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

AffiliationParty
(Shading indicates majority caucus)
Total
RepublicanDemocraticVacant
End of 59th Legislature237300
End of 60th Legislature237300
End of 61st Legislature264300
End of 62nd Legislature264300
End of 63rd Legislature264300
End of 64th Legislature273300
End of 65th Legislature273300
End of 66th Legislature282300
Beginning of 67th Legislature29231[a]0
Latest voting share94%6%
  1. ^ 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 the 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 Ogden Driskill of District 1 (Devils Tower).

PositionNameParty
President of the SenateOgden DriskillRepublican
Senate Vice PresidentDave KinskeyRepublican
Majority LeaderLarry HicksRepublican
Minority LeaderChris RothfussDemocratic
Minority WhipMike GierauDemocratic

Members of the Wyoming Senate

Map of current (March 2021) partisan composition of legislative districts for state senate:
  Republican senator
  Democratic senator
DistrictRepresentativePartyResidenceCounties RepresentedNext election
1Ogden DriskillRepublicanDevils TowerCampbell, Crook, Weston2026
2Brian BonerRepublicanDouglasConverse, Platte2024
3Cheri SteinmetzRepublicanLingleGoshen, Niobrara, Weston2026
4Tara NethercottRepublicanCheyenneLaramie2024
5Lynn HutchingsRepublicanCheyenneLaramie2026
6Anthony BouchardRepublicanCarpenterLaramie2024
7Stephan PappasRepublicanCheyenneLaramie2026
8Affie EllisRepublicanCheyenneLaramie2024
9Chris RothfussDemocraticLaramieAlbany2026
10Dan FurphyRepublicanLaramieAlbany2024
11Larry S. HicksRepublicanBaggsAlbany, Carbon2026
12John KolbRepublicanRock SpringsFremont, Sweetwater2024
13Stacy JonesRepublicanRock SpringsSweetwater2026
14Fred BaldwinRepublicanKemmererLincoln, Sublette, Sweetwater, Uinta2024
15Wendy Davis SchulerRepublicanEvanstonUinta2026
16Dan DockstaderRepublicanAftonLincoln, Sublette, Teton2024
17Mike GierauDemocraticJackson HoleTeton2026
18Tim FrenchRepublicanPowellPark2024
19Dan LaursenRepublicanPowellBig Horn, Park2026
20Ed CooperRepublicanTen SleepBig Horn, Hot Springs, Park, Washakie2024
21Bo BitemanRepublicanRanchesterSheridan2026
22Dave KinskeyRepublicanSheridanSheridan, Johnson2024
23Eric BarlowRepublicanGilletteCampbell2026
24Troy McKeownRepublicanGilletteCampbell2024
25Cale CaseRepublicanLanderFremont2026
26Tim SalazarRepublicanRivertonFremont2024
27Bill LandenRepublicanCasperNatrona2026
28James Lee AndersonRepublicanCasperNatrona2024
29Bob IdeRepublicanCasperNatrona2026
30Charles ScottRepublicanCasperNatrona2024
31Evie BrennanRepublicanCheyenneLaramie2026

History

Women in the Senate

SenatorPartyResidenceSenate TermNotes
Dora McGrathRepublicanThermopolis1931–1933First woman in the Wyoming Senate[1][2]
Willa Wales CorbittDemocraticRiverton1965-1969
Edness Kimball WilkinsDemocraticCasper1967-1973First woman to serve as Speaker of the Wyoming House of Representatives[3]
June BoyleDemocraticLaramie1973–1985
Catherine ParksRepublicanGillette1979–1985
Win HickeyDemocraticCheyenne1981–1991
Lisa F. KinneyDemocraticLaramie1985–1995
Della HerbstDemocraticSheridan1987–1993
Harriet Elizabeth ByrdDemocraticCheyenne1989–1993First African-American to serve in the State Legislature[4][5]
Susan C. AndersonDemocraticCasper1993–1995
April Brimmer-KunzRepublicanCheyenne1993–2005First female President of the Senate
Barbara CubinRepublicanCasper1993–1995Resigned to become U.S. Representative
Cynthia LummisRepublicanCheyenne1993–1995Later served as State Treasurer, U.S. Representative, and U.S. Senator
Mary MacGuireRepublicanCasper1993–1995Son Joe MacGuire currently serves in the Wyoming House of Representatives
Irene DevinRepublicanLaramie1997–2005
Rae Lynn JobDemocraticRock Springs1997–2009
E. Jayne MocklerDemocraticCheyenne1997–2009
Kathryn SessionsDemocraticCheyenne1999–2011
Jana H. GunterDemocraticCheyenne2004–2005
Patricia AullmanRepublicanThayne2005–2009
Saundra MeyerDemocraticEvanston2009–2011
Leslie NuttingRepublicanCheyenne2011–2015
Bernadine CraftDemocraticRock Springs2013–2017
Liisa Anselmi-DaltonDemocraticRock Springs2017–2021
Affie EllisRepublicanCheyenne2017–presentMember of the Navajo Nation, first Native American to serve in the Wyoming Senate.[6]
Tara NethercottRepublicanCheyenne2017–present
Wendy Davis SchulerRepublicanEvanston2019–present
Lynn HutchingsRepublicanCheyenne2019–present
Cheri SteinmetzRepublicanLingle2019–present
Evie BrennanRepublicanCheyenne2023–present
Stacy JonesRepublicanRock Springs2023–present

Past composition of the Senate

Main article: Political party strength in Wyoming

See also

References

  1. ^ "Wyoming Women in the Legislature" (PDF). Historical Information. Wyoming: Wyoming Ssecretary of State Office. 2010. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
  2. ^ Associated Press (January 19, 1931). "Nation's 147 Women Legislators Active". The Palm Beach Post. 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.'")
  3. ^ 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)
  4. ^ University of Wyoming-UW Profiles Harriet Elizabeth "Liz" Byrd
  5. ^ "Liz" Byrd, first black woman in Wyoming House, dies at 88"
  6. ^ "First Native American". Women in Wyoming. Archived from the original on August 4, 2020. Retrieved September 7, 2020.

External links

41°08′25″N 104°49′13″W / 41.14028°N 104.82028°W / 41.14028; -104.82028

source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wyoming_Senate