RIP Craig Thomas

Sen. Craig Thomas (R-WY) has died. He was 74.

Maybe it just seems like a lot of politicos are dying unexpectedly. Sad news.

Sounds like Wyoming does this the right way. In the event of an unexpected open Senate seat, the Governor appoints a replacement based on a list submitted by the state party to which the predecessor belonged. I always considered it nonsense that a Governor could admnister a pickup in the Congress. In this case, Wyoming's Governor is in fact a Democrat (Dave Freudenthal), but he is obligated to pick a Republican for the seat. We will likely get a more moderate Senator in there. I believe Thomas just won re-election, so this replacement will serve for five and a half years.

None of this matters at the moment, of course. Best to Sen. Thomas' family.

UPDATE: Apparently, I was wrong. The replacement will be up for re-election in 2008. Which means that both of Wyoming's Senate seats will be up for grabs next year. That's potentially significant, but nothing I want to think about right now.