Gary S. Trauner (born December 15, 1958) is an American businessman and politician from

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

. He was nominated by the Democratic Party in the state's

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

elections in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

and

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, as well as in its 2018 U.S. Senate election. He previously chaired the

Teton County School District Number 1 Teton County School District No. 1 is a public school district based in Jackson, Wyoming, United States. Geography Teton County School District No. 1 serves all of Teton County (in previous eras, this excluded the Yellowstone National Park por ...

Board of Trustees A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

(2006–2008).

Background

Trauner was born and raised in

Scarsdale, New York Scarsdale is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Westchester County, New York, United States. The Town of Scarsdale is coterminous municipality, coextensive with the Village of Scarsdale, but the community has opted to operate ...

and was raised in a

Reform Jewish Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its ethical aspects to its ceremonial ones, and belief in a continuous rev ...

family. He received a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

from

Colgate University Colgate University is a Private university, private college in Hamilton, New York, United States. The Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college was founded in 1819 as the Baptist Education Society of the State of New York ...

Hamilton, New York Hamilton is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Madison County, New York, Madison County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 6,379 at the 2020 census. The town is named after American Founding Father ...

, and an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

from the

Stern School of Business The Leonard N. Stern School of Business (also NYU Stern, Stern School of Business, or simply Stern) is the business schools, business school of New York University, a private university, private research university based in New York City. Founded ...

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He first visited Wyoming when he was 13 and permanently moved to the state in 1990. He co-founded and served as Chief Financial Officer of OneWest.net, a regional internet service provider, and later served as the Chief Operating Officer for St. John’s Medical Center in

Jackson Jackson may refer to: Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson South, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson oil field in Durham, ...

and as Executive Director of

Jackson Hole Jackson Hole (originally called Jackson's Hole by mountain men) is a valley between the Gros Ventre Range, Gros Ventre and Teton Range, Teton mountain ranges in the U.S. state of Wyoming, near the border with Idaho, in Teton County, Wyoming, T ...

Lacrosse. He previously served as Vice President of the Teton Trust money management company and founded a dog food company. His dog food company, Mulligan Stew Pet Food, received an honorable mention from

Fortune Small Business ''Fortune Small Business'' (''FSB'') was an American magazine published 10 times per year from 1991 to 2009. It was a joint venture by The Fortune Group at Time Inc. and the American Express American Express Company or Amex is an American b ...

's business plan competition in 2007. Trauner lives in

Wilson, Wyoming Wilson is a census-designated place (CDP) in Teton County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 1,567 at the 2020 census, up from 1,482 in 2010. It is part of the Jackson, WY– ID Micropolitan Statistical Area. Wilson was pioneere ...

with his wife Terry, who is Catholic. He is the father of two sons.

Politics

Teton County politics

Trauner served on the

Board of Trustees from 2002 to 2006, eventually rising to Chair of the Board. Trauner was credited with replacing the district's unpopular Superintendent with Pam Shea under whose leadership saw student test scores rise and teacher salaries go up. Trauner was the Chair of the Aspens Pines Water and Sewer District and his term ended in November 2018. In 2017, Aspens Pines Water and Sewer District won the Gold Award from the 18th Annual Great American Water Taste Test for best-tasting water in the nation. In 2013, Trauner received the Silver Award for Best Politician That Does Not Hold an Office in Planet Jackson Hole Newspaper's annual awards as voted by the local community. Additionally, Trauner also serves as Chair of the Charture Institute, a Jackson-based conservation

think-tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...

founded in 2002. He is the former Vice Chair of the Teton County Pathways Task Force, a nine-member citizen advisory committee appointed by the Town and County, and is a member of the Jackson Hole Land Trust.

House elections

Trauner ran as the Democratic nominee in the 2006 United States House of Representatives election in Wyoming, and raised nearly as much money in the first quarter of 2006 as the incumbent Representative

Barbara Cubin Barbara Lynn Cubin (née Turner; born November 30, 1946) is an American politician who was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, Wyoming's sole member of that body. She was the first woman elected to Congress from Wy ...

. In the second quarter he raised more money than Cubin and had more cash on hand at the time. By May 2006, a poll had put Trauner within the margin of error. In mid-August, ''

Congressional Quarterly ''Congressional Quarterly'', or ''CQ'', is an American publication that is part of the privately owned publishing company CQ Roll Call, which covers the United States Congress. ''CQ'' was formerly acquired by the U.K.-based Economist Group and ...

'' changed their rating of this race from "Republican Favored" to the more competitive "Leans Republican". Trauner narrowly lost 47.8% to Barbara Cubin's 48.3%. Trauner ran for the seat again during the 2008 United States House of Representatives election in Wyoming and was endorsed by Wyoming Governor

Dave Freudenthal David Duane Freudenthal (born October 12, 1950) is an American attorney, economist, and politician who served as the 31st governor of Wyoming from 2003 to 2011. Freudenthal previously was the United States Attorney for the District of Wyoming ...

. He lost in 2008 with 43% of the vote to

Cynthia Lummis Cynthia Marie Lummis Wiederspahn ( ; born September 10, 1954) is an American attorney and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from Wyoming since 2021. A member of t ...

' 53%.

2018 U.S. Senate election

Trauner won the Democratic primary unopposed to run against incumbent United States Senator

John Barrasso John Anthony Barrasso III ( ; born July 21, 1952) is an American physician and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Wyoming, a seat he has held since 2007. A mem ...

in the 2018 election. His goals included "getting big money out of politics," and had pledged not to accept corporate campaign funding from any

political action committee In the United States, a political action committee (PAC) is a tax-exempt 527 organization that pools campaign contributions from members and donates those funds to campaigns for or against candidates, ballot initiatives, or legislation. The l ...

. For this reason he was endorsed by

End Citizens United End Citizens United (ECU) is a political action committee in the United States. The organization works to reverse the U.S. Supreme Court's 2010 decision in ''Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission'', which deregulated limits on independen ...

. He also criticized Senator Barrasso for his vote to repeal the

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act A patient is any recipient of health care services that are performed by healthcare professionals. The patient is most often ill or injured and in need of treatment by a physician, nurse, optometrist, dentist, veterinarian, or other health ...

to "take health care away from 20 million people." He considers "opportunity and inequality" to be the biggest issues facing the nation, and has advocated for the diversification of Wyoming's economy. In the November election, he lost in a landslide of approximately 37%.

References

External links

Gary Trauner for Senate
official campaign website *
Financial information (U.S. House in 2006, 2008)
at the

Federal Election Commission The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent agency of the United States government that enforces U.S. campaign finance laws and oversees U.S. federal elections. Created in 1974 through amendments to the Federal Election Campaign ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Trauner, Gary 1958 births American businesspeople Colgate University alumni Jewish American people in Wyoming politics Living people Politicians from Scarsdale, New York Businesspeople from Scarsdale, New York Scarsdale High School alumni School board members in Wyoming New York University Stern School of Business alumni Wyoming Democrats People from Wilson, Wyoming Candidates in the 2018 United States Senate elections 21st-century American Jews