Barbara Cubin (born November 30, 1946) is an American politician. She has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 1994, the sole member of that body from Wyoming. Cubin was born in Salinas, California. She was educated at Creighton University, and began her political career in 1986, when she was elected to the Wyoming House of Representatives (1986-1992). She spent two years (1992-1994) in the Wyoming Senate before running for Congress to succeed Craig Thomas, who made a successful run for the United States Senate. Cubin's first race was very close by Wyoming standards (Wyoming is one of the most Republican states in the nation), with Cubin only winning by seven points. Since then, she has won by wider margins.
In her initial campaign for Congress in 1994, Cubin pledged that she would not serve more than six terms. However, she is running for re-election in 2006, for a seventh term to begin in January 2007. On May 8, 2006, the Rasmussen Reports polling firm reported that Cubin was ahead of Democratic candidate Gary Trauner by four percentage points, 47
o 43ŕ
Cubin's voting record is strongly conservative. A staunch opponent of abortion in any form, Cubin has consistently voted for restrictions on abortion and against funding of family planning groups that provide abortion services, counseling or advocacy. Her strong pro-life record may hurt her her reelection chances, however. Despite being a Republican stronghold, a clear majority of Wyoming supports some form of abortion rights, as much so as a blue state like Wisconsin. According to the Center for Public Integrity, Cubin's largest campaign contributors include the tobacco industry, livestock companies, and extractive industries (including oil, gas, and mining companies).
