Wyoming senator dies after bout with cancer

WASHINGTON — Wyoming Sen. Craig Thomas, a three-term conservative Republican who stayed clear of the Washington limelight and political catfights, died Monday. He was 74.

The senator's family issued a statement saying he died Monday evening at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. He had been receiving chemotherapy for acute myeloid leukemia.

Just before the 2006 election, Sen. Thomas was hospitalized with pneumonia and had to cancel his last campaign stops. He nonetheless won with 70 percent of the vote, monitoring the election from his hospital bed.

Two days after the election, Sen. Thomas announced that he had just been diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia.

Gov. Dave Freudenthal, a Democrat, will appoint a successor from one of three finalists chosen by the state GOP.

"Wyoming had no greater advocate, taxpayers had no greater watchdog and rural America had no greater defender than Craig Thomas," Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said Monday night. "The Senate is a lesser place without Craig here, but the state of Wyoming and our nation are much better places because he was here."

Sen. Thomas was a low-key lawmaker who reliably represented the interests of his conservative state, often becoming involved in public-lands issues. He worked in behind-the-scenes posts to oversee national parks, including Yellowstone in Wyoming.

He also was an advocate for domestic energy and minerals production. He worked to protect Wyoming's mining industry from foreign competition and backed efforts to get a federally funded coal-gasification plant built in the state.

After his first round of chemotherapy, Sen. Thomas returned to the Senate in December, a month earlier than expected. A few months later, he said he felt better than he had in a long time. He returned to the hospital for a second round of chemo in May.

Sen. Thomas was first elected to the House in a special election in 1989 to replace Dick Cheney. when the future vice president was named defense secretary by the first President Bush. Sen. Thomas was first elected to the Senate in 1994.

He had served five years in the Wyoming Legislature.

He was born in Cody, Wyo., and was raised on a ranch. He graduated from the University of Wyoming with a degree in agriculture, then served four years in the U.S. Marines.

He is survived by his wife, Susan, and four children.

Information in this article, originally published June 5, was corrected June 6. A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Sen. Craig Thomas, R-Wyo., was first elected to the Senate in 1989 to replace Dick Cheney, when the future vice president was named defense secretary. Actually, Thomas was elected to the House in 1989 to replace Cheney. Thomas was first elected to the Senate in 1994.