In West, GOP no longer a shoo-in

[Mark E. Smith]

USA Today 9/26/06

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 might 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.

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

[liberalmuse]

1. I wish we could boot Orrin Hatch in Utah...

There are a lot of 'Ashdown for Senate' signs in Salt Lake, but unfortunately the hive mind here will vote in Hatch yet again.

[kentuck]

2. Colorado may go blue.

is the rumor. :)

[Arugula Latte]

3. I hope so.

Although Colorado has often seemed tantalizingly ready to flip, only to disappoint. But I'm keeping my fingers crossed...