Wyoming Sen. Enzi Announces Re-Election Campaign, Ending Speculation
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Sen. Mike Enzi ended months of speculation about his political future by telling a crowd in Gillette on Saturday that he is running for a third term.
The speculation turned out to be well-founded: After the announcement, Enzi told The Associated Press that he gave serious thought to not running after he was passed over, for a second time, for a seat on the powerful Senate Finance Committee in January.
“That was a really down time in my life,” Enzi said in a telephone interview. “I wanted to be on that committee since I got to the United States Senate.”
Enzi, 64, kept up suspense about his campaign plans well into his speech before a crowd of about 100 at Gillette City Hall. He stumbled several times as he began speaking.
“Very emotional day,” he said, seeming to choke up. “At the end of this year I’m going to … at the end of the year I will have served two full, six-year terms.”
He launched into a 10-minute rundown of his accomplishments in the Senate and offered a long list of thank-yous to staff, friends, family and wife Diana.
“Diana stood with me and did incredible things,” he said. “We’re proud of our 30 years of public service. We do still have things we want to do together while we’re still young enough and healthy enough, and we’ve been proud to serve you.”
Finally, Enzi said: “And now, I’m asking the people of Wyoming to renew my contract.”
He received hearty applause.
Enzi’s staff said several times before the announcement that even they didn’t know for certain whether Enzi would seek re-election.
Enzi said after his speech that he had a reason for keeping the crowd on pins and needles.
“I wanted to convey some of the stress and difficulty of making the decision, where you’re committing six more years. It’s not an easy decision,” he said. “But as I’ve said all along, I really enjoy my work and I hope to get a lot more done.”
He said he hoped to help overcome partisanship in Congress with his “80 percent rule” — his belief that Democrats and Republicans can get more done by focusing on the 80 percent of things on which they can agree.
“We’re going to get Congress unpolarized,” said Enzi, a Republican.
He also touted his 10-step health care plan, pointing out that the Senate unanimously passed one of those steps, a bill that would prohibit genetic discrimination, a couple of days ago.
The Finance Committee seat opened up when Mississippi Sen. Trent Lott left the Senate in December. The seat went to New Hampshire Sen. John Sununu even though Enzi has been in the Senate six years longer than Sununu.
Enzi told The AP that the hard work of his staff during an annual retreat soon after he was passed over for the committee helped him decide to run again.
“It was the most upbeat retreat that we have ever had. It was the most focused on what we needed to get done and how we could get it done. And as I looked around the room and watched them working, in spite of them sharing the disappointment that we had, I said, `You know, I have assembled the greatest team of staff people that anybody has ever done, and I’ve got to keep these people working,”‘ Enzi said.
No Republican has announced a campaign to run against Enzi. University of Wyoming instructor Christopher Rothfuss is seeking the Democratic nomination to run for Enzi’s seat.
Enzi became Wyoming’s senior senator upon the death of Sen. Craig Thomas from leukemia last year. State Sen. John Barrasso was appointed to replace Thomas.
Barrasso has not yet formally announced his campaign, although Barrasso has said that he does intend to run. Gillette attorney Nick Carter, who describes himself as a friend of Enzi’s, is seeking the Democratic nomination to run for Barrasso’s seat.
The person elected will serve four years to finish Thomas’ term.
Enzi has raised about $1.5 million since he was last elected in 2002, while Barrasso has raised roughly the same amount since Gov. Dave Freudenthal appointed him in June.
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