The 2008 United States Senate special election in Wyoming took place on November 4, 2008, at the same time as the
regular election to the United States Senate in Wyoming. The
special election occurred to complete the term of Republican incumbent
Craig L. Thomas, who won reelection in
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
, but died in June 2007. Despite being a Democrat, 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 ...
was obliged by state law to appoint a Republican, and selected state senator
John Barrasso, who was unopposed in the Republican primary and won the general election to fill the remainder of the term ending January 3, 2013.
This is the last time that both of Wyoming‘s U.S. Senate seats were concurrently up for election.
Background
Wyoming law dictates that when a U.S. Senate seat becomes vacant, the departing senator's state party at the time of the most recent election must create a list of three finalists, with the governor to select one of those candidates to fill the seat. Speculation about potential Republican challengers had included the other finalists to succeed Thomas,
Cynthia Lummis and
Tom Sansonetti
Thomas Lawrence Sansonetti (born May 18, 1949), is an attorney and a former government official from the U.S. state of Wyoming. He now resides in Greenwood Village, a suburb of Denver, Colorado.
After graduation from high school, he earne ...
; as well as former state House Speaker
Randall Luthi
Randall B. Luthi (born 1955) is an attorney and rancher from Freedom, who served as a Republican in the Wyoming House of Representatives from 1995—2007. He was the Speaker for his last two-year term, 2005—2007. Prior to 2005, he ha ...
, and former U.S. Attorney
Matt Mead.
Democratic primary
Candidates
* Nick Carter, attorney
*
Keith Goodenough
Keith B. Goodenough (born July 22, 1956) is an American politician who served as a member of the Casper, Wyoming, City Council from 2006 to 2014. He previously served as a Democrat in the Wyoming Senate from 1995 to 2005 and in the Wyoming House ...
,
Casper city councilman and former
Wyoming State Senator
Results
Republican primary
Candidates
*
John Barrasso, incumbent U.S. Senator
Results
General election
Candidates
*
John Barrasso (R), incumbent U.S. Senator
* Nick Carter (D), attorney
Predictions
Polling
Results
See also
*
2008 United States Senate elections
The 2008 United States Senate elections were held on November 4, 2008, with 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate being contested. Thirty-three seats were up for regular elections; the winners were eligible to serve six-year terms from January 3, 200 ...
References
External links
Electionsfrom the ''Wyoming Secretary of State''
U.S. Congress candidates for Wyomingat
Project Vote Smart
2008 Wyoming Senate racefrom
CQ Politics
Congressional Quarterly, Inc., or CQ, is part of a privately owned publishing company called CQ Roll Call that produces a number of publications reporting primarily on the United States Congress. CQ was acquired by the Economist Group and combined ...
Wyoming U.S. Senate - Class I
from ''OurCampaigns.com''
Campaign contributions for Wyoming congressional races
from OpenSecrets
* ''Official campaign websites''
*
John Barrasso
Republican incumbent candidate (Class I)
*
Nick Carter
Democratic candidate (Class I)
{{2008 United States elections
Wyoming 2008
Wyoming 2008
2008 Special
Wyoming Special
United States Senate Special
United States Senate 2008