Gary Trauner

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Gary Trauner (born 1959) was a Democratic candidate for the U.S. House in the 2006 elections, seeking to unseat incumbent Barbara Cubin as the representative for Wyoming's at-large Congressional seat. Trauner came up short by just over 1,000 votes and lost in the general election to Cubin.

[edit] Biography

Trauner holds a bachelor's degree from Colgate University and an MBA from the Stern School of Business at New York University. After moving to Wyoming around 1990, Trauner worked in business, co-founding OneWest.net, a regional Internet Service Provider.

A resident of Wilson, Wyoming, Trauner has served as Chairman of the Teton County School District #1 Board of Trustees, serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Aspens Water & Sewer District and is member of the Open Range Committee of the Jackson Hole Land Trust. He is married; Trauner and his wife, Terry, have two children. The Trauner family make up four of the estimated 400 Jewish-American's living in the state of Wyoming.

[edit] 2006 Campaign

Although Wyoming's Congressional seat is conventionally considered "safe" for Republicans, Trauner ran a strong campaign, raising nearly as much money in the first quarter of 2006 as incumbent Representative Cubin. [1] [2] In the second quarter he has raised more money then Cubin and currently has more cash on hand [3]. Additionally, a May 2006 poll put Trauner within the margin of error. [4] In mid-August, Congressional Quarterly changed their rating of this race from "Republican Favored" to the more competitive "Leans Republican," reflecting Trauner's impressive fundraising and polling numbers. [5]

Although critical of Cubin, Trauner ran a grassroots campaign as a libertarian Democrat, bucking some prevailaing trends in the Democratic policy by speaking against trade protectionism and single-payer universal health care, in addition to supporting second amendment gun ownership rights, immigration law enforcement, and what he refers to as "common-sense capitalism" [6] One of Trauner's major issues has been Congressional ethics and lobbying reform, and he has not accepted campaign funds from political action committees.

[edit] External links

• Trauner for Congress
• 50 State Strategy: Yes, Wyoming is in Play, Democrats.org
• "Well-Funded Trauner Poses Threat to Cubin," Congressional Quarterly, 22 April 2006.