State GOP accepts applications through Thursday
TOM MORTON and JOAN BARRON Star-Tribune staff writers | Posted: Tuesday, June 12, 2007 12:00 am
A lot of Republicans - maybe 20, maybe more - want to replace the late Craig Thomas in the U.S. Senate, State GOP Chairman Fred Parady said Monday.
Applicants already include recently resigned Wyoming U.S. Attorney Matt Mead, state Rep. Colin Simpson of Cody, state Sen. John Barrasso of Casper, and former state GOP Chairman Tom Sansonetti of Cheyenne.
Parady on Monday outlined the process the party will follow to nominate three candidates to replace Thomas, who died last week at the age of 74. Democratic Gov. Dave Freudenthal will then select the successor, who'll serve until the 2008 general election.
Parady, former Wyoming House speaker, vowed to run the process in a way that would honor Thomas.
"This process is open, it's comprehensive and it will be fair, and our purpose is to select the best possible three names to represent Wyoming in the United States Senate," he said.
The deadline for applications is 5 p.m. Thursday, Parady said. All applicants will be disclosed Friday, but he will offer morning updates until then.
After a forum at Casper College with the candidates on Sunday, the state Republican Central Committee will meet June 19 in Casper to select the three who will be presented to Freudenthal by June 20, Parady said.
With only days to campaign, the candidates were moving fast Monday.
Simpson, son of former U.S. Sen. Alan Simpson, said he and his wife started on the road at 2 p.m. Sunday and had already stopped in Lovell, Gillette, Sheridan and Buffalo to meet and visit with members of the central committee.
"We'll see how far you can drive in five days," he said.
The central committee includes the state committeemen and state committeewomen from all 23 counties, plus the national committeeman and national committeewoman.
Simpson said he has been told that 40 of the 71 committee members are new, while some may have served in the past and now returned.
Barrasso, an orthopedic surgeon, said he notified the party chairman Monday of his intention to seek the nomination.
"I hope it's an open process. The people of Wyoming deserve it," Barrasso said.
Mead, grandson of former U.S. Sen. and Gov. Cliff Hansen, resigned as the state's chief federal prosecutor last week.
"I have a good team put together, which is me and my wife," Mead said. "We're going to get in my pickup and drive around and visit with central committee members and answer any questions they have."
Mead said that "both by law and conviction," he has not been active in political campaigns because of his job first as assistant U.S. attorney and then as U.S. attorney for the past six years.
"I understand a lot of people are expressing interest, which is good for the party and good for Wyoming," Mead said.
Sansonetti, a longtime Republican Party activist and federal government attorney, said he will make a formal announcement of his candidacy today.
Secretary of State Max Maxfield on Monday removed himself as a potential candidate.
Former State Treasurer Cynthia Lummis said she is giving "very serious consideration" to applying.
And Frank Moore, who ranches northwest of Douglas, said it is likely he will submit his name. Moore served in the Legislature from 1992 to 1995.
State Treasurer Joe Meyer and state Sen. Eli Bebout, a former House speaker from Riverton and former gubernatorial candidate, said they haven't decided.
Several other potential candidates - including Ray Hunkins of Wheatland, a 2006 gubernatorial candidate; Senate President John Schiffer of Kaycee; and Rep. Becket Hinckley of Cheyenne - could not be reached for comment Monday.
Former state House Speaker Randall Luthi, now deputy director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said earlier he was interested in applying for the nomination. Luthi could not be reached Monday to confirm his intentions.
A spokesperson for Lynne Cheney, wife of the vice president, would not deny that she, too, was a candidate for the U.S. Senate seat, according to The Associated Press.
Picking three
The number of applicants probably will determine how the central committee winnows the field of candidates on June 19, Parady said.
If the number is large, the committee members probably will use a tiered process and hear short statements from all candidates, vote for three candidates, and continue the process with the top eight, he said.
Then the process will become more intense with nomination speeches, and a question-and-answer session, Parady said. The meeting could last all day, he added.
The committee will present the list of the three top vote-getters to Freudenthal, who then has five days to choose Thomas's replacement.
Party rules do not restrict candidates from lobbying the central committee members.
"They're going to be very popular in the next 10 days," Parady said.
"Thankfully, I don't have a vote," he said. "My purpose is to lead this process and do it well."
Parady declined to name anyone who has expressed interest in the vacant seat.
"I've had a range of calls over the past eight days," he said.
Some questions have arisen on political blogs about whether Wyoming's method of replacing U.S. Senate vacancies - allowing the party of the deceased to choose candidates for a governor's consideration - squares with the 17th Amendment, which states the governor appoints the successor.
But Freudenthal himself has approved the system, so Parady said he didn't see any problem with it.
The GOP expects the new senator will take office as soon as possible, and the party would like the applicant to run in a special election in 2008, Parady said - though the party could not legally bind a candidate to running.
Wyoming voters will decide in a special election - in conjunction with the November 2008 general election - who will serve the rest of what would have been Thomas's term that would have ended in early 2013.
To Parady's knowledge, Thomas had not expressed any preference for a successor before he died.
The GOP has no formal vetting procedure, Parady said. The central committee may research the candidates, but it does not conduct formal background checks.