The Wyoming legislature is undergoing a redrawing of legislative districts due to a change in population. One impact will be that sitting Senators Wayne Johnson of Cheyenne and Curt Meier of LaGrange will now be in the same district. Johnson’s term is up next year and Meier would have two years left in his term. However, the legislative committee that is redrawing the districts has decided that the seat should be up for re-election, meaning that Meier’s remaining two years will be voided.
Senator Cale Case who co-chairs the redistricting effort admits that if Johnson wins, it could mean less rural influence in the legislature.
Case: “Obviously Senator Johnson is urban Cheyenne, he has also has always represented a pretty big rural area, all the way to the Nebraska border. Senator Meier has been a champion of rural areas, he’s been from Goshen County for a long time. His strength is probably in the rural areas, but I’m not sure we need to consider things like that actually. I mean, it is what it is.”
Meier has told the committee that he is drafting a proposal that might keep him from facing re-election. Case said that he expects other proposals to change district lines to appear.