Many of you might have met Nick Carter at Netroots Nation in Austin. I wasn't there but I understand Nick represented our state well. In August, he won a close primary contest against Keith Goodenough, a long-time, well-known liberal stalwart in conservative Wyoming, 12,313 votes against 12,006 votes. Carter now will take on John Barrasso who was appointed last year to fill temporarily the empty seat created by the death Sen. Craig Thomas.
Although we have two Wyoming Senate seats up for grabs this year -- Mike Enzi being in his normal re-election cycle -- no one has thought that Dems had any shot at either one of them.
Well, new polling out today suggests John Barrasso might be vulnerable.
Last night, I received an email from the Nick Carter campaign.
The numbers are in, and we are just three points away from bringing real change to Washington DC for the people of Wyoming.
The Public Policy Group, an independent polling company out of North Carolina, conducted a poll of over 1,600 Wyomingites over the course of two days asking likely voters about where they stood on the issues and who they would be voting for in November. I am encouraged by the results:
John Barrasso: 42%
Nick Carter: 39%
Undecided: 19%
I find these results rather startling as I have not thought there was much chance of winning this seat away from the Rs. But perhaps Carter is in a better position that I realized. One of the major raps against him in the primary race against Goodenough was that Carter was a registered Republican until quite recently. So maybe he has more connections around the state than I realized and maybe that label that hurt him a bit in the primary will actually help him in November. Also, Barrasso probably would not have been the Republican's choice to fill the Thomas seat. For those of you who don't remember the intricacies of how Wyoming fills an empty Senate seat: the state party of the deceased senator submits three names to the Governor who then chooses the replacement. The party would probably have preferred Cynthia Lummis, Gary Trauner's opponent for the House seat in November, get the appointment but Gov. Freudenthal, a Dem, chose Barrasso instead. In his short time in the Senate, Barrasso has carried forward some of Craig Thomas's previous legislative priorities -- most notably, trying to protect the Wyoming Range -- and has made a big show of reaching out to people with a constant barrage of newsletters, email polls and the like.
But Carter says:
The poll also confirmed what Nick Carter has discovered through knocking on doors, visiting senior centers, and spending time with veterans at VFW halls: the people of Wyoming are sick of the culture of corruption in Washington and they see Senator John Barrasso as an emblem of that corruption. Wyoming voters are a very intelligent and independent group of people who do not want those who represent them to vote straight party line. Unlike my opponent, I will work with Republicans, Democrats, and Independents to solve tough issues like energy, the economy, and immigration.
Where does Carter stand on the issues?
Health Care:
PROBLEM: Our healthcare system is broken because Washington politicians are controlled by insurance companies and lobbyists.
SOLUTION: As a tough advocate, Nick Carter will cut out partisan politics and corporate lobbyists to create an independent approach to solve our healthcare crisis.
The Iraq War:
PROBLEM: Our government borrows $3 billion per week to pay for the war in Iraq, while prices at home skyrocket.
SOLUTION: Nick Carter will vote to bring our troops home and invest in technology to end our dependence on foreign oil while creating jobs for Americans.
Nice little combination of two issues, there!
Here's Carter's commitment to the Wyoming voters:
As your advocate in the
U.S. Senate, I Will:
* Stop spending $2 billion a week in Iraq - bringing that money home for American workers and creating American jobs
* Work to provide accessible healthcare
for all citizens at an affordable price
* Make WYOMING the leader in energy with
cleaner technologies and new sources
As an attorney in Gillette, I have been an advocate for many, many WYOMING citizens over the past 17 years. A United States Senator is the ultimate advocate for all the people of Wyoming.
Carter ends his email with an appeal for contributions and volunteers to help shrink that 19% undecided in his favor. If you have some extra bucks, this might be a dark horse sleeper campaign to consider. Because, remember, a little money goes a long way in Wyoming.
Let's stun everyone and grab a Senate seat in Wyoming!
And, oh, by the way, don't forget about Gary Trauner. You can donate to him by using the link in my signature line.