1. Eli Daniel Bebout was born on October 14,1946 and is an American athlete and politician who served in the Wyoming House of Representatives from a multi-member district in Fremont County and the 55th district from 1987 to 2001, and later served in the Wyoming Senate from the 26th district 2007 to 2021, as a member of the Democratic and Republican parties.
Eli Bebout was the first person to serve as both Speaker of the Wyoming House of Representatives and President of the Wyoming Senate.
Eli Bebout was honorably discharged from the United States Air Force Academy stating that he believed he had violated the honor code.
Eli Bebout became involved in the energy and pharmaceutical industries and gained a net worth of around $6 million.
Eli Bebout entered politics with his successful write-in candidacy to the state house and was a member of the Democratic Party.
Eli Bebout switched to the Republican Party in 1994, and was given the position of Majority Leader and then Speaker.
Eli Bebout left the state house in the 2000 election and unsuccessfully ran in the 2002 Wyoming gubernatorial election with the Republican nomination against Democratic nominee Dave Freudenthal.
Eli Bebout was selected to replace Bob Peck in the state senate following Peck's death.
Eli Daniel Bebout was born in Rawlins, Wyoming, on October 14,1946, to Hubert Bebout, a former member of the Wyoming House of Representatives and mayor of Shoshoni, Wyoming.
Eli Bebout graduated from Shoshoni High School and started attending the United States Air Force Academy after receiving an appointment in 1963.
Eli Bebout was named to the Prep All-American Basketball team after a poll was conducted of coaches and sportswriters in the United States.
Eli Bebout played at the 1969 Western Athletic Conference Championship for the University of Wyoming.
Eli Bebout did not graduate from the United States Air Force Academy which he had attended from June 29,1964 to February 28,1967, but did graduate from the University of Wyoming.
Eli Bebout was honorably discharged from the United States Air Force Academy and Bebout stated that he had voluntarily left the academy in 1967, due to him believing that he had violated the honor code after not reporting other cadets who had committed infractions.
Eli Bebout served in the reserves until 1970, but did not serve in active duty.
In 1977, Eli Bebout married Lorraine Tavares Eli Bebout, with whom he had four children.
Eli Bebout was one of the organizers of the Yellowstone State Bank of Lander in 1979.
Eli Bebout placed fourth out of ten candidates after spending $7,138 during the campaign causing incumbent Republican Representative Bob Baker to not win reelection while the other four incumbents retained their seats.
Eli Bebout served as a member of the Democratic Party in the state house.
Chuck Graves, the chair of the Wyoming Democratic Party, talked to Eli Bebout about running for a seat in the United States Senate in the 1990 election against incumbent Republican Senator Alan Simpson, but Eli Bebout announced on May 8,1990, that he would not run in the election and would instead run for reelection to the state house.
Eli Bebout stated that he had considered joining the Republican Party, but that he would remain in the Democratic Party.
Eli Bebout filed to run for reelection as a Democrat and won in the general election after defeating Republican nominee Marlene Brodrick, who had been appointed to fill the remainder of Representative Odde's term.
Eli Bebout defeated Libertarian nominee Jim Blomquist in the 1994 election.
Eli Bebout considered running to succeed Simpson in the United States Senate in the 1996 election, but chose not to and a poll conducted by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee showed him losing to Karpan, a Democrat.
Eli Bebout was reelected without opposition in the 1996 and 1998 elections.
Eli Bebout announced on April 28,2000, that he would not run for reelection to the state house.
Republican nominee David Miller defeated Democratic nominee Linda Eli Bebout, who was no relation to Eli Bebout, to succeed him in the state house.
In 1992, Eli Bebout was selected to serve as Minority Whip without opposition after representatives Don Sullivan and Bill Vasey, who instead became chair of the Democratic caucus, declined their nominations for the position.
Eli Bebout was selected by the Republican caucus to serve as Majority Leader in 1996.
Eli Bebout defeated representatives Harry Tipton and Carroll Miller to become Speaker while Rick Tempest was selected to serve as Majority Leader.
Eli Bebout served as a delegate to the Wyoming Republican Party's state conventions in 1998,2000, and 2002.
Eli Bebout was selected in 1997, to replace Larry Dickerson, a member of the Oklahoma Senate, as chair of The Energy Council becoming the first Wyoming legislator to serve as chair of the organization.
Eli Bebout stated that he was interested in running for governor in the 2002 election in 2000.
On January 8,2002, Eli Bebout announced that he had raised $102,000 to run for governor with $42,000 being from him, he would organize a campaign in twenty-three counties, and that Gale Geringer would be his campaign manager, but did not yet announce his campaign.
Bill Sniffin, one of Eli Bebout's opponents, regarded Eli Bebout as the leading candidate for the Republican nomination.
Eli Bebout raised more in the Republican primary than all three of his opponents combined.
Eli Bebout was considered as a possible candidate to replace Peck in the state senate.
Eli Bebout was selected as one of three finalist candidates by Republican precinct members of the 26th district who would be voted on by the Fremont County Commission.
Eli Bebout ran for reelection in the 2008 election and won reelection without opposition.
Eli Bebout announced on April 19,2012, that he would seek reelection and faced no opposition in the election.
Eli Bebout defeated Democratic nominee Chesie Lee in the 2016 election.
Eli Bebout announced on March 13,2020, that he would not seek reelection in the 2020 election.
Eli Bebout was selected to serve as vice-president of the Wyoming Senate in 2012.
On November 19,2016, Eli Bebout was selected to serve as President of the Wyoming Senate by the Republican caucus becoming the first person to serve as both Speaker of the Wyoming House of Representatives and President of the Wyoming Senate.
Eli Bebout was considered a candidate for the 2008 United States Senate special election which was held following the death of Senator Thomas, but declined to run as he stated that he was committed to filling out the remainder of Peck's term.
Eli Bebout stated that he was "totally in favor of the death penalty".
Eli Bebout sponsored legislation calling for the United States Congress to end the United States' participation in the United Nations.
In 1988, Bebout was an initial sponsor of legislation in the state house that would take out a loan that would cost $8.5 million a year in order to building a natural gas pipeline from California to Wyoming.
In 1991, the state legislature voted forty-three to twenty-one, with Eli Bebout being the only Democrat voting in favor, to override Governor Mike Sullivan's veto, which was the first successful veto override in Wyoming's history, of legislation giving an extension of tax breaks for wildcat oil wells.
Eli Bebout opposed the creation of a state income tax.
Eli Bebout supported legislation to declare all same-sex marriages, including those conducted outside of the state, void in Wyoming.
Eli Bebout proposed legislation in 1991, which would institute single-member districts for the state legislature.