CHEYENNE - Democratic U.S. House candidate Gary Trauner is expected to announce today whether he will ask for a recount of the vote in his general election contest with Republican incumbent Barbara Cubin.

Secretary of State Joe Meyer announced Wednesday morning that an automatic recount is not required by Wyoming law. Final, unofficial returns had Cubin ahead of Trauner by just 970 votes, 93,197 to 92,227.

A difference of 932 votes would have triggered an automatic recount.

Meyer said that if the county canvasses of the election change the numbers significantly, a mandatory recount could still happen.

Trauner said he wanted to wait for a day before deciding how to proceed. He has scheduled a press conference at 1 p.m. today in Jackson.

"I feel that I owe it to the people of Wyoming to make sure that every vote has been counted accurately. I want to take a day, get a little sleep and check on the reports of problems in Carbon County and provisional ballot questions before moving forward," Trauner said in a press release. Provisional ballots are those allowed when a voter's name cannot be located on the roster of registered voters.

Cubin, who has been elected to her seventh term barring a turnaround recount, told The Associated Press Wednesday she hoped Trauner would call to concede the race.

"I do hope that I hear from him, which is the traditional way these things would go, because I would like to congratulate him on the excellent campaign he ran," she said.

Cubin told the AP in a telephone interview from Casper that she didn't believe a recount would make a difference.

"Even if they do, I'm still confident there won't be a change in the result of the election," she said.

State election director Peggy Nighswonger said any candidate can request a recount, but must pay for the recount unless it meets the standard for an automatic recount. Meyer could not say how much a statewide recount would cost.

The request can be made any time between now and two days after the State Canvassing Board meets Nov. 15, Nighswonger said. Wyoming's 23 counties should be canvassing their results and passing them on to the State Canvassing Board this week.

"Usually those numbers don't change, but they could," she said.

The last statewide recount took place more than 30 years ago when Malcolm Wallop ran 814 votes behind Dick Jones in the 1974 Republican gubernatorial primary election. At Wallop's request, a recount was held, but it did not change the election outcome. Jones ran against Democratic Gov. Ed Herschler in the general election and lost. Two years later, Wallop ran successfully for the U.S. Senate.

Wyoming Democratic State Chairman Mike Gierau said the party will stand behind Trauner on whatever decision he and his campaign team make on the recount question.

"It's a fluid situation, and they're assessing it," Gierau said during a telephone news conference Wednesday afternoon.

Republican State Party Chairman Drake Hill, however, said in a brief telephone interview that he knew of no reason why Trauner would ask for a recount.

"That's pretty much where I stand today," Hill said.

Gierau said he thought Trauner ran a good race while Cubin mounted an "inside-the-beltway, negative" campaign.

He said he also thought voter turnout was good.

"It's always tougher in off-year elections, but we did a good job in mobilizing the base," he said.

In addition to Democratic Gov. Dave Freudenthal's win for a second term, the party picked up three seats in the Wyoming House but made no headway in the state Senate, he said. Both houses of the Legislature continue to be dominated by Republicans.

The Democrats made some inroads in county races around the state, which will pay off in coming years when some of those candidates run for the Legislature, he said.

"What we worked on this year was building a farm team," Gierau said.

Hill said he is particularly proud of the Republican Party's county organizations and the energy and work invested in all the races.

"It's staggering just how many volunteers we had out working, and it paid off," Hill said.

Capital bureau reporter Joan Barron can be reached at (307) 632-1244 or at joan.barron@casperstartribune.net