Summary
The Wyoming Senate is the upper house of the Wyoming State Legislature. There are 30 Senators in the Senate, representing an equal number of constituencies across Wyoming, each with a population of at least 17,000. The Senate meets at the Wyoming State Capitol in Cheyenne.
Members of the Senate serve four year terms without term limits. Term limits were declared unconstitutional by the Wyoming Supreme Court in 2004, overturning a decade-old law that had restricted Senators to three terms (twelve years).
Like other upper houses of state and territorial legislatures and the federal U.S. Senate, the Wyoming Senate can confirm or reject gubernatorial appointments to the state cabinet, commissions, boards, or justices to the Wyoming Supreme Court.
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The Wyoming Senate is the upper house of the Wyoming State Legislature. There are 31 Senators in the Senate, representing an equal number of constituencies across Wyoming, each with a population of at least 17,000. The Senate meets at the Wyoming State Capitol in Cheyenne.
Members of the Senate serve four-year terms without term limits. Term limits were declared unconstitutional by the Wyoming Supreme Court in 2004, overturning a decade-old law that had restricted Senators to three terms (twelve years).
Like other upper houses of state and territorial legislatures and the federal U.S. Senate, the Wyoming Senate can confirm or reject gubernatorial appointments to the state cabinet, commissions, boards, or justices to the Wyoming Supreme Court.
Composition of the Senate
| Affiliation | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Democratic | Vacant | ||
| End of 67th Legislature | 29 | 2 | 31[a] | 0 |
| Beginning of 68th Legislature | 29 | 2 | 31 | 0 |
| Latest voting share | 94% | 6% | ||
- ^ A 31st district was created during redistricting.
Leadership
Wyoming, along with Arizona, Maine, and Oregon, is one of the four U.S. states to have abolished the Office of the Lieutenant Governor, a position which for most upper houses of state legislatures and indeed for the U.S. Congress (with the Vice President) is at least the nominal head of the legislative body. Instead, a separate position of Senate President is in place, removed from the Wyoming executive branch.
The current Senate President is Republican Bo Biteman of District 21 (Ranchester).
| Position | Name | Party | District | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| President of the Senate | Bo Biteman | Republican | 21 | |
| Senate Vice President | Tim Salazar | Republican | 26 | |
| Majority Leader | Tara Nethercott | Republican | 4 | |
| Minority Leader | Mike Gierau | Democratic | 17 | |
| Minority Whip | Chris Rothfuss | Democratic | 9 | |
Members of the Wyoming Senate
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- *Senator was originally appointed
Current committees and members
Judiciary
Appropriations
Revenue
Education
Agriculture, State and Public Lands & Water Resources
Travel, Recreation, Wildlife & Cultural Resources
| Corporations, Elections & Political Subdivisions
Transportation, Highways & Military Affairs
Minerals, Business & Economic Development
Labor, Health & Social Services
Journal
Rules & Procedure
|
History
Women in the Senate
| Senator | Party | Residence | Senate Term | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dora McGrath | Republican | Thermopolis | 1931–1933 | First woman in the Wyoming Senate[2][3] | |
| Willa Wales Corbitt | Democratic | Riverton | 1965-1969 | ||
| Edness Kimball Wilkins | Democratic | Casper | 1967-1973 | First woman to serve as Speaker of the Wyoming House of Representatives[4] | |
| June Boyle | Democratic | Laramie | 1973–1985 | ||
| Catherine Parks | Republican | Gillette | 1979–1985 | ||
| Win Hickey | Democratic | Cheyenne | 1981–1991 | ||
| Lisa F. Kinney | Democratic | Laramie | 1985–1995 | ||
| Della Herbst | Democratic | Sheridan | 1987–1993 | ||
| Harriet Elizabeth Byrd | Democratic | Cheyenne | 1989–1993 | First African-American to serve in the State Legislature[5][6] | |
| Susan C. Anderson | Democratic | Casper | 1993–1995 | ||
| April Brimmer-Kunz | Republican | Cheyenne | 1993–2005 | First female President of the Senate | |
| Barbara Cubin | Republican | Casper | 1993–1995 | Resigned to become U.S. Representative | |
| Cynthia Lummis | Republican | Cheyenne | 1993–1995 | Later served as State Treasurer, U.S. Representative, and U.S. Senator | |
| Mary MacGuire | Republican | Casper | 1993–1995 | Son Joe MacGuire currently serves in the Wyoming House of Representatives | |
| Irene Devin | Republican | Laramie | 1997–2005 | ||
| Rae Lynn Job | Democratic | Rock Springs | 1997–2009 | ||
| E. Jayne Mockler | Democratic | Cheyenne | 1997–2009 | ||
| Kathryn Sessions | Democratic | Cheyenne | 1999–2011 | ||
| Jana H. Gunter | Democratic | Cheyenne | 2004–2005 | ||
| Patricia Aullman | Republican | Thayne | 2005–2009 | ||
| Saundra Meyer | Democratic | Evanston | 2009–2011 | ||
| Leslie Nutting | Republican | Cheyenne | 2011–2015 | ||
| Bernadine Craft | Democratic | Rock Springs | 2013–2017 | ||
| Liisa Anselmi-Dalton | Democratic | Rock Springs | 2017–2021 | ||
| Affie Ellis | Republican | Cheyenne | 2017–2025 | Member of the Navajo Nation, first Native American to serve in the Wyoming Senate.[7] | |
| Tara Nethercott | Republican | Cheyenne | 2017–present | ||
| Wendy Davis Schuler | Republican | Evanston | 2019–present | ||
| Lynn Hutchings | Republican | Cheyenne | 2019–present | ||
| Cheri Steinmetz | Republican | Lingle | 2019–present | ||
| Evie Brennan | Republican | Cheyenne | 2023–present | ||
| Stacy Jones | Republican | Rock Springs | 2023–present | ||
| Laura Taliaferro Pearson | Republican | Kemmerer | 2025–present | ||
Past composition of the Senate
Recent composition
| Affiliation | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Democratic | Vacant | ||
| 57th Legislature (2003-2004) | 20 | 10 | 30 | 0 |
| 58th Legislature (2005-2006) | 23 | 7 | 30 | 0 |
| 59th Legislature (2007-2008) | 23 | 7 | 30 | 0 |
| 60th Legislature (2009-2010) | 23 | 7 | 30 | 0 |
| 61st Legislature (2011-2012) | 26 | 4 | 30 | 0 |
| 62nd Legislature (2013-2014) | 26 | 4 | 30 | 0 |
| 63rd Legislature (2015-2016) | 26 | 4 | 30 | 0 |
| 64th Legislature (2017-2018) | 27 | 3 | 30 | 0 |
| 65th Legislature (2019-2020) | 27 | 3 | 30 | 0 |
| 66th Legislature (2021-2022) | 28 | 2 | 30 | 0 |
| 67th Legislature (2023-2024) | 29 | 2 | 31[b] | 0 |
Historical composition
Wyoming Territorial Council, 1869–1890[8] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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See also
- Wyoming State Capitol
- Wyoming State Legislature
- Wyoming House of Representatives
- List of Wyoming state legislatures
Notes
References
- ^ "HB0100 - Redistricting of the legislature". Wyoming Legislature. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
- ^ "Wyoming Women in the Legislature" (PDF). Historical Information. Wyoming: Wyoming Ssecretary of State Office. 2010. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
- ^ "Nation's 147 Women Legislators Active". The Palm Beach Post. Associated Press. January 19, 1931. Retrieved March 29, 2010.("In Wyoming, where women have been voting since 1869, Mrs. Dora McGrath is the first woman ever elected to the senate. Following her election last September she remarked that rather than go down to the legislature she would prefer to 'stay home and win prizes for my apple pies.'")
- ^ American legislative leaders in the West, 1911-1994. Sharp, Nancy Weatherly., Sharp, James Roger, 1936-. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press. 1997. ISBN 031330212X. OCLC 35138609.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ University of Wyoming-UW Profiles Harriet Elizabeth "Liz" Byrd
- ^ "Liz" Byrd, first black woman in Wyoming House, dies at 88"
- ^ "First Native American". Women in Wyoming. Archived from the original on August 4, 2020. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
- ^ Trenholm, Virginia Cole (August 1974). Wyoming Blue Book, Volume One (PDF) (First ed.). Cheyenne, Wyoming: Wyoming State Archives and Historical Division. pp. 151–171. Retrieved March 6, 2025.
- ^ Trenholm, Virginia Cole (August 1974). Wyoming Blue Book, Volume Two (PDF) (First ed.). Cheyenne, Wyoming: Wyoming State Archives and Historical Division. pp. 253–378. Retrieved March 6, 2025.
- ^ Trenholm, Virginia Cole (August 1974). Wyoming Blue Book, Volume Three (PDF) (First ed.). Cheyenne, Wyoming: Wyoming State Archives and Historical Division. pp. 52–90. Retrieved March 6, 2025.
- ^ Jost, Loren (1991). Wyoming Blue Book, Volume Four (PDF) (First ed.). Cheyenne, Wyoming: Wyoming State Archives, Department of Commerce. pp. 158–192. Retrieved March 6, 2025.
- ^ Roberts, Phillip J. (2008). Wyoming Blue Book, Volume Five (PDF). Cheyenne, Wyoming: Wyoming State Archives, State Parks and Cultural Resources Department. pp. 58–93. Retrieved March 6, 2025.
External links
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