Democrats pick their fighter for uphill bid to flip deep-red Senate seat

Former state representative James Byrd advanced Tuesday against former golf club greenskeeper Billy Benavidez in Wyoming’s Democratic primary race for the newly opened Senate seat.

Incumbent Republican Sen. Cynthia Lummis announced in December that she would not seek re-election, saying she did not have the energy for another six-year term and creating an open Senate seat in deep-red Wyoming.

Byrd was an exploration geophysicist in the energy industry then later became an IT project manager and software consultant.