A former Park County attorney is poised to become Wyoming’s next U.S. district judge.

On Tuesday, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Kelly Rankin to the position on the federal bench.

The role would not be a particularly dramatic change for Rankin, as he’s served as a chief magistrate judge for the District of Wyoming since 2012. If the U.S. Senate approves his promotion, Rankin will replace retiring Judge Nancy Freudenthal.

Wyoming’s Republican senators, John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis, had encouraged the president to nominate Rankin for the position back in 2021 and they applauded Tuesday’s announcement.

In a statement, Barrasso called Rankin an “outstanding choice” who “has dedicated his career to serving the people of Wyoming and upholding the Constitution.” The senators have noted the knowledge Rankin would bring to the position, as he’s issued hundreds of opinions and orders and even assisted the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals over the past decade.

Rankin’s experience also includes time in Park County, both as a criminal justice instructor at Northwest College and as a prosecutor. 

He joined the Park County Attorney’s Office as a deputy in 1995 and the Republican was elected as the county attorney in 1998. He was reelected in 2002, but resigned in February 2003 to join the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Casper. He ascended to become Wyoming’s U.S. attorney in 2008, briefly served as counsel to Gov. Dave Freudenthal in the first half of 2010, then rejoined the U.S. Attorney’s Office as its criminal chief.

Rankin was named as the district’s chief magistrate judge in June 2012.

Sens. Lummis and Barrasso have described Rankin as respectful, impartial and unbiased. Former Govs. Freudenthal and Mike Sullivan, who are both Democrats, backed that assessment in their own endorsements of Rankin.

“Clearly, Kelly [Rankin] is a Republican. You do not become county attorney in Park County as a Democrat,” Dave Freudenthal wrote in a 2021 letter to President Biden. “However, he is not a ‘political’ Republican in the modern sense. His basic values, not his politics, guide his life in decisions.”

Sullivan, meanwhile, praised Rankin’s “high character and unquestioned integrity” and “ideal judicial temperament.”

Given that Rankin enjoys bipartisan support, Barrasso said the Senate “should waste no time in approving his nomination.” Assuming Rankin is confirmed, he’ll join Chief U.S. District Judge Scott Skavdahl of Casper and District Judge Alan Johnson of Cheyenne.

Rankin’s appointment would also continue Park County’s ties to the federal bench, as former first lady Nancy Freudenthal is a Cody native.