Now there are three.

In five days, Democratic Gov. Dave Freudenthal will select Wyoming's next U.S. Senator from among the former chief of staff of the late Sen. Craig Thomas, a prominent physician and state senator, and a former legislator and state Treasurer.

"The three names I will put forward in a letter to Gov. Freudenthal tomorrow morning are Tom Sansonetti, John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis," Wyoming GOP Chairman Fred Parady said at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at the end of the party's day-long special meeting in Casper.

The party's 71-member central committee chose those three, in that order, after more than nine hours of administrative procedure, speeches, voting, question-and-answer sessions, and more voting to narrow a field of 28 candidates.

The first vote narrowed the field to 10 candidates: Sansonetti, Barrasso, Ron Micheli of Fort Bridger, Lummis, Frank Moore of Douglas, Matt Mead of Cheyenne, Randall Luthi of Freedom, Colin Simpson of Cody, Paul Kruse of Cheyenne, and Bruce Asay of Cheyenne.

The second vote cut the field to five: Sansonetti, Barrasso, Micheli, Lummis and Mead after Mead defeated Luthi in a runoff.

Freudenthal now has to choose among the three who along with Parady said they share the same values, core beliefs, work ethic and enthusiasm.

Eight days ago, Parady announced the process to replace Thomas, who died June 4 at 74 from complications from leukemia.

By the 5 p.m. Thursday deadline, 31 Republicans filed applications.

The candidates drove hundreds of miles across the state to meet with the 71 committee members: three from each of the state's 23 counties, plus the national committeeman and national committeewoman.

By the time Parady gaveled the special meeting to order at 8 a.m. Tuesday, three had withdrawn their names from consideration. Five did not attend the meeting. Former gubernatorial candidate and attorney Ray Hunkins of Wheatland did not attend because he was in a trial in Gillette, but his wife, Debby, played an audio tape during the two-minute introductory speeches.

The entire event unfolded in the shadow of Thomas' death.

His widow, Susan, shared her hopes about the future with the committee members and candidates.

"In this room, you are making a part of Wyoming history," she said.

The Thomases were in the same position 18 years ago when President George H.W. Bush tapped former U.S. Rep. Dick Cheney to head the Department of Defense and Craig Thomas won a special election to replace Cheney, she said.

She recounted his values, love of the state, and confidence in Wyoming's people.

"Craig said, 'We only work in Washington; we live in Wyoming,'" she said.

The candidates often cited Craig Thomas' values during their speeches and pledged to continue his legacy.

Because of the common conservatism of the candidates, the committee members had to consider other matters as well.

Cat Urbigkit of Sublette County said before the final vote that the committee would select three good candidates and it wouldn't matter who the governor selected.

Urbigkit was looking at how the candidates would exercise responsibility and how they would be responsive to the state's citizens.

"I'm looking for who's going to be the better statesman," she said.

Tammy Johnson of Albany County was looking at how the candidates dealt with the questions, she said. "I'm looking for straight answers."

Johnson also wanted to see how the candidates fared after the grueling Tuesday, the previous week of campaigning and talking with committee members, she said.

How they handled themselves would be a good indicator of how they would function in the Senate, she said.

Despite the intensity of the process, coupled with the grief of Thomas' death, Johnson admired how it turned out, she said. "It was everything I thought it would be and more. It takes a lot of courage for them (the candidates) to do that."

But the final three will not lobby the governor as they did the central committee members, Sansonetti said.

"It's the governor's choice," Sansonetti said at a press conference after the meeting adjourned.

"I expect the governor to ask me how I would perform," he said.

While they share the same core values, Lummis said no one understands health care as much as Barrasso, no one has the federal experience like Sansonetti, and she has extensive experience as a legislator and treasurer.

Lummis acknowledged she and Freudenthal did not get along well during his first term, but she believes he will be fair in his choice.

The central committee's meeting also may have paved the way for at least one of the congressional races next year.

"This process was a very good vetting of the deep talent that this party has," Sansonetti said.

Whoever is appointed should be given the opportunity to prove his or her ability to assimilate into the U.S. Senate culture and deal with people and issues, he said.

If so, Sansonetti said the new senator should be able to proceed to the general election.

"There's no reason to have a huge divisive primary in 2008 when you've also got Sen. (Mike) Enzi on ballot, you have a congressional race on the ballot," he said. "There's enough going on for poor Fred Parady here, I don't think he needs another six-person primary."

Reach Tom Morton at (307) 266-0592, or at Tom.Morton@casperstartribune.net.