Raymond Breedlove "Ray" Hunkins (born ca. 1939) is an attorney

Lawyer

A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

, rancher, former law enforcement officer, United States Marine Corps

United States Marine Corps

The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...

 veteran

Veteran

A veteran is a person who has had long service or experience in a particular occupation or field; " A veteran of ..."...

, and the Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 nominee for Governor of Wyoming in the general election

General election

In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...

 held on November 7, 2006. Hunkins resides in Wheatland

Wheatland, Wyoming

Wheatland is a town in and the county seat of Platte County in southeastern Wyoming, United States. The population was 3,548 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Wheatland is located at ....

, a small town in Platte County north of Cheyenne

Cheyenne, Wyoming

Cheyenne is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming and the county seat of Laramie County. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne, Wyoming, Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Laramie County. The population is 59,466 at the 2010 census. Cheyenne is the...

.http://www.wyomingnews.com/articles/2007/06/15/local_news_updates/18local_06-15-07.txt

Hunkins first sought the Republican nomination for governor in 2002 but was defeated by Eli Bebout

Eli Bebout

Eli Daniel Bebout is a veteran Wyoming politician and a member of the Wyoming State Senate. He represents District 26 from Riverton, the seat of Fremont County in the central portion of his state. A Republican, Bebout is a former member of the Wyoming House of Representatives, Speaker of the...

 of Riverton

Riverton, Wyoming

Riverton is a city in Fremont County, Wyoming, United States. It is both the largest city in the county and the largest within the historical boundaries of the Wind River Indian Reservation. The city's population was 9,310 at the 2000 census...

, the seat of Fremont County in central Wyoming. Bebout secured the backing of former U.S. Senator Alan Kooi Simpson

Alan K. Simpson

Alan Kooi Simpson is an American politician who served from 1979 to 1997 as a United States Senator from Wyoming as a member of the Republican Party. His father, Milward L. Simpson, was also a member of the U.S...

 of Cody

Cody, Wyoming

Cody is a city in Park County, Wyoming, United States. It is named after William Frederick Cody, primarily known as Buffalo Bill, from William Cody's part in the creation of the original town. The population was 9,520 at the 2010 census...

, who issued strong attacks on Hunkins during the primary

Primary election

A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....

 campaign. Bebout defeated the more conservative Hunkins, 44,417 (49 percent) to 25,363 (28 percent). Two other candidates split the remaining 23 percent of the ballots. Bebout was then narrowly defeated in the general election by the Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 former United States Attorney

United States Attorney

United States Attorneys represent the United States federal government in United States district court and United States court of appeals. There are 93 U.S. Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands...

 David Duane "Dave" Freudenthal

Dave Freudenthal

David Duane "Dave" Freudenthal , is an American politician who served as the 31st Governor of Wyoming. A Democrat, he was reelected to his second term on November 7, 2006, and announced on March 4, 2010, that he would not attempt to seek a third term as Governor.-Education and early...

.

2006 election

Hunkins won a noneventual 2006 gubernatorial primary. In the general election, he was defeated by the incumbent

Incumbent

The incumbent, in politics, is the existing holder of a political office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent. For example, in the 2004 United States presidential election, George W...

 Freudenthal, who received nearly 70 percent of the ballots cast.

On June 14, 2007, Hunkins was among 31 Wyoming Republicans who filed his name with the Republican State Central Committee for consideration as the successor to U.S. Senator Craig L. Thomas, who died earlier in the month. Hunkins was not among the three nominees tapped by the committee. Freudenthal, under Wyoming law, selected state Senator John A. Barrasso, MD, of Casper

Casper, Wyoming

Casper is the county seat of Natrona County, Wyoming, United States.. Casper is the second-largest city in Wyoming , according to the 2010 census, with a population of 55,316...

as Thomas' successor.