As Jonathan linked in the open thread earlier, Rep. Barbara Cubin's 2006 Democratic challenger and netroots all star Gary Trauner had scheduled an announcement today although to announce what was unclear -- would he run for one of the senate seats (both of which are up in '08,) the house seat he almost won last year, or run for nothing at all? I have to say, having been extremely impressed with his appearances on a couple of panels at YearlyKos this summer, I'm thrilled to see that he's opted for another run for Wyoming's At Large congressional seat.

New West Politics was at his announcement and relates (via mcjoan) what led him to decide to run again:

"I had gone to the grocery store when I heard my name called," Trauner said. A gentleman having coffee in the grocery store pointed to a newspaper and asked Trauner if he'd read about the growing controversy over expanding the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), which Congress had approved, President Bush had vetoed and had that veto sustained by a Republican minority.

Trauner said the gentleman having coffee was upset with the partisan politics, and said "I've been a Republican all my life, but don't we deserve something better?"

Trauner, after long discussions with his wife, decided the answer was "Yes."

You may remember this race as one of the true heartbreakers from last year. In Wyoming, where only about 25% of voters are registered Democrats and where John Kerry only won 29% of the vote in 2004 (Cook gives it a PVI of R+19,) Gary Trauner came within 1,012 votes of winning Dick Cheney's old seat. How'd he do it?

He distinguished himself through his approach to campaigning, going door-to-door across Wyoming to 15,000 homes--a style that was in marked contrast to Cubin's campaign style. Cubin once famously said she'd "rather eat roadkill" than go door-to-door.

Clearly, Trauner's best shot at this seat would be in a re-match against Cubin, although that is currently up in the air. As of now, Cook's Competitive House Chart lists the seat as merely "Lean Republican" but also lists Cubin as a potential retirement and with a serious primary challenge.

mcjoan elaborates:

Cubin has said that she's running again, but hasn't filed yet. She could be waiting to see if State Rep. Colin Simpson (former Sen. Alan Simpson's son) decides to join Swede Nelson of Cheyenne and Kenn Gilchrist of Casper in challenging her in the primary...but there's been some talk in the national party of trying to convince Cubin to retire.

Great to see Gary giving this race another run and giving Wyoming a chance to finish what they started in 2006.