Wyoming State Senate
67th Wyoming State Legislature
Coat of arms or logo
Type
Type
Term limits
None
History
New session started
January 10, 2023
Leadership
President
Ogden Driskill (R)
since January 10, 2023
Vice President
Dave Kinskey (R)
since January 10, 2023
Majority Leader
Larry Hicks (R)
since January 10, 2023
Minority Leader
Chris Rothfuss (D)
since January 7, 2013
Structure
Seats31
Political groups
Majority
  •   Republican (29)

Minority

Length of term
4 years
AuthorityArticle 3, Wyoming Constitution
Salary$150/day + per diem
Elections
Last election
November 8, 2022
(16 seats)
Next election
November 5, 2024
(15 seats)
RedistrictingLegislative Control
Meeting place
State Senate Chamber
Wyoming State Capitol
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Website
Wyoming State Legislature

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 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
End of 65th Legislature 27 3 30 0
End of 66th Legislature 28 2 30 0
Beginning of 67th Legislature 29 2 31[a] 0
Latest voting share 94% 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).

Position Name Party
President of the Senate Ogden Driskill Republican
Senate Vice President Dave Kinskey Republican
Majority Leader Larry Hicks Republican
Minority Leader Chris Rothfuss Democratic
Minority Whip Mike Gierau Democratic

Members of the Wyoming Senate

Map of current (March 2021) partisan composition of legislative districts for state senate:
  Republican senator
  Democratic senator
District Representative Party Residence Counties Represented Next election
1 Ogden Driskill Republican Devils Tower Campbell, Crook, Weston 2026
2 Brian Boner Republican Douglas Converse, Platte 2024
3 Cheri Steinmetz Republican Lingle Goshen, Niobrara, Weston 2026
4 Tara Nethercott Republican Cheyenne Laramie 2024
5 Lynn Hutchings Republican Cheyenne Laramie 2026
6 Anthony Bouchard Republican Carpenter Laramie 2024
7 Stephan Pappas Republican Cheyenne Laramie 2026
8 Affie Ellis Republican Cheyenne Laramie 2024
9 Chris Rothfuss Democratic Laramie Albany 2026
10 Dan Furphy Republican Laramie Albany 2024
11 Larry S. Hicks Republican Baggs Albany, Carbon 2026
12 John Kolb Republican Rock Springs Fremont, Sweetwater 2024
13 Stacy Jones Republican Rock Springs Sweetwater 2026
14 Fred Baldwin Republican Kemmerer Lincoln, Sublette, Sweetwater, Uinta 2024
15 Wendy Davis Schuler Republican Evanston Uinta 2026
16 Dan Dockstader Republican Afton Lincoln, Sublette, Teton 2024
17 Mike Gierau Democratic Jackson Hole Teton 2026
18 Tim French Republican Powell Park 2024
19 Dan Laursen Republican Powell Big Horn, Park 2026
20 Ed Cooper Republican Ten Sleep Big Horn, Hot Springs, Park, Washakie 2024
21 Bo Biteman Republican Ranchester Sheridan 2026
22 Dave Kinskey Republican Sheridan Sheridan, Johnson 2024
23 Eric Barlow Republican Gillette Campbell 2026
24 Troy McKeown Republican Gillette Campbell 2024
25 Cale Case Republican Lander Fremont 2026
26 Tim Salazar Republican Riverton Fremont 2024
27 Bill Landen Republican Casper Natrona 2026
28 James Lee Anderson Republican Casper Natrona 2024
29 Bob Ide Republican Casper Natrona 2026
30 Charles Scott Republican Casper Natrona 2024
31 Evie Brennan Republican Cheyenne Laramie 2026

History

Women in the Senate

Senator Party Residence Senate Term Notes
Dora McGrath Republican Thermopolis 1931–1933 First woman in the Wyoming Senate[1][2]
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[3]
June Boyle Democratic Laramie 1973–1985
Catherine Parks Republican Gillette 1979–1985
Win Hickey Democratic Cheyenne 1981–1991
Lisa 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[4][5]
Susan 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 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–present Member of the Navajo Nation, first Native American to serve in the Wyoming Senate.[6]
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

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

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