Wild.

Amazing.

Unreal.

These words normally don't appear in stories about Wyoming Democrats and an election year here. Synonyms of "irrelevant" or "anticlimactic" more commonly describe how Democrats fared in one of the reddest states in the union.

The state's tone didn't change, but then again, Wyoming Democrats aren't normally featured in the opening segment of The Daily Show with John Stewart nor in the political pages of The New York Times.

Both happened in 2008.

Bill Luckett, who served as the Wyoming Democratic Party's communications director for three years until he took over as executive director in April, never imagined the mayhem that would occur in March leading up to Wyoming's Democratic presidential caucus March 8.

"We are such a small state, there aren't a lot of electoral votes, not a lot of delegates to be won," Luckett said. "Presidential candidates don't pay much attention to us."

That all changed in 2008.

Both major Democratic candidates for president, Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, made visits to Casper and other parts of Wyoming on March 7.

"I don't know when, if ever, so late in the race, the top two candidates have toured Wyoming to make direct appeals to Wyoming Democrats for their votes," Luckett said. "We were players that week, baby."

State Republican officials said Wyoming still voted "overwhelmingly red" and less than 35 percent of Wyomingites voted for Obama in the general election.

Amy Larimer, executive director of the Wyoming Republican Party, said five of the Republican candidates for president also visited the state.

For that weekend in March, however, national and international media focused on Wyoming Democrats.

One day during that week in March, Luckett had 43 voicemails on his cell phone.

That week Luckett talked to reporters from a Japanese newspaper and a French publication. He interviewed with Al-Jazeera, an Arab TV network, and met a New York Times reporter he had admired for a long time.

"They don't write a lot of stories with the dateline Wyoming," Luckett joked.

On the day of the caucus, staff members from both campaigns sat in the state party's office in Casper watching the results flow in. Niobrara County, the least populated county in the state, was one of the first to call in its votes.

"Ten votes for Clinton and 10 votes for Obama," the county's representative said.

The non-Wyomingites in the room wondered if that meant 10 delegates for Clinton and 10 for Obama. Luckett quickly reminded them they were in Wyoming, where only a total of 18 delegates were at stake, and only 20 people had voted in Niobrara County's caucus.

"We gave people a taste of what a small state it is," Luckett said.

If people voted in Natrona County's caucus, though, they might have forgotten they were in a small, red state.

Almost 1,000 people waited for hours in line to cast their vote in Casper's Democratic caucus.

The most staggering statistic of Wyoming Dems in 2008 - 8,753 people voted in the caucus statewide.

Only 675 cast votes in the 2004 caucus.

Wyoming Democrats increased their participation in the caucus 13 fold.

The excitement reverberated throughout the rest of the election season, Luckett said.

He said there were massive boosts in Democratic registration and the excitement helped them recruit more candidates to run for local offices.

In 2006, only 27 of the 60 Wyoming House seats were contested by Democrats. This year, Democrats contested 37 races.

The number of volunteers for the state Democratic party and for the Obama campaign in Wyoming reached almost 1,000, Luckett said.

To add to the excitement, the national party held the Democratic National Convention just down I-25 in Denver.

Luckett said there were "just insane numbers wanting access to the convention."

Willie Neal, 19, of Jackson, didn't need access. He was already invited to go to the convention as one of Wyoming's delegates.

"We did create an image," Neal said about this year. "We did elect some progressive leaders, but we still have a ways to go."

During his first year in politics, he saw how it is harder to be a Democrat than a Republican in Wyoming. But it's not a hopeless cause, he said.

"We have to get past the stigma of the D next to the name," said Neal, who will attend Middlebury College in Vermont next year.

During this election, Luckett said he saw younger voters involving themselves more.

Despite all the excitement, Luckett said there was still a lot of disappointment surrounding some of the local races, especially the race between Democrat Gary Trauner and Republican Cynthia Lummis for Wyoming's lone U.S. House seat.

Trauner lost even though Luckett said they felt really good going into election night.

He was also disappointed in several Wyoming House races. Still, the Democrats gained two House seats.

November also marked the first time since the early 1980s the Democrats gained seats in the Legislature in two consecutive elections, Luckett said.

Luckett reminds himself Democrats won the ultimate prize - the presidency. And Wyoming Democrats played their role in accomplishing that.

"If we reflect honestly on what happened, we did move the ball down the field," Luckett said. "It was really rewarding and encouraging in a state where we frequently get discouraged as Democrats."

Contact reporter Allison Rupp at (307) 266-0534 or allison.rupp@trib.com.

Yearend Tracker

What happened in 2008: Wyoming Democrats experienced high turnouts at the state's presidential caucus after both major Democratic candidates, Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, visited the state. Voter registration for the party increased significantly and more young people got involved with Democratic campaigns in the state.

Where things stand: The Wyoming Democratic Party finished the election cycle with some key wins and losses in the state. The party lost an important U.S. House race, but felt good about winning the presidency.

Coming in 2009: The state party will pay close attention to the Legislature, which begins in January, and be keeping a close eye on Cynthia Lummis, who was elected as Wyoming's lone representative in the U.S. House. Party officials will be fundraising and looking ahead to key races for 2010.