with 69% two years ago, a margin he exceeded only in Utah.

Trauner's campaign may not be entirely quixotic. National publications that track elections such as The Cook Political Report and Congressional Quarterly have started paying attention to what once was regarded as a Republican shoo-in.

In a Republican neighborhood here in Wyoming's second largest city, Trauner, 47, a businessman, found some traction on a recent weekend even though he's yet to get funding from the Democrats' House campaign committee.

"People really do think it's time for a change," says Marlene McLain, 61, after Trauner knocks on her door. McLain, a Republican, is critical of Cubin: "She doesn't listen to us. ... She's not paying attention."
(snip/...)

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-09-25-gop-blues_x.htm