JOAN BARRON

CHEYENNE - One of the early puzzlers to come out of the Republican primary for U.S. House is the fuss over candidate Mark Gordon's contributions to Democratic candidates.

This is an honored tradition in Wyoming and is why campaign contributions reports are so interesting.

All three of the recent Democratic governors received money and votes from Republicans. It was the GOP votes that propelled them into office.

That was why you could find so many Republicans serving in the administrations of Ed Herschler, Mike Sullivan and the current Democratic chief executive, Dave Freudenthal.

Sullivan also had plenty of support from high-level Republicans in his hometown of Casper, who not only donated money to his campaigns but were valuable chief advisers.

And let us not forget that the Republicans nominated Eli Bebout of Riverton to be their candidate for governor in 2002. Bebout was formerly a Democrat. He lost the general election to Freudenthal and now is a member of the Wyoming Senate.

This should demonstrate how often political lines blur in this state.

The initial attack on Gordon for his donations to Democrats has shoddy origins, given that it was circulated anonymously with a false return address. The shadowy source diminishes the effectiveness and credibility of the message. It shouldn't damage Gordon's campaign.

His challenge will be to convince voters he is qualified for the nomination and the chance to replace retiring GOP Congresswoman Barbara Cubin.

The other front-runner for the nomination, Cynthia Lummis of Cheyenne, can and does point to her years of experience in both branches of government - as a legislator and two terms as state treasurer.

She bills herself as a genuine conservative Wyoming Republican.

The question will be whether Gordon's well-financed campaign and his television ads can balance out Lummis' experience.

And whether he can dodge the rap of not being a genuine Republican, let alone a conservative one.

Although it is a historical year with all three congressional delegation seats up for election at the same time, the U.S. Senate races haven't stirred much electricity so far.

The U.S. House race promises to be the most interesting. The other candidates are Bill Winney of Bondurant, a retired naval captain, and Michael Holland, a Green River physician.

Barring unforeseen circumstances the contest will be between Lummis and Gordon.

Democrat Gary Trauner of Teton County is running unopposed for his party's nomination. Also in the mix is Libertarian W. David Herbert of Cody.

The four-candidate contest is a little smaller than the turnout expected for an open seat.

Lummis supporters point to her selection by the Republican Central Committee last year as one of the candidates for the U.S. Senate seat made vacant by the death of Sen. Craig Thomas.

Freudenthal ultimately appointed Casper physician and state senator John Barrasso to fill out the four years remaining in Thomas' elected term of office.

The third candidate for the seat was Tom Sansonetti, a longtime GOP activist and former Department of Interior honcho.

Lummis' finalist status demonstrates her popularity among state GOP activists and insiders. But some Republicans say their central committee is much more conservative than the typical Republican voters in the state.

It's possible that with the new demographics in the state more Republican voters will be on the moderate side.

The widespread national voter unhappiness may also be reflected here in the federal races. No one is predicting a Democratic sweep, though.

We will get a taste of the Republican mood in the Aug. 19 primary election.

Contact Joan Barron at joan.barron@trib.com or by phone at 307-632-1244.