CHEYENNE - Neither political party predicts a change this fall in the balance of power in the Wyoming Legislature, long a bastion of Republican dominance. But leaders on both sides say they expect Democrats may gain a few seats as a result of their increasing ability to field candidates.

Republicans currently outnumber Democrats nearly three-to-one in the Legislature with a 43-17 advantage in the House and 23-7 advantage in the Senate.

Democrats say they're pushing to pick up at least four seats in the House this fall. Doing so would give the party 21 votes - enough that they could deny Republicans the two-thirds majority necessary to override a veto from Gov. Dave Freudenthal, himself a Democrat.

That would be a helpful bargaining tool for House Democrats, even though Freudenthal has rarely used his veto pen in recent years, lawmakers said.

"The truth is that the majority party works so closely with the governor, that so often in these last few sessions it hasn't been Republican versus Democrat; it's been House versus Senate," said Rep. Debbie Hammons, D-Worland, the outgoing House Minority Whip.

"I predict that we will have more Democrats in total. We would really like to be veto-proof," said Hammons, who is running for re-election without opposition from either party.

Republican Sen. Tony Ross of Cheyenne said he expects the GOP to maintain its dominance in both legislative bodies.

"Just looking at the races that are out there, I think the Democrats could pick up a couple of seats, but I don't really see a huge change," said Ross, who is also running unopposed.

Democratic candidates are competing in 36 of the House races in the August primary, up from 27 races two years ago.

Bill Luckett, executive director of the Wyoming Democratic Party, noted that Democrats conceded a Republican majority in the House two years ago by running in fewer than half of the total 60 races. He said the party is pleased that's changing.

"People understand that those who do get elected, the Democrats they do elect, do a good job for them," Luckett said. "That encourages other Democrats, that they can run, they can win and they can do a good job as well."

Ten of the 16 Senate races this year drew only a single candidate from either party, meaning those candidates stand to be elected without facing opposition in either the primary or general election unless they face a write-in candidate. Of those unopposed Senate candidates, eight are Republican and two are Democrats.

In the House, 29 out of 60 races have drawn only a single candidate, also giving those candidates a free pass to office, aside from the possibility of write-in candidates. Of those unopposed candidates, 20 are Republicans and nine are Democrats.

Outgoing House Speaker Roy Cohee, R-Casper, is bucking tradition by seeking re-election to the House after serving as speaker. Usually, House speakers will not seek another term after their two-year tenure as speaker is done.

Cohee, who faces Republican challenger Beth Nachbar of Evansville in the primary, said he decided to run again because he's been encouraging House members of both parties to serve for several terms to make sure the House retains its institutional knowledge.

"I really believe that you don't become proficient in that craft until about the middle of your second or third term," Cohee said. He said that people commonly leave, "about the time they're getting pretty good at it."

There are two contested Senate races in the primary in which voters will have to choose between two candidates of the same party.

Outgoing Senate President John Schiffer, R-Kaycee, faces a challenge from Republican Al Snell of Buffalo. Schiffer said he and Snell are campaigning hard. He said the race has focused on property taxes.

"We're both campaigning," Schiffer said. "I know Al is campaigning - walking door to door, the same thing I'm doing. We don't normally start this early, but he wanted an early start."

Republican Sen. Charles Scott of Casper also faces an internal party challenge from Tom Walters, also of Casper.