Despite an absurdly difficult map, a perfect storm has put the U.S. Senate in play for Democrats. Not only are Democrats set to flip seats in the purple states of Arizona and Nevada; the solidly red states of Tennessee and Texas are also within reach for Team Blue. With a 51-49 Republican majority, every single U.S. Senate race has the potential to drastically alter the political landscape for what we hope to be the final two years of Donald Trump’s presidency. But despite the political headwinds blowing in the Democratic Party’s favor, some U.S. Senate races have flown totally under the radar. One such race is occurring in Wyoming, where Democratic nominee Gary Trauner is challenging incumbent Republican John Barrasso.

Though John Barrasso isn’t a household name, he is a key figure in the Republican Party. As the Republican Policy Committee Chairman, Barrasso is part of the Republican majority leadership, placing him alongside Mitch McConnell in the rooms where decisions are made. Extreme on issues ranging from reproductive freedom to marriage equality to climate change, Barrasso votes with Donald Trump 93.5% of the time. Notably, Barrasso stood against Trump by voting against the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Requirements Act, which provided disaster relief to Puerto Rico and other areas devastated by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria. That’s not exactly the kind of resistance to the Trump administration we should be grateful for. All in all, John Barrasso is a rubber-stamp on the Trump agenda. But Wyoming doesn’t have to maintain that rubber-stamp.

Gary Trauner is challenging John Barrasso because Trauner is sick of seeing Barrasso favor bigotry and big businesses over the people of Wyoming. Trauner is acutely aware that he is the underdog in this race, but is still hopeful that he can become the first Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate in Wyoming come November 6. Trauner has an impressive track record in the state, coming 0.53 points short of unseating the incumbent Republican in the 2006 election for Wyoming’s at-large congressional district. Given that 2018 is set to be a blue wave year potentially greater than that of 2006, it’s entirely possible that Gary Trauner could pull off a massive upset on Election Day.

Gary Trauner joined us on the podcast to discuss healthcare, foreign policy, immigration, and more. Listen on iTunes or in your browser below: