Ray Hunkins
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| Raymond Breedlove "Ray" Hunkins | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1939 |
| Residence | Whetland, Platte County, Wyoming |
| Occupation | Attorney; Rancher |
| Political party | Republican gubernatorial nominee in 2006 |
Raymond Breedlove "Ray" Hunkins (born c. 1939) is an attorney, rancher, former law enforcement officer, United States Marine Corps veteran, and the Republican nominee for governor of Wyoming in the general election held on November 7, 2006. Hunkins resides in Wheatland, a small town in Platte County north of Cheyenne.[1]
Hunkins first sought the Republican nomination for governor in 2002 but was defeated by Eli Bebout of Riverton, the seat of Fremont County in central Wyoming. Bebout secured the backing of former U.S. Senator Alan Kooi Simpson of Cody, who issued strong attacks on Hunkins during the primary 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 former United States Attorney David Duane "Dave" Freudenthal.
[edit] 2006 election
Hunkins won a noneventful gubernatorial primary. In the general election, he was defeated by the incumbent Freudenthal, who received nearly 70 percent of the ballots cast.
On June 14, 2007, Hunkins was among thirty-one Wyoming Republicans who filed 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 as Thomas' successor.
