约翰·巴拉索1952—

2007年6月22日，巴拉索被民主党籍的怀俄明州州长戴维·弗赖登塔尔挑选，以填补已逝世的克雷格·L·托马斯遗留之联邦参议员空缺，后他也在2008年的特别选举中胜出以完成托马斯剩下的任期。到2012年，巴拉索成功获得一个完整六年任期连任。

2024年11月13日，巴拉索被共和党选为自下届国会起的参议院多数党党鞭。

John Anthony Barrasso III ( bə-RAH-soh; born July 21, 1952) is an American physician and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Wyoming, a seat he has held since 2007. A member of the Republican Party, he served in the Wyoming State Senate from 2003 to 2007. In 2025, he became Senate majority whip, the second-ranking Senate Republican.

Born and raised in Reading, Pennsylvania, Barrasso graduated from Georgetown University, where he received his B.S. and M.D. He conducted his medical residency at Yale University before moving to Wyoming and beginning a private orthopedics practice in Casper.

Barrasso first ran for U.S. Senate in 1996, narrowly losing the Republican primary to Mike Enzi. In 2002, he was elected to the State Senate, where he stayed until his appointment to the U.S. Senate after the 2007 death of incumbent Craig L. Thomas. He was elected to finish Thomas's term in 2008, and was reelected in 2012. In 2018, Barrasso was selected as chair of the Senate Republican Conference. He has been the dean of Wyoming's congressional delegation since 2021, when Enzi retired from the Senate.

Early life, education, and medical career

Barrasso was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, on July 21, 1952, the son of Louise M. (née DeCisco) and John Anthony Barrasso Jr. Barrasso's father was a cement finisher who had a ninth-grade education. Barrasso is a third-generation Italian-American with paternal grandparents from Carife, Campania and maternal grandparents from Vasto, Abruzzo.

Barrasso is a graduate of the former Central Catholic High School, which later merged with Holy Name High School to form Berks Catholic High School. He attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for two years and joined the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity.

1996 U.S. Senate election

Barrasso ran for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate in 1996 for the seat being vacated by Republican Alan K. Simpson, losing narrowly to State Senator Mike Enzi, 32% to 30%, in a nine-candidate election. Enzi garnered support due to his pro-life stance, while Barrasso—who had been expected to win the primary—identified as pro-choice at the time.

Wyoming Senate (2003-2007)

Barrasso was elected to the Wyoming Senate unopposed in 2002 and reelected unopposed in 2006. He represented Wyoming's 27th Senate District, including part of Casper. During his State Senate tenure, he chaired the Transportation and Highways Committee.

U.S. Senate (2007–present)

Appointment

On June 22, 2007, Governor Dave Freudenthal appointed Barrasso to replace Senator Craig L. Thomas, who had died in office earlier that month. Under state law, Freudenthal was able to consider only three individuals chosen by the Republican State Central Committee because the seat was vacated by a Republican. The others were former State Treasurer Cynthia Lummis of Cheyenne, and former Republican state chairman and Justice Department attorney Tom Sansonetti.

Elections

2008

Barrasso won the Republican nomination for the balance of Thomas's third term. He then won the special election in a landslide, defeating Democratic nominee Nick Carter with 73% of the vote.

Political positions

Abortion

When Barrasso ran for the 1996 Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate, he presented himself as a supporter of abortion rights. Following his loss in 1996, Barrasso's position on abortion (and on other issues) shifted in a conservative direction.

During his tenure in the Wyoming Legislature, Barrasso sponsored an unsuccessful bill to treat the killing of a pregnant woman as a double homicide. He has voted to prohibit federal funding for abortion.

Capital punishment

Barrasso co-sponsored the "Thin Blue Line Act", which would have required the death penalty for anyone convicted of killing a first responder.

Personal life

Barrasso has three children. He is divorced from Linda Nix. On August 11, 2007, during Cheyenne's annual Race for the Cure, Barrasso and Bobbi Brown, herself a breast cancer survivor and at the time the director of Barrasso's state senate offices, announced their engagement. Brown then resigned from her position in Barrasso's state senate offices. They were married on January 1, 2008, in Thermopolis. Brown died of brain cancer on January 25, 2024. She was known for being an advocate for mental health and suicide prevention.

Barrasso is a member of the board of directors of Presidential Classroom, and a member of the Casper Chamber of Commerce.