Colin Mackenzie Simpson1993-1994 Official Congressional Directory, ed. Duane Nystrom, Leslie Mason, U.S. Government Printing Office, pg 335 (born March 5, 1959) is a lawyer and

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

politician who served in the

Wyoming House of Representatives The Wyoming House of Representatives is the lower house of the Wyoming State Legislature. There are 60 Representatives in the House, representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts across the state, each with a population of ...

from District 24 from 1999 to 2011. He was the House

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

during his last two years in office. He finished fourth in the Republican primary for the 2010 gubernatorial election. After leaving the legislature in early 2011, Simpson resumed his law practice in Cody.

Family and personal life

Simpson was born in

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enr ...

and is a fifth generation Wyomingite. His father is former U.S. Senator Alan Simpson; his grandfather was former U.S. Senator and

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Milward Simpson. An uncle,

Pete Simpson Peter Kooi Simpson Sr. (born July 31, 1930) is an American historian and politician. He is a member of the Simpson political family of Wyoming. From 1981 to 1984, he was a member of the Wyoming House of Representatives from Sheridan, where at ...

, served in the Wyoming House and is a retired administrator at the

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyoming ...

in Laramie. Simpson is married to the former Deborah Oakley, who was reared in Kemmerer, Wyoming. The couple has two sons, Mackenzie and Nicholas. Simpson currently practices law in Cody and is a member of the Board of Trustees of the

Buffalo Bill Historical Center The Buffalo Bill Center of the West, formerly known as the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, is a complex of five museums and a research library featuring art and artifacts of the American West located in Cody, Wyoming. The five museums include the ...

there.

Education

Simpson received his undergraduate degree from

Colorado College Colorado College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It was founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell in his daughter's memory. The college enrolls approxi ...

and his Juris Doctor from the University of Wyoming.

Political career

Simpson was elected to the Wyoming Legislature in 1998 and served six terms as a Republican representative from Park County. Simpson served as the Speaker of the House for two years and before that served as the House's Majority Leader and Speaker Pro Tem. During his time in office, he also served as Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Vice Chairman of the Appropriations Committee and co-chairman of the Select Committee on Mental Health and Substance Abuse. Simpson left the legislature in January 2011 after losing the gubernatorial nomination. He announced in 2008 that he would challenge U.S. Congresswoman

Barbara Cubin Barbara Lynn Cubin (born November 30, 1946) is an American politician who was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, Wyoming’s sole member of that body. She was the first woman elected to Congress from Wyoming. Earl ...

in the primary for her seat. Cubin decided, however, to retire, and Simpson did not enter the race after all. The seat went instead to fellow Republican

Cynthia Lummis Cynthia Marie Lummis Wiederspahn ( ; born September 10, 1954) is an American attorney and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Wyoming since 2021. A member of the Republican Party, Lummis served as the U.S representative ...

. Simpson unsuccessfully sought to replace Craig Thomas in the U.S. Senate after Thomas' death in June 2007. He was among the top ten finalists before the Republican selection committee. The seat ultimately went to

John Barrasso John Anthony Barrasso III ( ; born July 21, 1952) is an American physician and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Wyoming, a seat he has held since 2007. A member of the Republican Party, he served in the Wyoming State ...

, a physician and State Senator from

Casper Casper may refer to: People * Casper (given name) * Casper (surname) * Casper (Maya ruler) (422–487?), ruler of the Mayan city of Palenque * Tok Casper, first known king of Maya city-state Quiriguá in Guatemala, ruling beginning in 426 * David ...

2010 gubernatorial candidacy

Simpson stated in an interview in the spring of 2008 that he was interested in running for governor, should Democratic Governor

Dave Freudenthal David Duane Freudenthal (born October 12, 1950) is an American attorney, economist, and politician who served as the 31st Governor of Wyoming from 2003 to 2011. Freudenthal previously was the United States Attorney for the District of Wyoming ...

be term-limited. Simpson filed to form an exploratory committee to run for governor. On March 18, 2010, he announced his candidacy for the Republican gubernatorial nomination and was immediately seen as the frontrunner for the nomination. His opponents included former state representative and former Director of Agriculture

Ron Micheli Joseph Ronald Micheli, known as Ron Micheli (born May 30, 1948), is a former director of the Wyoming Department of Agriculture who also served from 1977-1992 in the Wyoming House of Representatives. He ran a strong third-place finish as a candi ...

, former U.S. Attorney

Matt Mead Matthew Hansen Mead (born March 11, 1962) is an American attorney, businessman, and politician who served as the 32nd Governor of Wyoming from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he previously was the United States Attorney for the D ...

, and State Auditor

Rita Meyer Rita C. Meyer (born 1951) is an American politician who served as Wyoming State Auditor from 2007 to 2011. Instead of seeking a second term as auditor in 2010, Meyer ran unsuccessfully as a candidate in the 2010 Wyoming gubernatorial election. ...

. Mead narrowly won the nomination, with Meyer and Micheli in second and third places, respectively. Simpson then conceded and endorsed Mead's candidacy.

References

External links

Representative Colin Mak
''official Wyoming State Legislature site''
Colin Simpson for Governor
''official campaign site'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Simpson, Colin M. 1959 births Living people American politicians of Dutch descent Speakers of the Wyoming House of Representatives Politicians from Cheyenne, Wyoming American people of English descent People from Cody, Wyoming Wyoming lawyers American people of Scottish descent Republican Party members of the Wyoming House of Representatives American Episcopalians