Republican Sen. Thomas of Wyoming dies at 74

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate desk of Craig Thomas of Wyoming was topped with red and white flowers on Tuesday as colleagues saluted the rugged yet gentle conservative Republican who died the night before following a months-long battle with leukemia. He was 74.

"He embodied the best ideals of a Wyoming cowboy and made the Senate and those who had the privilege of knowing him far better for it," said Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

Thomas had been combating leukemia since winning election to a third, six-year Senate term last November with 70 percent of the vote. A former Marine, he died late Monday at the National Naval Medical Center in Washington.

His death will not alter the balance of power in the Senate, now held by Democrats, 51-49.

While most states give governors free rein in appointing a successor to a deceased senator, Wyoming requires its governor to select someone from the senator's party.

The Wyoming Republican Party has 15 days to offer three nominees, and Democratic Gov. Dave Freudenthal will then have five days to pick one. The person will serve until the next general election, November 2008.

Vice President Dick Cheney, also of Wyoming, said in a statement: "Craig was a public servant of the first rank: honest, decent and devoted to his constituents."

Thomas was an independent-minded conservative who opposed the White House-backed bill now before the Senate to revamp U.S. immigration laws.

President George W. Bush, on a visit to Europe, said in a statement: "During nearly 23 years of public service as a senator, congressman and state legislator, Senator Thomas was a tireless and effective advocate for the people of his beloved home state."

Sen. John McCain, an Arizona Republican and 2008 White House hopeful, called Thomas "a clear voice for conservation, fiscal conservatism, and states' rights."

"Craig Thomas was always soft-spoken but he was heard," said Assistant Senate Democratic Leader Dick Durbin of Illinois. "I was honored to count him as a friend."

Another U.S. senator, Democrat Tim Johnson of South Dakota, has been recuperating since undergoing emergency brain surgery last December.

Source : www.reuters.com