CHEYENNE - Walt Geis entered the voting booth in Shoshoni on Tuesday knowing that national Democrats would likely win the White House and add to their numbers in Congress - but he was sure that Wyoming would vote solidly Republican.

"I was very confident that Wyoming still had enough courage to stick to their beliefs and not be wavered by the big flashy candidate," said Geis, a Republican who works as a state brand inspector in Fremont County.

He could scarcely have been more correct.

GOP candidates in Wyoming shellacked their Democratic opponents at just about every level, adding to Wyoming�s reputation as one of the most Republican of states.

At the national level, Wyoming voters handed Sen. John McCain his largest margin of victory of any state except Oklahoma.

Sixty-five percent of Wyoming voters supported the Arizona senator, while less than 33 percent supported President-elect Barack Obama.

Wyoming�s support for McCain even surpassed Republican strongholds Idaho and Utah. In Idaho, 62 percent of voters supported McCain; 36 percent were for Obama. In Utah, 63 percent supported McCain; 34 percent were for Obama.

Wyoming voters overwhelmingly voted for Republican candidates in all three congressional races.

U.S. Sens. Mike Enzi and John Barrasso defeated two Democratic candidates whose campaigns never really got off the ground.

Enzi beat University of Wyoming professor Chris Rothfuss with 76 percent of the vote to Rothfuss� 24 percent. Barrasso toppled Gillette attorney Nick Carter with 73 percent of the vote to Carter�s 27 percent.

Even in the race for U.S. House, where Democrat Gary Trauner raised hundreds of thousands of dollars and campaigned for years, it wasn�t enough to slice through Wyoming�s bright Republican red.

Despite polls just days before the election showing Trauner in a dead heat with Republican Cynthia Lummis, Lummis prevailed by a 10-point margin.

UW political scientist Jim King said Trauner�s real fault was his inability to distinguish himself sufficiently from Lummis on the issues. The voters fell back on their party affiliation in the voting booth as a result.

"For all that was spent in energy and money, Trauner was not able to truly differentiate himself from Lummis," King said. "In a GOP state, a Democrat can�t have that."

Lummis said in a Wednesday morning meeting with reporters that her campaign benefited from an appearance by Vice President Dick Cheney and a series of public debates on the issues in the final days of the election.

"I too was very, very surprised by the margin of victory because I felt throughout the race that it was extremely close," Lummis said.

Republicans also dominated in statehouse races, where unofficial results from The Associated Press show Republicans defeated Democrats in all five contested races in the state Senate.

Republicans ran unopposed in nine races while Democrats ran unopposed in two.

Before the election, Republicans outnumbered Democrats in the state Senate by a margin of 23-7. In the House, they outnumbered Democrats 43-17.

Democrats had hoped to win 21 seats in the Legislature, giving them enough votes to protect a gubernatorial veto.

Depending on the outcome of a recount in one Teton County race, the Democrats could pick up one seat, bringing their total to a mere 19 seats.

UW�s King said there was every reason to expect Republicans to make a strong showing Tuesday. Wyoming is far too red to be swayed easily by what�s happening on the national political stage, he said.

"There wasn�t the type of broad (national) movement that would have shifted Wyoming," King said.

Amy Larimer, executive director of the Wyoming Republican Party, said voters in Wyoming were energized by the candidates on the Republican ticket.

They were proud to vote for McCain and thrilled to re-elect Enzi and elect Barrasso, both of whom have been "phenomenal" and "really great Republicans," Larimer said.

They also showed their faith in Lummis as a tested leader, she said.

Larimer said state Republicans vote for GOP candidates because they cherish the party�s values.

"People in Wyoming have Republican values," she said. "They believe in lower taxes, less government and a stronger national defense."

Bill Luckett, executive director of the Wyoming Democratic Party, agreed that the excitement of the presidential race and two incumbent senators on the ballot helped down-ticket Republicans.

Otherwise, he said, Trauner would have had a good shot of defeating Lummis.

"If the U.S. House race was isolated on the ballot without those Senate races, you would have seen a different result," Luckett said.

"We started out with an incredible disadvantage and didn�t quite get past it this time," he added.

Lewis Newman of Casper, a Republican and lifelong Wyoming resident, said he wasn�t a bit surprised to see the GOP dominate Tuesday - but he�s not sure it�s such a good thing.

It�s not healthy for the Republicans to have so much power, Newman said.

"If they took Saddam Hussein and put an �R� behind his name, he would get elected in this state," Newman said. "Voters don�t give two thoughts to who they send back to Washington."

Gov. Dave Freudenthal, the state's only Democratic statewide office holder, said one reason for the lack of political competition in Wyoming is the low expectation of congressional delegates.

Freudenthal, who endorsed Obama and Trauner, said voters and the state news media accept the argument from GOP delegates that more can�t be done for Wyoming because Washington, D.C., is fundamentally hostile toward the state.

"What we�ve done is accepted this argument that we are just Wyoming and we can�t get much done," Freudenthal said. "I don�t think we expect enough."

Freudenthal also placed responsibility on state Democratic candidates, who he said tend to talk about issues that interest them instead of issues important to Wyoming voters.

"The Democrats who are successful talk about what matters in their districts," said Freudenthal, adding that Wyoming today is similar in some ways to the Deep South when Democrats dominated all of politics there.

"So we really don�t have a two-party system,� he said.

Contact capital bureau reporter Jared Miller at (307) 632-1244 or {M7jared.miller@trib.comBREAKOUT BOXSeeing redArizona Sen. John McCain easily won Wyoming's three electoral votes. In fact, only Oklahoma was more supportive of McCain in voting Tuesday. Here's a look at how some of the nation's most Republican states voted in the presidential race:Oklahoma

McCain: 65.6 percent

Obama: 34.4 percent

Wyoming

McCain: 65.2 percent

Obama: 32.7 percent

Utah

McCain: 62.9 percent

Obama: 34.2 percent

Idaho

McCain: 61.5 percent

Obama: 36.1 percent

Alabama

McCain: 60.4 percent

Obama: 38.8 percent{M2

{M7

BREAKOUT BOX

Seeing red

Arizona Sen. John McCain easily won Wyoming's three electoral votes. In fact, only Oklahoma was more supportive of McCain in voting Tuesday. Here's a look at how some of the nation's most Republican states voted in the presidential race:

Oklahoma

McCain: 65.6 percent

Obama: 34.4 percent

Wyoming

McCain: 65.2 percent

Obama: 32.7 percent

Utah

McCain: 62.9 percent

Obama: 34.2 percent

Idaho

McCain: 61.5 percent

Obama: 36.1 percent

Alabama

McCain: 60.4 percent

Obama: 38.8 percent

{M2

Arizona Sen. John McCain easily won Wyoming's three electoral votes. In fact, only Oklahoma was more supportive of McCain in voting Tuesday. Here's a look at how some of the nation's most Republican states voted in the presidential race:

Oklahoma

McCain: 65.6 percent

Obama: 34.4 percent

Wyoming

McCain: 65.2 percent

Obama: 32.7 percent

Utah

McCain: 62.9 percent

Obama: 34.2 percent

Idaho

McCain: 61.5 percent

Obama: 36.1 percent

Alabama

McCain: 60.4 percent

Obama: 38.8 percent]]>