Kathleen Marie Karpan (born September 1, 1942) is an American politician who served as
secretary of state of Wyoming
The secretary of state of Wyoming is the state secretary of state of the U.S. state of Wyoming. It is a constitutional office, established under the Constitution of Wyoming and the secretary of state accedes to the governorship in case of a vac ...
from 1987 to 1995, and as the director of the
federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement from 1997 to 2000. A member of the
Democratic Party, she unsuccessfully ran for Wyoming's
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 ...
and
United States senator
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and powe ...
as the Democratic nominee in 1994 and 1996, respectively. She is the most recent Democrat to serve as Wyoming Secretary of State.
Karpan was born in
Rock Springs, Wyoming
Rock Springs is a city in Sweetwater County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 23,036 at the 2010 census, making it the fifth most populated city in the state of Wyoming, and the most populous city in Sweetwater County. Rock Springs is ...
, and grew up in both Rock Springs and
Rawlins. She received bachelor's and master's degrees from 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 ...
and a
Juris Doctor degree from the
University of Oregon School of Law
The University of Oregon School of Law is a public law school in the U.S. state of Oregon. Housed in the Knight Law Center, it is Oregon's only state funded law school. The school, founded in 1884, is located on the University of Oregon campus in ...
. In the 1960s and early 1970s, Karpan worked for Representative
Teno Roncalio
Teno Domenico Roncalio (March 23, 1916 – March 30, 2003), born Celeste Domenico Roncaglio, was an American politician and writer who served in the United States House of Representatives. To date, he is the last Democrat to have represented Wyo ...
as his staff assistant and press secretary. From 1979 to 1986, Karpan worked in the
United States Department of Commerce
The United States Department of Commerce is an executive department of the U.S. federal government concerned with creating the conditions for economic growth and opportunity. Among its tasks are gathering economic and demographic data for bus ...
and the office of the
Wyoming Attorney General, and served as director of the
Wyoming Department of Health and Social Services. She also served as a campaign manager for Rodger McDaniel during the
1982 United States Senate election in Wyoming
The 1982 United States Senate election in Wyoming took place on November 2, 1982. Incumbent Republican Senator Malcolm Wallop ran for his second term. He was challenged in the general election by former State Senator Rodger McDaniel, the Democ ...
. Karpan was the Democratic nominee in the
1994 gubernatorial and
1996 Senate elections, but lost both elections to Republicans
Jim Geringer and
Mike Enzi
Michael Bradley Enzi ( ; February 1, 1944 – July 26, 2021) was an American politician who served in the United States Senate from Wyoming as a member of the Republican Party from 1997 to 2021. Prior to his tenure in the United States Senate h ...
, respectively.
In 1997, Karpan was appointed by President
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
, whose presidential campaigns she had supported, to serve as the first female director of the
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement. In early 2000, she stepped down and took another position in the interior department, while applying to another job that raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest. Upon the end of the Clinton administration in 2001, Karpan returned to her law practice 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 ...
. She has continued to support multiple Democratic presidential and state campaigns.
Early life
Kathleen Marie Karpan was born in
Rock Springs, Wyoming
Rock Springs is a city in Sweetwater County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 23,036 at the 2010 census, making it the fifth most populated city in the state of Wyoming, and the most populous city in Sweetwater County. Rock Springs is ...
, on September 1, 1942, to Thomas and Pauline Karpan. She was the family's first child, with two younger siblings named Judy and Frank. The family lived in a heavily Democratic, unionized coal mining community. As an elementary school student, she displayed a bumper sticker supporting
Adlai Stevenson II
Adlai Ewing Stevenson II (; February 5, 1900 – July 14, 1965) was an American politician and diplomat who was twice the Democratic nominee for President of the United States. He was the grandson of Adlai Stevenson I, the 23rd vice president o ...
, the Democratic presidential candidate, on her bicycle. Thomas, a coal miner, worked for the
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...
on a rail line servicing coal mines from Rock Springs to
Superior. In 1952, the railroad closed its coal mines and transferred Thomas, prompting the family to move around 100 miles from Rock Springs to
Rawlins.
Pauline's health was declining, and she died in December 1954, at the age of 37. The family moved back to Rock Springs, where relatives could help take care of the children. The family considered sending the children to St. Joseph’s Children’s Home in
Torrington, but Kathy, then aged 12, committed to help care for her siblings to avoid going to the orphanage. The family then moved back to Rawlins.
In 1960, Karpan graduated from
Rawlins High School
Rawlins High School is a public high school in Rawlins, Wyoming, United States. Rawlins High School is part of Carbon County School District #1.
Notable alumni
* Clarence Addison Brimmer, Jr. (1922-2014), judge of the United States District Cour ...
,
and was offered a scholarship to 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 ...
College of Commerce and Industry. An honors student, she chose to major in journalism and served as editor of the student newspaper, ''The Branding Iron'', from spring 1963 through spring 1964. As editor, she attended a speech by President
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...
at the school in September 1963.
In summer 1964, she worked a brief stint as society editor for the ''Rawlins Daily Times''.
During Wyoming's
1964 House of Representatives election, Karpan served as an officer of the Wyoming Students for
Teno Roncalio
Teno Domenico Roncalio (March 23, 1916 – March 30, 2003), born Celeste Domenico Roncaglio, was an American politician and writer who served in the United States House of Representatives. To date, he is the last Democrat to have represented Wyo ...
for Congress, a public relations committee supporting Roncalio's campaign. She earned her bachelor's degree in journalism in 1964.
Early career
Karpan's first journalism job was at the ''
Cody Enterprise
The ''Cody Enterprise'' is a newspaper in Cody, Wyoming.
History
It was established by Buffalo Bill and John Peake in 1899.Brian Hurlbut, ''Insiders' Guide to Yellowstone & Grand Teton'', Globe Pequot, 2011, p. 327; online atGoogle Books/ref>R ...
''.
After Roncalio was elected, he hired Karpan as his staff assistant
and press secretary.
Roncalio later lost his campaign for the Senate in 1966. After a few short-term jobs, Karpan returned to the University of Wyoming to pursue a master’s degree in
American studies
American studies or American civilization is an interdisciplinary field of scholarship that examines American literature, history, society, and culture. It traditionally incorporates literary criticism, historiography and critical theory.
Schol ...
. She protested against the dismissal of the
Black 14 from the school's football team in October 1969. One month later, she
protested the Vietnam War at a march in Washington, D.C., and wrote about her experience in an unofficial student publication, ''Free Lunch''. She finished her coursework, but could not select a topic for her thesis. Karpan then worked in
Canberra for several months, converting political stories from
print media
Mass media refers to a diverse array of media technologies that reach a large audience via mass communication. The technologies through which this communication takes place include a variety of outlets.
Broadcast media transmit informatio ...
to broadcasting at the Australian capital.
In 1970, Roncalio regained his seat in the House of Representatives, and hired Karpan to be his chief of staff.
Karpan returned to the University of Wyoming in January 1975 to finish her master's thesis on
Jack R. Gage, former secretary of state and governor of Wyoming.
In 1978, Karpan graduated with a
Juris Doctor degree from the
University of Oregon School of Law
The University of Oregon School of Law is a public law school in the U.S. state of Oregon. Housed in the Knight Law Center, it is Oregon's only state funded law school. The school, founded in 1884, is located on the University of Oregon campus in ...
. From 1979 to 1981, Karpan worked as an attorney in the
Economic Development Administration
The U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) is an agency in the United States Department of Commerce that provides grants and technical assistance to economically distressed communities in order to generate new employment, help retain exist ...
of the
United States Department of Commerce
The United States Department of Commerce is an executive department of the U.S. federal government concerned with creating the conditions for economic growth and opportunity. Among its tasks are gathering economic and demographic data for bus ...
.
She first served as deputy director for congressional relations, then as the acting deputy legal counsel after passing the
bar exam
A bar examination is an examination administered by the bar association of a jurisdiction that a lawyer must pass in order to be admitted to the bar of that jurisdiction.
Australia
Administering bar exams is the responsibility of the bar associat ...
.
During the
1982 Senate election, Karpan served as campaign manager for
Rodger McDaniel, but McDaniel was defeated by the incumbent Republican,
Malcolm Wallop
Malcolm Wallop (February 27, 1933 – September 14, 2011) was an American rancher and politician. He served as a United States Senator from Wyoming from 1977 to 1995. He was a member of the Republican Party.
Early years
Wallop was born in New Yo ...
. She then served as an assistant attorney general in the office of the
Wyoming Attorney General from 1983 to 1984,
under
Archie G. McClintock. Her duties included representing the state's boards and commissions. In her role as counsel for the Wyoming Board of Medicine, Karpan helped the board investigate allegations of sexual misconduct concerning John Story, a physician from
Lovell. The board revoked Story's license.
Karpan supported Senator
Gary Hart during the
1984 Democratic presidential primaries, and served as a delegate for Hart to the
Democratic National Convention. Governor
Edgar Herschler appointed her as director of the
Wyoming Department of Health and Social Services, and she took office on December 1984. She reorganized the department's budget, and in response to a legislative budget reduction, eliminated 10 administrative positions to prioritize client-facing positions at the agency's county offices.
She resigned on June 5, 1986, to run for secretary of state. She was succeeded by Lawrence Cohen.
Wyoming Secretary of State
Karpan announced that she would seek the Democratic nomination for secretary of state of Wyoming in 1986, and selected
H. L. Jensen and Roncalio's wife to serve as the co-chairs of her campaign. She won the Democratic nomination without opposition after spending $13,832. In the general election Karpan defeated Republican nominee K. C. Thomson, who was the son of incumbent secretary of state
Thyra Thomson.
She coordinated the
1989 congressional special election, the first statewide special election in Wyoming's history, after
Dick Cheney resigned to serve as US secretary of defense. She was also the defendant in ''Gorin v. Karpan'', a
reapportionment case that required the state's legislators to be elected from districts of equal population, rather than by county. Following the court's decision, Karpan helped county clerks implement the new districts and redraw
precinct boundaries. During her tenure, her office also transitioned from paper to electronic recordkeeping.
On April 25, 1990, Karpan announced that she was seeking a second term as secretary of state. She faced no opposition in the Democratic primary and defeated Republican nominee Tom Zollinger after spending $56,441 against Zollinger's $24,745.
Karpan won in every county.
During the
1988 Democratic presidential primaries, Karpan endorsed Tennessee Senator
Al Gore
Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic no ...
for the party's nomination after initially supporting Governor
Bruce Babbitt
The English language name Bruce arrived in Scotland with the Normans, from the place name Brix, Manche in Normandy, France, meaning "the willowlands". Initially promulgated via the descendants of king Robert the Bruce (1274−1329), it has be ...
, and during the
1992 Democratic presidential primaries, she endorsed Arkansas Governor
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
. On November 1, 1992, Governor
Mike Sullivan and Karpan published a letter calling for Wyoming voters to support Clinton. They criticized President
George H. W. Bush for his negative campaign tactics, such as the
Willie Horton
William R. Horton (born August 12, 1951), commonly referred to as "Willie Horton", is an American convicted felon who became notorious for committing violent crimes while on furlough from prison, where he was serving a life sentence without the ...
ad during the 1988 presidential election. Clinton won the election, and offered Karpan a high-level role in his administration. However, she declined the offer so that she could finish her term as Secretary of State.
Karpan did not seek re-election in 1994, instead opting to run for governor. On January 2, 1995, Karpan was succeeded as secretary of state by Republican
Diana Ohman.
Gubernatorial and senatorial campaigns
In 1994, Karpan met with representatives of the
Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) is the Democratic Hill committee for the United States Senate. It is the only organization solely dedicated to electing Democrats to the United States Senate. The DSCC's current Chair is Se ...
to consider running in
that year's Senate election. Sullivan was also considering running for the same seat, and Karpan indicated that she would not commit to running for any office until Sullivan made his own decision. Sullivan ultimately ran for the Senate seat, and on April 18, Karpan announced that she would
run for governor. She faced no opposition in the Democratic primary. During the general election campaign, Karpan accused staffers for her Republican opponent,
Jim Geringer, of spreading rumors that she is a closeted lesbian. Karpan denied being a lesbian, calling the rumors a scare tactic, but caused controversy when she said, "Now I have to prove I'm a normal human being... and I am... I know I'm a decent, normal, moral person." Karpan apologized for the remarks, indicating that she respects the gay community. She lost in the general election to Geringer.
By then, Wyoming's voting patterns trended towards favoring Republicans, due to an increase in
straight-ticket voting and opposition to Clinton's presidency.
Following her defeat, she practiced law with Margy White, Karpan's former deputy secretary of state.
In 1995, Karpan was appointed to serve as interim
Laramie County attorney to replace Roberta Coates, who resigned. In the same year, she also taught a course on state government at
Laramie County Community College
Laramie County Community College (LCCC) is a public community college in Laramie County, Wyoming, with campuses in Cheyenne and Laramie and outreach centers at F.E. Warren Air Force Base and in Pine Bluffs. LCCC was established in 1968.
The c ...
, and in spring 1996, she taught
political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
classes at the University of Wyoming as the
Milward Simpson fellow.
In 1996, a poll paid for by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee showed Karpan leading
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 ...
, Dan Sullivan, and
Eli Bebout
Eli Daniel Bebout (born October 14, 1946) is an American athlete and politician who served in the Wyoming House of Representatives from a multi-member district in Fremont County and the 55th district from 1987 to 2001, and later served in the ...
in
that year's United States Senate election. The poll also showed that she had name recognition among 92 percent of people and was viewed by 81 percent of people as an effective public servant. On April 3, Karpan informally announced that she would seek the Democratic nomination for the Senate seat held by retiring Republican Senator
Alan Simpson. She formally announced her campaign on June 24. During the campaign, Senate Minority Leader
Tom Daschle and Senator
Bob Kerrey
Joseph Robert Kerrey (born August 27, 1943) is an American politician who served as the 35th Governor of Nebraska from 1983 to 1987 and as a United States Senator from Nebraska from 1989 to 2001. Before entering politics, he served in the Vietna ...
campaigned for Karpan. She won the Democratic nomination against Mickey Kalinay.
During the general election, ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' remarked that Karpan was "running a surprisingly strong race", despite the state's Republican-leaning electorate. She espoused conservative positions, including fiscal responsibility and a smaller role for the federal government.
She and her opponent, Republican
Mike Enzi
Michael Bradley Enzi ( ; February 1, 1944 – July 26, 2021) was an American politician who served in the United States Senate from Wyoming as a member of the Republican Party from 1997 to 2021. Prior to his tenure in the United States Senate h ...
, both received an A rating from the
National Rifle Association (NRA), indicating a strong record of supporting
gun rights
The right to keep and bear arms (often referred to as the right to bear arms) is a right for people to possess weapons (arms) for the preservation of life, liberty, and property. The purpose of gun rights is for self-defense, including securi ...
and the
Second Amendment
The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds each ...
. Karpan found the NRA's endorsement to be "very heartening". She battled Republican efforts to label her as a "national Democrat" or "Clinton Democrat", instead referring to herself as a "Wyoming Democrat". However, she supported
abortion rights
Abortion-rights movements, also referred to as pro-choice movements, advocate for the right to have legal access to induced abortion services including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their pre ...
, a liberal position.
Karpan ultimately lost to Enzi,
who successfully associated Karpan with Clinton and gained votes from supporters of
Bob Dole during
that year's presidential election.
Karpan raised $927,949 in contributions and ended the campaign with a balance of $24,919. Enzi had raised $911,153 and ended his campaign with a balance of $121,587 in cash and $29,000 in debt.
United States Department of the Interior
On May 6, 1997, Clinton, who had won reelection, selected Karpan to serve as director of the
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement. The
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
confirmed her by a unanimous vote on July 31. Karpan took office on August 4, 1997, becoming the first woman to hold that position. In this role, Karpan considered regulations on
mountaintop removal mining
Mountaintop removal mining (MTR), also known as mountaintop mining (MTM), is a form of surface mining at the summit or summit ridge of a mountain. Coal seams are extracted from a mountain by removing the land, or overburden, above the seams. Thi ...
in eastern US coal mines, and continued a "Clean Streams Program" in abandoned mine lands. Her office's work on
mine reclamation
Mine reclamation is the process of modifying land that has been mined to ecologically functional or economically usable state. Although the process of mine reclamation occurs once mining is completed, the planning of mine reclamation activiti ...
brought her full circle to her first job with Roncalio, who had sponsored the legislation that authorized the office to fund reclamation efforts from taxes on current coal production.
Environmentalists accused Karpan of being too close to the mining industry. On March 15, 2000, Karpan recused herself as director and took several weeks of vacation time, while she applied to a job as head of the
National Mining Association
The National Mining Association (NMA) is a United States trade organization that lists itself as the voice of the mining industry in Washington, D.C. NMA was formed in 1995, and has more than 300 corporate members.
History
The National Mining As ...
, a lobbying group for the mining industry. As her office regulated mining, environmentalists and journalists raised ethical concerns about a potential conflict of interest. On April 10, 2000, unsure of whether she would actually get the job, Karpan stepped down as director and became acting principal deputy assistant secretary for land and minerals management. In her new role, she oversaw non-mining issues that involved the
Bureau of Land Management and the
Minerals Management Service
The Minerals Management Service (MMS) was an agency of the United States Department of the Interior that managed the nation's natural gas, oil and other mineral resources on the outer continental shelf (OCS).
Due to perceived conflict of inter ...
.
Later life
As Clinton's presidency came to an end, Karpan considered applying for jobs in private business or
non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from g ...
s. She indicated that she did not plan to return to political life. After the inauguration of
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
as president in January 2001, Karpan returned to her law practice 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 ...
.
The law office opened as Bagley, Karpan, Rose and White in November 2001. In 2007, the law firm dissolved under its former name and became Karpan and White,
P.C.
During the
2002 Wyoming gubernatorial election, Karpan endorsed Paul Hickey for the Democratic nomination. She supported
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
during the
2008 Wyoming Democratic presidential caucuses and served as a Clinton delegate at the party's
national convention
The National Convention (french: link=no, Convention nationale) was the parliament of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for the rest of its existence during the French Revolution, following the two-year Nationa ...
. During the
2010 Wyoming gubernatorial election, Karpan served as co-chair of Leslie Peterson's gubernatorial campaign alongside Joe Evans. She again supported Clinton during the
2016 Democratic presidential primaries
Presidential primaries and caucuses were organized by the Democratic Party to select the 4,051 delegates to the 2016 Democratic National Convention held July 25–28 and determine the nominee for president in the 2016 United States presidential ...
. In the same year, Karpan served as the state chair of Ryan Greene's
House of Representatives campaign.
Electoral history
References
External links
*
, -
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Karpan, Kathy
1942 births
20th-century American politicians
20th-century American women politicians
American campaign managers
American women journalists
Journalists from Wyoming
Living people
People from Rock Springs, Wyoming
Secretaries of State of Wyoming
United States congressional aides
United States Department of the Interior officials
University of Oregon School of Law alumni
University of Wyoming alumni
Women in Wyoming politics
Wyoming Democrats
Wyoming lawyers
21st-century American women