Final 3 Candidates
The three Republican candidates whose names will be forwarded to the governor for consideration to fill the vacant U.S. Senate seat are (Left to Right): Tom Sansonetti, Cynthia Lummis and John Barasso. Photo by Cat Urbigkit.
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Top 5 - Round 3 Questioning
As round three begins at the Wyoming Republican Central Committee meeting, five candidates sit and take questions from committee members. From left to right: John Barrasso, Matt Mead, Tom Sansonetti, Ron Micheli and Cynthia Lummis. Photo by Cat Urbigkit.
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Ron Micheli
Former Wyoming Department of Agriculture Director Ron Micheli of Fort Bridger is the last of the 10 candidates to address the party before the second round of voting begins. Photo by Cat Urbigkit.
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Tom Sansonetti
Cheyenne attorney Tom Sansonetti has a long history of service to the Republican party and in working in the nation's capitol. Photo by Cat Urbigkit.
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Bruce Asay
Bruce Asay is one of the 10 candidates remaining in the running for the U.S. Senate seat. Photo by Cat Urbigkit.
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Colin Simpson
Colin Simpson of Cody speaks at the Republican gathering. Photo by Cat Urbigkit.
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Frank Moore
Douglas sheep and cattle rancher Frank Moore speaks to the Republican meeting Tuesday. Photo by Cat Urbigkit.
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Matt Mead
Matt Mead quit his job as United States Attorney for Wyoming last week in order to become a candidate for the U.S. Senate seat. Photo by Cat Urbigkit.
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Cynthia Lummis
Cynthia Lummis, former state treasurer, speaks to the Republicans. Photo by Cat Urbigkit.
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Paul Kruse
Cheyenne's Paul Kruse, a natural resource policy expert, speaks at
the Republican meeting. Photo by Cat Urbigkit.
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John Barrasso
Casper physician John Barrasso addresses the Wyoming State Republican Party central committee Tuesday. Photo by Cat Urbigkit.
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Randall Luthi
Randall Luthi, currently second in command at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, addresses the Republican committee at the beginning of the second round of consideration Tuesday. Photo by Cat Urbigkit.
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US Senator Craig Thomas
U.S. Senator Craig Thomas passed away on June 4 after battling leukemia. The Wyoming GOP must now select three names to present to Governor Freudenthal to replace him in the Senate.
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GOP meets to make Senate selections
Selection Process by WYGOP on Tuesday, June 19
by Cat Urbigkit, Pinedale Online!
June 17, 2007
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Update: 5:35 PM from Cat Urbigkit: Final 3 Candidates Selected
The three Republican candidates whose names will be forwarded to the governor for consideration to fill the vacant U.S. Senate seat are:
John Barrasso
Tom Sansonetti
Cynthia Lummis
John Barrasso is a 54-year old Casper physician with an extensive resume of volunteer service to the community and to the Republican party.
Tom Sansonetti, 58, a Cheyenne attorney, is well known in Republican circles, serving in several different administrations.
Cynthia Lummis, 52, of Cheyenne, has a history of service, including in the Wyoming Legislature and as state treasurer.
Final vote:
Tom Sansonetti - 58
John Barrasso – 56
Cynthia Lummis - 44
Ron Micheli – 25
Matt Mead – 30
It was an open, fair and comprehensive process.
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4:15 PM Update from Cat Urbigkit: Matt Mead beat out Randall Luthi to make it into the Republican's top five. Mead received 42 votes, while Luthi received 29.
Top 5 Candidates still in the running:
Tom Sansonetti
John Barrasso
Ron Micheli
Cynthia Lummis
Matt Mead
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ROUND TWO: Updated 4:00 PM, Tuesday, June 19, by Cat Urbigkit
After three-minute nominating speeches, and six minutes of presentations from each candidate, and a round of pooled questions, the second round of voting took place.
With five candidates moving forward into the third round, the four moving forward were Tom Sansonetti, John Barrasso, Ron Micheli, Cynthia Lummis all made it into the third round.
A tie vote was registered for Randall Luthi and Matt Mead. A vote-off between the two candidates is being conducted currently.
With 10 candidates, here’s how the votes tallied in the second round.
Tom Sansonetti - 60
John Barrasso - 59
Ron Micheli - 40
Cynthia Lummis - 37
Matt Mead - 31
Randall Luthi - 31
Paul Kruse - 30
Colin Simpson - 28
Frank Moore - 25
Bruce Asay - 14
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ROUND ONE: Updated 11:30 AM, Tuesday, June 19, by Cat Urbigkit
After the first round of voting at the Wyoming Republican Central Committee meeting in Casper, the following 10 candidates remained in the running:
Tom Sansonetti
John Barrasso
Ron Micheli
Cynthia Lummis
Frank Moore
Matt Mead
Randall Luthi
Colin Simpson
Paul Kruse
Bruce Asay
Before voting began, three candidates withdrew:
Nate Stratton
Clif McCrady
Dave Edwards
Four others failed to show up for the meeting:
Jeanna Wright
Jack Sapp
Thom Rankin
Nora Lewis
The 10 successful candidates will give a presentation of up to six minutes, in addition to having another person provide a nominating speech of up to three minutes. Each committee member will then write five different names in on a blank ballot. The top five candidates from this round will proceed to the third round of voting. Each committee member will then write five different names in on a blank ballot. The top five candidates from this round will proceed to the third round of voting.
The next announcement of the votes from the second round of voting should be made around 2:30 PM this afternoon.
First Votes (in order):
Tom Sansonetti - 65
John Barrasso - 60
Ron Micheli - 57
Cynthia Lummis - 53
Frank Moore - 52
Randall Luthi - 51
Matt Mead - 51
Paul Kruse - 49
Colin Simpson - 47
Bruce Asay - 33
Clark Stith - 31
Cale Case - 30
Randy Stevenson - 29
Ray Hunkins - 19
Doug Chamberlain - 18
Larry French - 11
Brian Gamroth - 11
Charles Young - 11
Bill Paddleford - 9
Dennis Fox - 6
Joseph Schloss - 5
Jan Gray - 3
Jeanna Wright - 2
Ben Collins - 2
John Holtz - 2
Nora Lewis - 1
Thom Rankin - 1
Jack Sapp - 1
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Story from Sunday, June 17, 2007:
Wyoming GOP Chairman Fred Parady released the meeting and voting procedures that will be considered for adoption at Tuesday’s State Central Committee meeting to select three nominees for consideration to fill the congressional seat left vacant by the recent death of Senator Craig Thomas.
A total of 71 committee members will meet to decide what three names to forward to the governor for consideration. The members include the county chair, committeeman and committeewoman from each of the state’s 23 counties, in addition to Wyoming’s national committeeman and committeewoman (Diemer True and Jan Larimer). Sublette County is represented by Cat Urbigkit, Dave Lankford and Mary Lankford.
“These procedures have been recommended by a unanimous vote of our Executive Committee and represent a great deal of effort to make this process open and fair,” Parady said. “We are all looking forward to Tuesday and the momentous decision as to which three of our great candidates will be forwarded to the governor.”
Chairman Parady noted: “We balanced the need to define a workable process with the need to properly and critically examine our candidates. Because of the large number of applicants, we increased the number advancing in the initial round from 8 to 10. We then provided for nominating speeches as well as a longer speech from each of the remaining candidates, coupled with a
pooled questioning procedure similar to that used two years ago. Finally, we added a 90-minute live question-and-answer session from our central committee to our five finalists.”
Except for when giving presentations to the central committee, the candidates are not allowed in the meeting room, although the general public and media are welcome at all times, according to the rules proposed for Tuesday’s session.
“I want to note that the speeches and questioning on Tuesday are really just the culmination of a comprehensive process. Our candidates have called, traveled to visit, sent letters of support, and other materials for the last week to the members of the central committee, and the members have been doing research on their own. The candidate pool comes from 17 of Wyoming’s 23 counties, so each of these individuals is well known by someone on the committee. I wish them all the best with their candidacy and the committee members with their deliberations. I am confident this process will produce three outstanding candidates for further consideration.”
The meeting will begin at 8 a.m. Tuesday, June 19 at the Ramkota Inn in Casper, with routine housekeeping and welcoming actions taking place first.
ROUND ONE
At 8:45, short presentations (up to two minutes) will be given by each of the 30 current candidates (one candidate, Clif McCrady, has withdrawn).
The first vote will be held, with each committee member voting for 10 different applicants for the ballot to be valid. A break will be held while ballots are tallied.
At 10:30, an announcement of the votes cast in the first round will be made.
ROUND TWO
The 10 successful candidates will give a presentation of up to six minutes, in addition to having another person provide a nominating speech of up to three minutes.
The committee will have lunch before a round of questioning of the candidates and beginning the second round of voting.
Each committee member will then write five different names in on a blank ballot. The top five candidates from this round will proceed to the third round of voting.
At 2:30, the announcement of the votes from the second round of voting should be made.
ROUND THREE
The committee will hold another round of questioning for the five remaining candidates, taking up to 90 minutes.
Following the questioning, committee members will then write in the names of the top three candidates from the remaining pool of five.
The announcement of the votes for round three should occur about 4:30 p.m.
Final vote:
If each of the three remaining applicants receiving the highest number of votes have received a majority vote, then those three remaining applicants shall be the candidates for United States Senator. If all three remaining applicants receiving the highest number of votes have not received a majority vote, then a final round of voting will occur.
The four candidates with the highest number of votes will be asked to address the committee one more time, for up to four minutes. The committee members will then write three different names on blank ballots, with the top vote-getters winning the nominations.
CONCLUSION
The final three nominees will be formally introduced to the committee as the committee’s recommendation to the governor for consideration. WYGOP Chairman Fred Parady will provide closing remarks and the meeting will
adjourn.
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