Gary Trauner

Who is Gary Trauner?

Gary S. Trauner is a Wyoming businessman and a two-time unsuccessful Democratic nominee for Wyoming's at-large congressional district, his state's lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was defeated in the 2006 and 2008 general elections by Republicans Barbara Cubin and Cynthia Lummis, respectively.

Trauner lost by 1,012 votes in 2006 to the since retiring incumbent Barbara Cubin of Casper. The election that year was the closest congressional race in Wyoming since 1970. However, this margin was too large to trigger an automatic recount, and Trauner opted not to request one.

On October 13, 2007, Trauner announced that he would again run for the U.S. House. Cubin thereafter announced her retirement because of health problems of her physician husband. Former State Treasurer Cynthia Lummis of Cheyenne won the Republican nomination over the rancher and current state treasurer, Mark Gordon of Buffalo, for the right to succeed Cubin. Lummis then defeated Trauner, 53-43 percent in the general election, but she lost her home county of Laramie, which includes the capital city of Cheyenne.