CHEYENNE, Wyoming (Reuters) - With a long history of firsts in women's rights, Wyoming would seem to be a state primed to put its stamp on the presidential aims of Sen. Hillary Clinton, but experts say that doesn't seem likely.
By Ellen Wulfhorst
CHEYENNE, Wyoming (Reuters) - With a long history of firsts in women's rights, Wyoming would seem to be a state primed to put its stamp on the presidential aims of Sen. Hillary Clinton, but experts say that doesn't seem likely.
They are predicting the western state of just 59,000 registered Democrats will back Clinton's rival, Sen. Barack Obama, in Saturday's presidential nominating caucuses. It has backed Republicans in the past 10 presidential elections.
"While Wyoming has had some remarkable 'firsts' including the right to vote for women and some of the first elected female officials in the nation, our status these days isn't so great," said Catherine Connolly, professor of sociology and women's studies at the University of Wyoming.
!ADVERTISEMENT!The state holds bragging rights for granting women the vote earlier than anywhere else in the United States -- in 1869 when it was a territory. In 1925, it became the first state to elect a female governor.
But it does not look like Wyoming will be at the forefront in backing Clinton, who would be the first female U.S. president if elected in November's presidential vote.
"It really isn't playing out as a feminist issue," said Susan Cannon, 55, of Big Horn, who supports Obama. "I think how much I would love to see a female president in my lifetime, but I can't let that ... trump the other concerns that I have."
Analysts said Obama had advantages because the meeting-like caucus format so far has favored him and is likely dominated by liberal Democrats who lean toward the Illinois senator.
Just 12 delegates are up for grabs in sparsely populated Wyoming, which holds the first nominating contest since Clinton won three state primaries on Tuesday.
She trails Obama in collecting delegates to become the Democratic nominee to face presumptive Republican nominee John McCain.
No statewide independent polling is available, but one local newspaper survey showed voters neutral toward Obama and highly negative on Clinton, said Jim King, professor of political science at the University of Wyoming in Laramie. Both headed to the state to campaign on Friday.
"Wyomingites are more open generally to women participation in the political arena, but I don't know that that gives her an advantage," King said.
'WAY, WAY AHEAD'
Clinton acknowledged the state's history of women's rights at a rally in Cheyenne on Friday.
Wyoming was "way, way ahead of the rest of the United States of America in deciding back in 1869 that women ought to have political rights," Clinton told supporters. "Once again, it was Wyoming who elected Nellie Ross the first woman governor in the history of America."
Kathleen Dolan, an expert in women and politics at the University of Wisconsin, said maybe some of those Wyoming 'firsts' were not all they were cracked up to be.
With a largely male population, Wyoming granted suffrage to attract women to move there and start families, she said.
"It wasn't motivated by a strong sense of egalitarianism. It was a marketing ploy as much as anything else," she said.
These days, working against Clinton are Wyoming Democrats who feel neglected by the national party, a complaint that extends back to the administration of her husband, former President Bill Clinton. He was no favorite of ranchers, in particular, thanks to issues such as land use and the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone National Park.
"Obama's message resonates better. He seems to be a fresh new face moving forward," said Phil Roberts, a University of Wyoming history professor. "Unfortunately Clinton has an awful lot of baggage in Wyoming. Whether she can free herself from that legacy could be pretty tough."
