Wyoming political parties go young for new members

By Tom Lacock, Cowboy State Free Press Correspondent

CASPER — Getting young voters plugged into a political party means more than a vote to the state’s Republicans and Democrats – it could mean future candidates.

In an election year in which no Democrats have stepped up for a run yet at any of Wyoming’s five statewide elected positions, outreach to new party members is crucial.

Democratic state party director Bill Luckett said the Democrats are offering candidate trainings covering campaign fundamentals, as well as advice on talking to voters and the media. Concepts such as what information to include in brochures and how to put together a good biography in campaign literature are also covered.

The trainings are a welcome offering for candidates and generally geared toward local races. Gary Trauner of Teton County said he is not running for any state or federal offices this year, but said such a training would have been helpful before he decided to run for the U.S. House in 2006, a race he narrowly lost to then-incumbent congresswoman Barbara Cubin.

“It would have been nice to have some training in a statewide election before the day when I just decided to get up and do it,” Trauner said. “When I went to the state party there wasn’t a lot of support from them because there wasn’t a lot of infrastructure at that time to help candidates run a campaign. Now, that is improving.”

Trauner acknowledges that offering candidates the tools to be successful in a statewide campaign is easier said than done, but it should be a goal of the party.

Luckett said activist trainings can be just as important as candidate trainings as a recruitment tool. By the time individuals offer to be party activists, they know the message and understand the opportunities for the party.

Participation by younger voters and members is on the rise for Democrats in Wyoming, according to Luckett, who reports a record number of young people at his party’s annual dinner in Cheyenne this year.

Helping the party to appeal to voters ages 18-36 are the Young Democrats of Wyoming, a group whose activities are largely based out of Laramie due to the fact their president, Dana Walton, and vice president are both students at the University of Wyoming. The Young Dems have started county chapters in Natrona, Teton, Sweetwater, Park and Campbell Counties.

Walton said the Young Democrats have two very specific goals: building the party through a youth movement and getting Democrats elected in local, state and federal elections. The Young Democrats have weekly meetings and recruitment efforts and recently collaborated with the Young Republicans in a Health Care Reform Debate, which brought 180 attendees.

“We really feel the impact that we can have on the Wyoming Democratic Party’s efforts here in Wyoming is doing all the grunt work,” Walton said. “Things like going door to door and making phone calls. We bring a breath of fresh air to the state party as well as new ideas that will help the party progress.”

Khale Lenhart serves as the state chair of the Wyoming Young Republicans and said the organization counts six local chapters around the state. The group seeks to educate young voters on the electoral process, mobilize its members to get active in campaigns and develop future leaders and candidates for the party.

The group currently has about 250 members around the state, ranging in age from 18-40, although most of the members are closer to 20 than 40, Lenhart said.

“We are trying to get more activist and grassroots training,” Lenhart said. “The Leadership Institute is putting on some trainings for us and we also do some campaign training through other groups. I would like to see a candidate school geared towards helping younger people involved in local races as candidates.”

Lenhart said the most successful chapters of the Young Republicans exist in Sheridan, Natrona and Albany Counties, with the goal of the clubs to get new members involved in primary elections. Lenhart said getting young members to volunteer for a candidate lets them see the inner workings of a campaign and can motivate them to take a larger role in the party.

Social networking has also made it easier to communicate with the Young Republican membership, which has 177 members on its Facebook page.

“In a state as spread out as Wyoming, it is hard to do face-to-face meetings, and word of mouth only travels so quickly. Facebook lets us get the word out quickly,” he said.