Rep. Cynthia Lummis, Wyoming’s lone member of the U.S. House of Representatives, opened the door to new representation next year, announcing she will not seek re-election.

“I came to Washington to be a reformer, not a career congressman,” the Republican said Thursday. She added, “Now it is time for a new face to take on this important task for Wyoming.”

It didn’t take long for others to step up to the challenge.

Within hours of Lummis’ announcement, Tim Stubson, a Casper attorney and state legislator, announced his candidacy for the race. 

Liz Cheney, an attorney and daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, told The Associated Press she is seriously considering running for the race and will make the decision in coming weeks. In 2013, Cheney announced she would try to unseat Sen. Mike Enzi in the 2014 Republican primary, but backed out of the race after six months of campaigning. 

Jason Senteney, who works for the Wyoming Department of Corrections in Torrington, has also announced he’s running for the seat.

More candidates are sure to follow.

But before all focus shifts to the 2016 race, we want to take a moment to recognize Lummis for her service to our state. 

While we haven’t always agreed with her votes, we do believe she works hard to represent Wyoming’s interests in energy, agriculture, the budget, taxes and other issues.

Her loyalty to Wyoming led her to leave prominent positions in Washington.

“She resigned from the Appropriations Committee over spending levels that never seemed to go down and was kicked off the Whip Team over a vote she cast because she thought Wyoming’s voice was not being heard on issues going to the House floor,” said Wyoming Republican Party Chairman Matt Micheli in a statement.

Lummis also is the only female member of the House Freedom Caucus, a conservative group that was instrumental in forcing the resignation of House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. Lummis has voiced her support for the newly elected speaker, Paul Ryan, saying she believes he represents the “best chance to unite House Republicans around restoring integrity to the legislative process.”

We’re not going to offer an endorsement of the far-right Freedom Caucus or its tactics, but we respect that Lummis used her position to seek better representation of Wyoming’s interests.

Of course, Lummis’ service to the state goes well beyond Congress and spans nearly 40 years.

Lummis became the youngest woman ever elected to the Wyoming Legislature in 1979, when she was just 24 years old. She went on to receive her law degree from the University of Wyoming in 1985, then practiced law in Cheyenne. She served 14 years in the Wyoming Legislature, worked in Gov. Jim Geringer’s office and then was elected Wyoming’s state treasurer. She held that position until 2007, and was elected to her first term in the U.S. House of Representatives a year later.

As for whether Lummis, 61, will seek public office in the future, “I don’t know,” she said, “let’s just leave it at that.” Even without the trappings of office, she could continue to offer a prominent and knowledgeable voice to the Republican Party and the people of Wyoming.

The upcoming race for Wyoming’s single seat in the House of Representatives promises to be an interesting one. With neither U.S. Senate seat up for election and no statewide officials on next year’s ballot, the House of Representatives race will get the spotlight in Wyoming.

It will be the first time since 2008 that Wyoming will have new representation in Congress.

We encourage Wyoming voters to carefully consider the candidates who join the race. We also hope voters elect a candidate who, like Lummis, cares more about trying to represent Wyomingites than scoring political points in Washington.