Democrats hope to flip a seat as Teton County GOP tries to moderate

Look! Up in Jackson! It’s a luxury condo! It’s Kanye leaving the studio! It’s ... a competitive general election race for a Wyoming legislative seat? That’s right, a Democrat and Republican are expected to be locked into a genuinely competitive contest for an open state Senate seat. Even more unusual, it’s Democrats who are hoping to flip the Teton County seat blue.

With Sen. Leland Christensen, R-Alta, running for treasurer, Democrats initially hoped Mike Gierau, a popular Jackson state representative, would cruise to an easy victory to replace Christensen in the only Wyoming county that went for Hillary Clinton in 2016.

“It's pretty clear that the voters in that district have preferred Democratic candidates in the last couple cycles,” said Wyoming Democratic Party chair Joe Barbuto.

But the entry two weeks ago of Republican Kate Mead, the governor’s sister-in-law, has complicated Democratic ambitions. A respected community member, the Jackson attorney and rancher has moderate policy positions and past electoral success on her side.

Read more: http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/politics-dems-hope-to-flip-a-seat-as-teton-county/article_d74caecb-7ea6-5be0-bf73-9677a1746b1e.html