Cynthia Lummis

Cynthia Marie Lummis Wiederspahn (born September 10, 1954) is an American politician who was the U.S. Representative for Wyoming's at-large congressional district, serving from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served as a State Representative (1979–1983, 1985–1993), State Senator (1993–1995), and State Treasurer (1999–2007). She did not seek re-election in 2016,[1] but is running for the U.S. Senate in the 2020 election.

Cynthia Lummis
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Wyoming's at-large district
In office
January 3, 2009 – January 3, 2017
Preceded byBarbara Cubin
Succeeded byLiz Cheney
27th Treasurer of Wyoming
In office
January 4, 1999 – January 9, 2007
GovernorJim Geringer
Dave Freudenthal
Preceded byStan Smith
Succeeded byJoe Meyer
Member of the Wyoming Senate
from the 5th district
In office
January 14, 1993 – January 10, 1995
Preceded byGary Yordy
Succeeded byDonald Lawler
Member of the Wyoming House of Representatives
from the Laramie County district
In office
January 7, 1985 – January 14, 1993
In office
January 8, 1979 – January 3, 1983
Multi-member district
Personal details
Born
Cynthia Marie Lummis

(1954-09-10) September 10, 1954
Cheyenne, Wyoming, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)Alvin Wiederspahn (1983–2014)
Children1
EducationUniversity of Wyoming (BS, JD)
WebsiteCampaign website

Early life

Lummis is one of four children born in Cheyenne, Wyoming to Doran Lummis and the former Enid Bennett (1928–2013), a native of Denver, Colorado, who was reared in Cheyenne and was highly active in Cheyenne Frontier Days and the Republican Party. Lummis' maternal grandparents were Clarence "Buck" Bennett, the head mechanic at the Greyhound Bus Lines in Cheyenne, and Eda Erickson Bennett. In a statement upon her mother's death, Lummis said, "I carry with me so many lessons my mother taught me; chief among them is the quiet grit she displayed in the face of pain and adversity."[2]

After high school, Lummis enrolled in the University of Wyoming in Laramie, obtaining two Bachelor of Science degrees in animal science in 1976 and in biology in 1978.[3] While she was a legislator, she received her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Wyoming in 1985 and also clerked for the Wyoming Supreme Court.[3]

Wyoming state legislature

Lummis was a member of the Wyoming House of Representatives from 1979 to 1983, and from 1985 to 1993, and then the Wyoming Senate from 1993 to 1995.

U.S. House of Representatives

Cynthia Lummis was one of three female U.S. Representatives in Congress who prefers the appelation "congressman" to "congressperson" or "congresswoman"; the others were Republicans Marsha Blackburn and Diane Black of Tennessee who have since left the House.[4]

Elections
2008
See also: 2008 United States House of Representatives election in Wyoming

Lummis, who carried the support of pro-life and economic conservative voters in Wyoming, won the November 4, 2008, general election to succeed Barbara Cubin of Casper. In the August primary election, Lummis defeated businessman and rancher Mark Gordon of Buffalo in Johnson County.

In the general election, Lummis faced Democratic Teton County School Board Trustee Gary Trauner of Wilson, who had run against Cubin in 2006 and nearly won.[5] Trauner criticized Lummis because she has supported privatization of Social Security and has also suggested raising the retirement age for receiving such benefits; Trauner has called instead for consideration of imposing the FICA tax on income over $100,000, which is currently exempt.[6]

2010
See also: 2010 United States House of Representatives election in Wyoming

Lummis won re-election, with 71% against Democratic challenger David Wendt.[7]

2012
See also: 2012 United States House of Representatives election in Wyoming

Lummis again won re-election, with 69% of the vote against Democratic challenger Chris Henrichsen.

2014
See also: 2014 United States House of Representatives election in Wyoming

In October 2013, corrections officer Jason Adam Senteney announced that he would challenge Lummis in the 2014 Republican primary. Senteney opposed the 2013 government shutdown: "You should never shut down essential programs for people. ... Whether it's a negotiation tactic or not, you shouldn't punish the American people for your own failure to work together in Washington."[8]

Tenure

Lummis was a signer of Americans for Tax Reform’s Taxpayer Protection Pledge.[9]

Timothy P. Carney of the Washington Examiner has called Lummis one of Arizona Congressman Jeff Flake's "posse of anti-appropriators" on the Appropriations Committee.[10] According to Carney, Lummis "is the league leader in bucking the committee leadership".[10]

Legislation supported
Congresswoman Cynthia Lummis with colleagues Eric Cantor and Mary Fallin
  • Ranch A Consolidation and Management Improvement Act (H.R. 1684; 113th Congress) – a bill that would transfer 10 acres of federal lands to the state of Wyoming for use at the historic Ranch A.[11] Lummis introduced the bill.[12]
  • Protecting States’ Rights to Promote American Energy Security Act (H.R. 2728; 113th Congress) – a bill that would require the federal government to defer to individual states about regulations governing hydraulic fracturing.[13] If a state has laws or regulations regarding hydraulic fracturing, those regulations would be the rules that applied in that state, not any regulations created by the federal government. Lummis supported this bill.[11]
  • Restoring Healthy Forests for Healthy Communities Act (H.R. 1526) – a bill that would direct the United States Department of Agriculture to establish at least one Forest Reserve Revenue Area within each unit of the National Forest System designated for sustainable forest management for the production of national forest materials (the sale of trees, portions of trees, or forest products from System lands) and forest reserve revenues (to be derived from the sale of such materials in such an Area).[14] Lummis supported this bill.[11]
  • Open Book on Equal Access to Justice Act (H.R. 2919; 113th Congress) – a bill that would require the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS) to prepare a report each year on the amount of fees and other expenses awarded by federal courts to nonfederal entities when they prevail in a case against the United States.[15] Lummis introduced this bill on August 1, 2013. Lummis said that "requiring agencies to keep track of what they pay attorneys will help Congress determine if EAJA is working well or not."[16] According to Lummis, the EAJA was meant to the help the "little guy" but "was later co-opted by large environmental groups so their litigation shops could get reimbursed for filing expansive litigation on environmental issues."[17]

Committee assignments

United States House Committee on Natural Resources (2009–2011; 2013–2017)

Caucus memberships

Electoral history
This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Wyoming state treasurer, 1998 – general election:[20][21]

  • Cynthia Lummis, Republican – 105,322 (62.69%)
  • Charyl "Butch" Loveridge, Democrat – 52,655 (31.34%)
  • James Blomquist, Libertarian – 10,024 (5.97%)

Wyoming state treasurer, 2002 – Republican primary:[22]

  • Cynthia Lummis – 79,557 (100.00%)

Wyoming state treasurer, 2002 – general election:[23]

  • Cynthia Lummis – 152,583 (100.00%)

Wyoming's At-large congressional district, 2008 – Republican primary:[24]

  • Cynthia Lummis – 33,149 (46.18%)
  • Mark Gordon – 26,827 (37.37%)
  • Bill Winney – 8,537 (11.89%)
  • Michael S. Holland – 3,171 (4.56%)

Wyoming's at-large congressional district, 2008 – general election:[25]

  • Cynthia Lummis, Republican – 131,244 (52.62%)
  • Gary Trauner, Democrat – 106,758 (42.81%)
  • W. David Herbert, Libertarian – 11,030 (4.42%)
  • Write-in candidates – 363 (0.15%)

Wyoming's at-large congressional district, 2010 – Republican primary:[26]

  • Cynthia Lummis – 84,063 (82.82%)
  • Evan Liam Slafter – 17,148 (16.89%)
  • Write-in candidates – 289 (0.28%)

Wyoming's at-large congressional district, 2010 – general election:[27]

  • Cynthia Lummis, Republican – 131,661 (70.42%)
  • David Wendt, Democrat – 45,768 (24.48%)
  • John V. Love, Libertarian – 9,253 (4.95%)
  • Write-in candidates – 287 (0.15%)

Wyoming's At-Large Congressional District, 2012 – General Election:[28]

  • Cynthia M. Lummis, Republican – 166,452 (68.89%)
  • Chris Henrichsen, Democrat – 57,573 (23.83%)
  • Richard P. Brubaker, Libertarian – 8,442 (3.49%)
  • Don Wills, Country Party – 3,775 (1.56%)
  • Daniel Clyde Cummings, Constitution – 4,963 (2.05%)
  • Write-in Candidates – 416 (0.17%)

Post-House career and Senate campaign

After her retirement from Congress in 2016, Lummis was speculated to be considering a run for governor of Wyoming in 2018.[29] However, in late 2017, Lummis ruled out a run for governor, citing that she was enjoying her time outside of public life; she stated that she still would be likely to run for office again, just not in 2018.[30]

Lummis was actively being considered to be United States Secretary of the Interior in the Trump administration after the resignation of Ryan Zinke[31], but David Bernhardt was eventually appointed to the position.[32]

On May 4, 2019, U.S. Senator Mike Enzi announced his retirement, leading to speculation that she might run for his seat in the 2020 election.[33] On July 11, 2019, she announced her campaign.[34][35]

Personal life

In 2008, Lummis reported her wealth as ranging from $20 million to $75 million. She ranked in 2010 as the twenty-ninth wealthiest member of Congress. Most of Lummis' wealth is derived from her family-owned Arp and Hammond Company, Lummis Livestock Company, and Old Horse Pasture, Inc.[36] Lummis was inducted into the Cheyenne Frontier Days Hall of Fame in 2016.[37]

See also

References
  1. dougrandall (28 January 2016). "Stubson Touts Wyoming Experience In Run For Congress". KGAB 650AM.
  2. "Rep. Lummis' Statement on the Passing of Her Mother, October 10, 2013". lummis.house.gov. Archived from the original on October 20, 2013. Retrieved October 18, 2013.
  3. "Biography - Congressman Cynthia Lummis". Archived from the original on 2014-05-02. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
  4. Ostermeier, Eric (June 13, 2013). "Meet the Three House Women Who Go by "Congressman"". Smart Politics.
  5. "Zwonitzer withdraws from House race". Wyoming Tribune Eagle. 8 May 2008.
  6. Joyce, Matt (2008-10-10). "Trauner, Lummis camps debate Social Security". Casper Star-Tribune.
  7. "State Results – Election Center 2010 – Elections & Politics from CNN.com". CNN.
  8. "Trevor Brown, Yoder man challenging Lummis in 2014 primary: Jason Senteney says Congress isn't working to solve budget issues, October 24, 2013". Wyoming Tribune-Eagle. Retrieved October 25, 2013.
  9. "The Taxpayer Protection Pledge Signers 112th Congressional List" (PDF). Americans for Tax Reform. Retrieved November 30, 2011.
  10. Carney, Timothy (2011-04-03) GOP anti-appropriators break up the spending party Archived 2011-04-05 at the Wayback Machine, Washington Examiner
  11. Hancock, Laura (5 August 2013). "Lummis-supported bills move forward". Casper Star-Tribune Online. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  12. "H.R. 1684 – Summary". United States Congress. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  13. Kasperowicz, Pete (19 November 2013). "House advances drilling, fracking bills". The Hill. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
  14. "H.R. 1526 – Summary". United States Congress. Retrieved 17 September 2013.
  15. "CBO – H.R. 2919". Congressional Budget Office. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  16. D'Amico, Christine (1 August 2013). "Lummis, Cohen Draft Bill to Track Equal Access to Justice Act Payments Bipartisan legislation restarts agency tracking obligations; modernizes record-keeping with online database". House Office of Cynthia Lummis. Archived from the original on 5 May 2014. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  17. Hancock, Laura (9 February 2014). "House committee endorses bill targeting environmental group lawsuits". Casper Star Tribune. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  18. Bialik, Carl; Bycoffe, Aaron (25 September 2015). "The Hard-Line Republicans Who Pushed John Boehner Out". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved 2015-09-28.
  19. "Members". Congressional Constitution Caucus. Archived from the original on 14 June 2018. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  20. "Statewide Issues Abstract" (Portable Document Format). Wyoming Elections Division. p. 5. Retrieved May 25, 2012.
  21. Foster, Deidre (November 4, 1998). "Lummis trumps Loveridge". Wyoming Tribune-Eagle. Archived from the original on April 9, 2016. Retrieved May 25, 2012.
  22. "Statewide Candidates' Abstract – Official Primary Election Results – August 20, 2002" (PDF). Wyoming Elections Division. Retrieved May 25, 2012.
  23. "Statewide Candidates' Abstract – Official General Election Results – November 5, 2002" (PDF). Wyoming Elections Division. p. 2. Retrieved May 25, 2012.
  24. "Republican Statewide Candidates Official Summary: Wyoming Primary Election – August 19, 2008" (PDF). Wyoming Elections Division. Retrieved May 25, 2012.
  25. Miller, Lorraine C. (July 10, 2009). "Statistics of the presidential and congressional election of November 4, 2008" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. p. 68. Retrieved May 25, 2012.
  26. "Statewide Candidates Official Summary: Wyoming Primary Election – August 17, 2010" (PDF). Wyoming Elections Division. p. 1. Retrieved May 25, 2012.
  27. Haas, Karen L. (June 3, 2011). "Statistics of the congressional election of November 2, 2010" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. p. 56. Retrieved May 25, 2012.
  28. "Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives – Election Information" (PDF). Karen Haas, Clerk of the United States House of Representatives.
  29. http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/lummis-not-ruling-out-run-for-governor/article_3d4fb999-c675-5670-bffa-40d1c9a91f74.html. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  30. http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/lummis-says-she-won-t-run-for-governor-upending-the/article_c56a17c7-1f6b-575c-b590-d88c4305a0b1.html. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  31. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-31/white-house-said-to-consider-cattle-rancher-lummis-for-interior
  32. https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/438460-david-bernhardt-confirmed-as-new-interior-chief
  33. https://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/former-wyoming-rep-cynthia-lummis-considering-senate-bid-to-replace/article_5e7a680a-88c6-58ed-9fca-5918d5b08019.html
  34. News Release (July 11, 2019). "Lummis Announces Run for U.S. Senate, Pledges to Stand 'Shoulder to Shoulder' with President Trump to Fight for WY". Sheridan Media. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
  35. Alex Rogers. "Former Rep. Cynthia Lummis running for US Senate seat in Wyoming". CNN. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
  36. "Rep. Cynthia Lummis among Richest Members of Congress". wyofile.com. Archived from the original on January 9, 2012. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
  37. "Cheyenne Frontier Days Hall of Fame Inductees". Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
Barbara Cubin		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Wyoming's at-large congressional district
2009–2017		 Succeeded by
Liz Cheney
Preceded by
Jan Schakowsky		 Chair of the Congressional Women's Caucus
2011–2013		 Succeeded by
Jaime Herrera Beutler
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