John Barrasso
- Born:
- July 21, 1952, Reading, Pennsylvania, U.S. (age 72)
- Title / Office:
- United States Senate (2007-), United States
- Political Affiliation:
- Republican Party
News •
John Barrasso (born July 21, 1952, Reading, Pennsylvania, U.S.) is an American politician who was appointed as a Republican to the U.S. Senate from Wyoming in 2007 and won a special election to that body the following year. In 2024 Barrasso comfortably won reelection against Democratic challenger Scott Morrow.
Barrasso attended Georgetown University, from which he earned a Bachelor of Science degree (1974) and a doctorate in medicine (1978). Following residency at Yale Medical School, he moved to Wyoming, where he established a practice as an orthopedic surgeon. He became chief of staff at the Wyoming Medical Center in Casper and also served as surgeon to the state fair and rodeo associations. In addition, Barrasso was president of the Wyoming Medical Society.
In 1996 Barrasso ran for the U.S. Senate but narrowly lost the primary to Mike Enzi. In 2002 he was elected to the Wyoming Senate, where he served until 2007. That year he was appointed to the U.S. Senate to fill the vacancy that resulted when Craig L. Thomas died. In 2008 Barrasso won a special election to retain the seat.
Barrasso was a conservative Republican who generally voted with party leadership. He was identified with a Western-based movement to declare state sovereignty over public-domain holdings, and he notably introduced legislation that would require the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Interior to follow state law in the allocation and transfer of water rights. In addition, he supported efforts to limit the regulatory powers of the Environmental Protection Agency. Barrasso was also conservative on social issues—he opposed abortion rights and same-sex marriage—and on fiscal matters. He also supported tax cuts and limits on government spending. Barrasso easily won reelection in 2012 and 2018, and he was seen as a possible successor to Mitch McConnell as the leader of the Republicans in the Senate.
In 2008 Barrasso wed Bobbi Brown, who had been the director of his state office. He was previously married to Linda Nix. Barrasso had three children.