State Rep. James Byrd running for Wyoming Secretary of State

[Former Kentuckian]

I know people usually make fun of me for making these posts about Wyoming Democrats since Wyoming is the most Republican state there is (arguably), but I'm fascinated by how well the Wyoming Democratic Party is doing in recruiting candidates, organizing their County parties, and just overall doing a stronger job than some Democratic parties in blue and purple states. Mary Throne, the former Minority Leader in the Wyoming House of Representatives, is running for Governor, and now State Rep. James Byrd has announced he is running for the state's number 2 job, Secretary of State. Sara Burlingame, Executive Director of Wyoming Equality, is running for the seat he's vacating.

Here's a press release about State Rep. Byrd's announcement:

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Source: http://www.kgwn.tv/content/news/Wyoming-State-Representative-James-Byrd-running-for-Secretary-of-State-473212323.html

The Democrats running for statewide positions in Wyoming this fall so far are:
Governor: Mary Throne- https://www.maryforwyoming.com
Secretary of State: James Byrd (no website yet, but does have a new Facebook profile: https://www.facebook.com/James-W-Byrd-4-Wyo-Secretary-of-State-1301658129980774)
US Senate: Gary Trauner-https://traunerforwy.com

In addition, Julian Castro will be speaking at the party's big annual Nellie Tayloe Ross Dinner. Will there be a Democratic sweep in Wyoming this fall? No, of course not, but this is the kind of action and organizing I want to see in every state after years of Democrats folding like paper tigers in tough states.

[PragmaticPopulist]

At the moment it still seems unlikely, but who knows. Wyoming has a history of changing parties for the governorship every 8 years. The last time it had a governors of the same party for more than 8 years was 1975-1994, which was actually a 19-year Democratic hold. The GOP field in WY has been remarkably slow to develop as well, so Democrats putting up challenges for the best case scenario sounds like a good idea on their part.

[Cactus Jack]

Good. Democrats absolutely need to compete in every race, especially when it really seems to me (in all of my terrifically limited knowledge) that the WYGOP has seriously dropped the ball this year. A full year into the midterm and they haven't even managed to put up a serious candidate for the gubernatorial race.

[Rjjr77]

titanium D

[BuckeyeNut]

Sounds like he's giving up his seat for a pretty liberal Democrat to succeed him. Does anyone know if Wyoming Democrats are all in super-safe seats?

[Dr. MB]

Sounds like he's giving up his seat for a pretty liberal Democrat to succeed him. Does anyone know if Wyoming Democrats are all in super-safe seats?

Byrd has won with 50–60% in the three elections when he's had a challenger.

[KingSweden]

If anybody makes fun of you for posting about interesting in-the-weeds races they should be ignored

[Cactus Jack]

If anybody makes fun of you for posting about interesting in-the-weeds races they should be ignored

Also this. Discussing politics on a political forum shouldn't be ridiculed.

[Doimper]

If anybody makes fun of you for posting about interesting in-the-weeds races they should be ignored

[Badger]

If anybody makes fun of you for posting about interesting in-the-weeds races they should be ignored

X10. Reading about Byrd's family is fascinating.

[DemocraticKing]

Sounds like he's giving up his seat for a pretty liberal Democrat to succeed him. Does anyone know if Wyoming Democrats are all in super-safe seats?

Surprisingly, no. Races can be very competitive. Sweetwater County is even an ancestrally Democratic county in Wyoming, that gave Trump 80% but still has a number of Democratic state reps.

[VPH]

Sure it's an uphill battle (to say the least), but putting up good, credible candidates allows the party to build a bench and also, who knows what could happen these days.

[Badger]

 it's so cool his father was police chief of Cheyenne in the flipping 60s. Wyoming can surprise you...

[Former Kentuckian]

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Source: http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/first-republican-enters-race-for-wyoming-secretary-of-state/article_d37dbc93-f166-539e-9f96-9757d38d2ffe.html

[Cactus Jack]

You know, what makes these stories interesting to me is the low-key nature of Wyoming races. The major parties pay so little attention to the state that, in my opinion, there's an opening for just about anything to happen. Not a huge opening, obviously, but it's there, especially with a scandal hanging around the neck of the Wyoming State Department.