Rep. Barbara Cubin (R-At Large) Elected 1994, 6th term
Born:	Nov. 30, 1946, Salinas, CA
Home:	Casper
Education:	Creighton U., B.S. 1969
Religion:	Episcopalian
Marital Status:	married (Frederick)
Elected  Office:	WY House of Reps., 1986-92; WY Senate, 1992-94.
Professional Career:	Office Mgr., Dr. Frederick Cubin, 1975-94.
DC Office	1114 LHOB20515, 202-225-2311; Fax: 202-225-3057; Web site: www.house.gov/cubin
State Offices	Casper, 307-261-6595; Cheyenne, 307-772-2595; Rock Springs, 307-362-4095.
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Wyoming, the nation's least populous state, has elected one congressman-at-large since it was admitted to the Union in 1890. The current incumbent is Barbara Cubin, a Republican first elected in 1994. The great-great-granddaughter of one of Wyoming's original homesteaders, she grew up in Casper, where she worked as a teacher, social worker, chemist and realtor; for 19 years she managed her husband's medical practice. She was divorced after an early first marriage, worked as a single mother, was subjected to sexual harassment, but insists: "I am not a feminist. I am not gender sensitive." She notes that Susan B. Anthony and all the early advocates of women's rights were opposed to abortion. In 1986 she was elected to the state House and in 1992 to the state Senate.

In 1994, when Congressman Craig Thomas ran for the Senate, Cubin was one of five Republicans and two Democrats to run for the House. She sharply attacked "the Clinton-Babbitt war on the West." In the Republican primary, she won with 39%. The Democratic nominee was Bob Schuster, a law partner of high-profile Wyoming trial lawyer Gerry Spence. He spent $2.4 million, most of it his own money, on what was the third highest spending campaign in the country. Schuster's big issue was abortion; she called him a "a slick trial lawyer Clinton Democrat." Cubin won 53%-41%.

In the House Cubin has a solidly conservative voting record and became chairman of the Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee. She sponsored the successful bill to allow coal companies larger leases of federal lands. She decried the October 2000 decision to ban snowmobiling in national parks. In November 2000 she was elected Republican Conference Secretary, the number six position in the House leadership.

In April 2002 Cubin expressed interest in succeeding the retiring James Hansen as chairman of the Resources Committee. She was only the 12th Republican on the committee in seniority, but the most senior was James Saxton of New Jersey, who had voted against conservatives on many committee issues. She suggested reviving the old Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee, abolished by Republicans in 1995, and making Saxton its chairman. She may have damaged her case in September 2002, when she sponsored a bill for $6 billion in drought relief; this was the position taken by Senate Democrats and opposed by the Bush administration and the House Republican leadership. The Republican Steering Committee interviewed Cubin and other candidates for the chairmanship in January 2003, and awarded it to Richard Pombo of California, who had been 11th in seniority.

Cubin endured personal difficulties in 2001 and 2002. Her husband had multiple surgeries for nonmalignant tumors and autoimmune disease; he and their two sons rallied to appear with her when she announced for reelection in April 2002. She considered not running again, but her husband persuaded her to run. Her Democratic opponent in 2002 criticized her for missing votes; she had missed the vote on Resources Chairman James Hansen's proposal to allow the Mormon Church to buy Martin's Cove in Wyoming, the site of the death of Mormon pioneers in a blizzard in 1856, a proposal opposed by the Wyoming delegation, because she had been caught in traffic returning from a doctor's appointment. She was reelected 61%-36% and said afterwards, "It's actually the first time I've felt pleasure in defeating someone. My husband's very life was hanging in the balance, and they tried to capitalize on that. It was pretty low." She did not seek reelection to the Conference Secretary position.

In 2003 Cubin got a waiver to serve one more term as chairman of the Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee; she did not get another in 2005, and questioned Pombo's realignment of subcommittee jurisdictions. She has worked on some issues that have turned out to be more controversial than might have been expected. With Senator Craig Thomas she supported in 2001 the trading of state lands in Grand Teton National Park with federal lands in other parts of the state that could generate revenue for schools; but in 2002 the bill was encumbered with outgoing Resources Chairman James Hansen's amendments, and did not pass until June 2003, after he retired. In 2004 Cubin joined with committee ranking Democrat Nick Joe Rahall on a bill to reauthorize the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund and continue payments to Wyoming and Rahall's West Virginia even though mine cleanups in Wyoming were complete. Cubin argued that the fund owed Wyoming $400 million in back payments and the bill removed the $70 million yearly cap on transfer of payments to retirees' health funds. "Many Western coal producers are frustrated that the interest on their [abandoned mine fund] fees is going to support retired miners they never employed in the first place, rather than moving dirt on actual reclamation projects. But unfortunately the health care and reclamation issues had a bit of a shotgun wedding in the early 1990s, and you can't just divorce the two and still get a bill with a broad bipartisan support."

Cubin's missed votes and her controversial stands on some issues have resulted in some difficulty at the polls. In 2002 she was reelected 61%-36%, but carried Natrona County, her home base, by exactly 1 vote. In 2004 she had two serious opponents in the primary, which she won with just 55% of the vote--less than an incumbent usually gets. In the general election she improved her showing in Natrona County but won statewide by just 55%-42%, running 14% behind George W. Bush.

Committees

• Energy & Commerce (10th of 31 R): Commerce, Trade & Consumer Protection; Health; Telecommunications & the Internet.
• Resources (8th of 27 R): Energy & Mineral Resources; Water & Power.

Group Ratings (More Info)
	ADA	ACLU	AFS	LCV	ITIC	NTU	COC	ACU	NTLC	CHC
2004	0	0	0	0	100	77	100	100	100	100	--
2003	5	--	0	5	--	67	96	91	--	--	--

National Journal Ratings (More Info)
	2003 LIB	--	2003 CONS		2004 LIB	--	2004 CONS
Economic	0%	--	91%		5%	--	93%
Social	16%	--	83%		15%	--	84%
Foreign	20%	--	80%		41%	--	58%
For National Journal's complete 2004 Vote Ratings, as well as previous ratings dating back to 1995, please click here.

Key Votes Of The 108th Congress (More Info)
1. Drilling in ANWR Y 2. Approve Bush Tax Cuts Y 3. Medicare/Rx Bill Y 4. Bar Overtime Pay Regs. N 5. DC School Vouchers Y 6. Ban Human Cloning Y		7. Restrict Gun Liability Y  8. Ban Partial-Birth Abortion Y  9. Ban Same-Sex Marriage Y 10. Fund Iraq War Y 11. Bar Cuba Embargo Funds N 12. Intelligence Reorg. Y

Election Results (More Info)
	Candidate	Total Votes	Percent	Expenditures
2004 general	Barbara Cubin (R)	132,107	55%	$944,908
	Ted Ladd (D)	99,989	42%	$373,436
	Other	6,938	3%
2004 primary	Barbara Cubin (R)	45,433	55%
	Bruce Asay (R)	20,332	25%
	Cale Case (R)	13,104	16%
	Other	3,726	5%
2002 general	Barbara Cubin (R)	110,229	61%	$635,271
	Ron Akin (D)	65,961	36%	$19,154
	Other	5,962	3%
Prior winning percentages: 2000 (67%); 1998 (58%); 1996 (55%); 1994 (53%)

2004 Presidential Vote Bush (R) 167,629 (69%) Kerry (D) 70,776 (29%)

2000 Presidential Vote Bush (R) 147,947 (69%) Gore (D) 60,481 (28%)

For 1992 and 1996 presidential results in the At-Large District, please see the Almanac 2000 online. Please note that these older returns reflect district lines as they existed prior to 2002 redistricting.

• Cook Partisan Voting Index: R +19
• District Size: 97,814 square miles
• Population in 2000: 493,782; 65.2% urban; 34.8% rural
• Median Household Income: $37,892; 11.4% are below the poverty line
• Occupation: 27.5% blue collar; 54.2% white collar; 18.2% gray collar; 15.8% military veterans
• Race/Ethnic Origin: 88.9% White, 0.7% Black, 0.5% Asian, 2.1% Amer. Indian, 0.1% Hawaiian, 1.2% Two+ races, 0.1% Other, 6.4% Hispanic origin
• Ancestry: 18.4% German, 11.3% English, 9.4% Irish
• Click here for statewide demographic data.