Welcome to LaraTeton County

It’s official. Laramie County and Teton County have agreed to merge and form a new oddly-shaped county, LaraTeton. Primary election voters in these two counties voted for unknown Republican challenger Bill Winney over six-term incumbent Barbara Cubin. The other 21 counties voted for Cubin although, in some cases, not by much. Seems as if Laramie and Teton counties have a lot of Republicans who can’t stand Cubin and/or a number of Democrats who registered as Repubs for the day (legal in WYO). Veep Dick Cheney even flew to his Halliburton-bought Teton mansion in order to cast his vote on election day – probably for Cubin, his successor for WYO’s lone U.S. House seat. And why not? Cubin is one of Bush’s toadies, voting in lockstep with the Repub leadership on every issue. Anyway, LaraTeton voters seem to share a common bond. Cubin’s Democratic opponent is Teton County businessman Gary Trauner. He’s campaigned hard across the state, visiting some 15,000 homes, many in Laramie County. He’s raised nearly as much money as Cubin, and more is on the way.

Physical merging of the two counties is impossible, as Laramie anchors the state’s southeast corner and Teton, the northwest corner. Perhaps we can annex a thin strip of land through the vast distances between county lines. It should be wide enough for two cars passing abreast. We’ll have to study it. Meanwhile, you can check out the WYO election site for unofficial primary results.

Also, Barbara Cubin's weak performance at the polls is analyzed by Congressional Quarterly, the Washington Post, and Hotline national journal.