CHEYENNE - A whopping 31 Wyoming Republicans want a seat in the U.S. Senate.

That is the number of candidates who applied for the vacant seat of the late U.S. Sen. Craig Thomas by the 5 p.m. Thursday deadline.

Two legislators, a former state House speaker, a former county judge and a former Libertarian who ran for Congress last year were among the final batch of candidates to apply.

?Grassroots democracy is alive and well in Wyoming. We have an engaged citizenry and an eager group of applicants,? State GOP Chairman Fred Parady said in a news release Thursday evening.

Parady said the list includes candidates from 17 of the state's 23 counties, including seven from Natrona County, followed by five from Laramie County. Wyoming's least populated county, Niobrara, also has a candidate in the race.

The roster includes four women and 27 men; nine former legislators; three State Republican Central Committee members; two doctors; nine attorneys; and seven ranchers.

The deadline for applications was 5 p.m. Thursday.

Other candidates on the list released earlier Friday by the state GOP office include state Sen. Cale Case of Lander, Rep. David Edwards of Douglas, former Libertarian U.S. House candidate Thom Rankin of Casper, Laramie attorney John Holtz, rancher Randy Stevenson of Wheatland, Rock Springs attorney Clark Stith, and Paul Kruse of Niobrara County.

Case, a 49-year-old Lander economist and businessman who previously ran for the U.S. House, said he would bring to the job of U.S. senator the qualities that made him an effective legislator.

Case said he is concerned about the direction of the nation.

?I am running because I want to return the country to the basic principles we all value,? he said. ?Many of Washington?s activities have stretched beyond the boundaries of the U.S. Constitution.?

?We cannot increase security by denying the liberties guaranteed by the Constitution. We cannot afford to wage war and expand entitlements,? he added in a release.

Edwards, a 69-year-old retired naval officer, said he lived in Washington, D.C., when he was in the Navy and would like to return.

?I think I can do some good stuff for the state of Wyoming,? Edwards said in an interview Thursday.

During his 33-year naval career, he commanded an air wing and was captain of a ship, ?so I know how to deal with people.?

?I know not just how to order people around but to convince them this would be a good thing to do,? he said.

Edwards also flew 260 missions in Vietnam.

Rankin, a 58-year-old retired teacher and physician's office manager, said he switched back to the Republican Party as a result of a visit with Thomas and his wife, Susan, when they were in Casper for the state GOP convention.

Thomas told him about the issues he was working on, including keeping public lands open to the public and immigration, Rankin said.

?I feel that I had to try to get in there and fill out what he was working on,? Rankin said in an interview Thursday.

Rankin said he ran last year as a Libertarian against Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Barbara Cubin because he knew no one on the Republican side could beat her.

Rankin said he knew he couldn't win but could ?stir up a stink? by asking Cubin questions no one else would.

Holtz, 57, said he would bring a set of ?unique skills? to the U.S. Senate position.

He was elected three times to be Converse County judge and served from 1981 to 1993. He also was an officer in the Air Force, and worked on large government contracts for Hughes Aircraft in Culver City, Calif.

He described himself as a ?consensus builder and a person who can get things done.?

Stith, 46, who ran unsuccessfully for the Legislature twice, said that in his law practice he tries to negotiate solutions to problems. He also deals with environmental and immigration laws, international trade and energy, he said.

?I am in this race because I believe that the Republican principle that the government that governs best governs the least, which we apply to economic issues, should also apply to our social issues," he said.

The Republican Party, he added, needs to be inclusive.

Stith is one of four candidates who also are state central committee members. The others are Joseph Schloss of Teton County, Kruse of Niobrara County and Stevenson of Platte County.

They have all agreed to vote by proxy Tuesday, Parady said.

An attorney, Kruse, 55, served as council to the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics in 1981, and as a legislative assistant to Sen. Malcolm Wallop. He also worked for the U.S. Department of the Interior and as chief counsel for the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other federal agencies including the Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation and the Minerals Management Service.

?As a Wyoming native, I have extensive Washington, D.C., experience, in both the Senate and the Department of the Interior,? Kruse said.

Stevenson of Wheatland is vice president R-CALF USA, which represents thousands of U.S. cattle producers on domestic and international trade and marketing issues. He also serves as an officer for the Organization for Competitive Markets, a national think tank that deals with competition, antitrust and trade.

Stevenson said he is concerned about the direction the nation is taking in the areas of international trade, immigration and antitrust issues.

?I'm concerned about the slow dismantling of our culture and country,? he said.

One of the late filers was former House speaker Doug Chamblerlain of LaGrange, who could not be reached for comment Thursday evening.

Another late filing candidate was Ben H. Collins Jr., a Christian minister who moved to Wyoming from Tennessee in June and has admired the work Thomas did in the Senate. He also views the Senate seat as an opportunity to continue his ministry.

?I think it's a critical time in our state, and we need the kind of leadership that I am capable of providing,? Collins said.

Yet another late filer was Dennis Fox, 51, who's retired from the Air Force and lives at Wolf in Sheridan County. Fox says his desire to serve ?comes from 20 years of service to my country, and I saw that maybe people needed some help.?

Nora Lewis, 73, of Basin ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in 1988 against Malcolm Wallop and in 1990 against Alan Simpson. She noted none of the other candidates have run for the Senate before.

?I am trying to restore some integrity into this Congress,? which she said has dismally low approval ratings.

Others candidates who filed Thursday and could not be reached were Charles C. Young of Rawlins, Jack Sapp of Cheyenne, Brian Gamroth of Casper, Jeanna Wright of Sheridan, Jan Gray of Casper, Nate Stratton of Casper, and Clif McCrady of Casper.

Former House Speaker Eli Bebout of Riverton, now a state senator, said Thursday he decided not to run because of his commitment to Fremont County to fill out the late Sen. Bob Peck's term representing Senate District 26.

State Treasurer Joe Meyer also said Thursday he decided against applying for the U.S. Senate seat.

Capital bureau reporter Joan Barron can be reached at (307) 632-1244 or at joan.barron@casperstartribune.net.

* Last we knew: Thirteen people had announced they wanted to replace the late Craig Thomas in the U.S. Senate.

* The latest: The field of candidates swelled to 31 before the application deadline Thursday evening.

* What's next: A candidate forum is scheduled 1 p.m. Sunday at Casper College's Gertrude Krampert Theater; it will air live on Wyoming Public TV.]]>

* Candidate bios - A5

* Analysis of the field - A5

* Who's on the central committee - A5]]>