CHEYENNE -- In kicking off his campaign for re-election here Wednesday evening, Secretary of State Max Maxfield said he intends to travel the state and run his campaign as if he had primary and general election opposition.

So far no potential candidate from either the Republican or Democratic parties has signaled an intention to run for the No. 2 state office.

Maxfield, a 65 year-old Republican, said his longtime goal was to be secretary of state.

He noted this will be his fifth campaign. He was elected to two terms as auditor before becoming secretary of state. Before that he ran unsuccessfully for secretary of state.

On Wednesday morning Maxfield announced in Lovell as he had in his previous campaigns.

The tradition is to show that "we're here to serve the entire state, not just Cheyenne or Casper," Maxfield said.

Before a standing-only crowd of supporters at the Holiday Inn, he cited his accomplishments during his first term as secretary of state.

A major one was getting a new law to require corporations that are registered in the state to have a contact, a presence, in the state.

Early on in his term he learned Wyoming was one of three states labeled "fraud friendly." The other two were Delaware and Nevada.

Since then more than 4,000 corporations were driven out of Wyoming by the new law, he said.

The office also came into compliance with federal voting guidelines, won an award for its Web site and set up an online campaign reporting system, he said.

"In the last four years we laid the groundwork for what we want to do in the next four years," Maxfield said.

Maxfield's announcement leaves only one of the five elected state officials undeclared. State Treasurer Joe Meyer, who in November underwent lung cancer surgery, indicated he will make an announcement in a couple of weeks.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jim McBride, a Republican, has announced his campaign for a second term.

State Auditor Rita Meyer is running for the Republican nomination for governor.

Democratic Gov. David Freudenthal recently announced he is not seeking a third term.

Contact capital bureau reporter Joan Barron at 307-632-1244 or joan.barron@trib.com