Thread: In West, GOP no longer a shoo-in

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/200 ... lues_x.htm

By Tom Kenworthy, USA TODAY

CASPER, Wyo. — If history is any guide, Democrat Gary Trauner is on a fool's errand as he campaigns door-to-door to unseat six-term Republican Rep. Barbara Cubin.

A Democrat hasn't held Wyoming's at-large House seat since 1979, when Rep. Teno Roncalio retired after five terms — and an up-and-coming politician named Dick Cheney replaced him. In this state where Republicans are 61% of registered voters and Democrats 26%, President Bush won with 69% two years ago, a margin he exceeded only in Utah.

Trauner's campaign may not be entirely quixotic. National publications that track elections such as The Cook Political Report and Congressional Quarterly have started paying attention to what once was regarded as a Republican shoo-in.

In a Republican neighborhood here in Wyoming's second largest city, Trauner, 47, a businessman, found some traction on a recent weekend even though he's yet to get funding from the Democrats' House campaign committee.

"People really do think it's time for a change," says Marlene McLain, 61, after Trauner knocks on her door. McLain, a Republican, is critical of Cubin: "She doesn't listen to us. ... She's not paying attention."

If these candidates are on the wrong side of the issues, there is no Shoo-In for either party.

Americans are using their greatest weapon....UNpredictability in Election Polls 4 Weeks Before Election Day!

They are confused, these pollsters, they all are wincing, struggling to explain the results, trying to predict the outcome.

Keep them Guessing America!!

Keep them Guessing.

I love the chaos this has created. I think its sending a message to Washington that Americans are sick and tired of being sold out, and we've had enough and more and more are acting. Its about time many of the elected officials feel the uncertaintity of their own futures. Too many of them for years have not had much to worry about, and now they do. I think its refreshing to see Congress "feeling the pain" for a change.