Wyoming Senate

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.

Wyoming State Senate
Wyoming State Legislature
Type
Type
Upper House
Term limits
None
History
New session started
January 7, 2019
Leadership
Drew Perkins (R)
since January 7, 2019
Vice President of the Senate
Ogden Driskill (R)
since January 7, 2019
Majority Leader
Dan Dockstader (R)
since January 7, 2019
Minority Leader
Chris Rothfuss (D)
since January 7, 2013
Structure
Seats30
Political groups
Majority

Minority

Length of term
4 years
AuthorityArticle 3, Wyoming Constitution
Salary$150/day + per diem
Elections
Last election
November 6, 2018
(15 seats)
Next election
November 3, 2020
(15 seats)
RedistrictingLegislative Control
Meeting place
State Senate Chamber
Wyoming State Capitol
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Website
Wyoming State Legislature

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 59th Legislature 23 7 30 0
End of 60th Legislature 23 7 30 0
End of 61st Legislature 26 4 30 0
End of 62nd Legislature 26 4 30 0
End of 63rd Legislature 26 4 30 0
End of 64th Legislature 27 3 30 0
Beginning of 65th Legislature 27 3 30 0
Latest voting share 90% 10%

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 Drew Perkins of District 29 (Casper).

PositionNameParty
President of the SenateDrew PerkinsRepublican
Majority LeaderDan DockstaderRepublican
Senate Vice PresidentOgden DriskillRepublican
Minority LeaderChris RothfussDemocratic
Minority WhipLiisa Anselmi-DaltonDemocratic

Members of the Wyoming Senate

District Representative Party Residence Counties Represented Next election
1 Ogden Driskill Republican Devils Tower Campbell, Crook, Weston 2022
2 Brian Boner Republican Douglas Converse, Platte 2020
3 Cheri Steinmetz Republican Lingle Goshen, Niobrara, Weston 2022
4 Tara Nethercott Republican Cheyenne Laramie 2020
5 Lynn Hutchings Republican Cheyenne Laramie 2022
6 Anthony Bouchard Republican Carpenter Laramie 2020
7 Stephan Pappas Republican Cheyenne Laramie 2022
8 Affie Ellis Republican Cheyenne Laramie 2020
9 Chris Rothfuss Democratic Laramie Albany 2022
10 Glenn Moniz Republican Laramie Albany 2020
11 Larry S. Hicks Republican Baggs Albany, Carbon 2022
12 Liisa Anselmi-Dalton Democratic Rock Springs Fremont, Sweetwater 2020
13 Tom James Republican Rock Springs Sweetwater 2022
14 Fred Baldwin Republican Kemmerer Lincoln, Sublette, Sweetwater, Uinta 2020
15 Wendy Davis Schuler Republican Evanston Uinta 2022
16 Dan Dockstader Republican Afton Lincoln, Sublette, Teton 2020
17 Mike Gierau Democratic Jackson Hole Teton 2022
18 Hank Coe Republican Cody Park 2020
19 R. J. Kost Republican Powell Big Horn, Park 2022
20 Wyatt Agar Republican Thermopolis Big Horn, Hot Springs, Park, Washakie 2020
21 Bo Biteman Republican Ranchester Sheridan 2022
22 Dave Kinskey Republican Sheridan Sheridan, Johnson 2020
23 Jeff Wasserburger Republican Gillette Campbell 2022
24 Michael Von Flatern Republican Gillette Campbell 2020
25 Cale Case Republican Lander Fremont 2022
26 Eli Bebout Republican Riverton Fremont 2020
27 Bill Landen Republican Casper Natrona 2022
28 James Lee Anderson Republican Casper Natrona 2020
29 Drew Perkins Republican Casper Natrona 2022
30 Charles Scott Republican Casper Natrona 2020

History

Women in the Senate

SenatorPartyResidenceSenate TermNotes
Dora McGrathRepublicanThermopolis1931–1933First woman in the Wyoming Senate[1][2]
Edness Kimball WilkinsDemocraticCasper1967-1973 First woman to serve as Speaker of the Wyoming House of Representatives[3]
June BoyleDemocraticLaramie1973–1985
Catherine ParksRepublicanGillette1979–1985
Win HickeyDemocraticCheyenne1981–1991
Lisa KinneyDemocraticLaramie1985–1995
Della HerbstDemocraticSheridan1987–1993
Harriet Elizabeth ByrdDemocraticCheyenne1989–1993First African-American to serve in the State Legislature[4][5]
Susan 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 and U.S. Representative
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 GunterDemocraticCheyenne2004–2005
Patricia AullmanRepublicanThayne2005–2009
Saundra MeyerDemocraticEvanston2009–2011
Leslie NuttingRepublicanCheyenne2011–2015
Bernadine CraftDemocraticRock Springs2013–2017
Liisa Anselmi-DaltonDemocraticRock Springs2017–present
Affie EllisRepublicanCheyenne2017–present
Tara NethercottRepublicanCheyenne2017–present
Wendy Davis SchulerRepublicanEvanston2019–present
Lynn HutchingsRepublicanCheyenne2019–present
Cheri SteinmetzRepublicanLingle2019–present

Past composition of the Senate

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.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"

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