Ron Micheli

In 2007, after the death of U.S. Senator Craig L. Thomas, the Wyoming Republican Party held a special election to choose three candidates to submit to the Wyoming Governor so the Governor could choose Senator Thomas’s replacement. Micheli participated in the special election process and advanced to the final round of five candidates. Ultimately, Democratic Governor Dave Freudenthal tapped John Barrasso, a Casper physician, for the appointment.

Micheli served as the Director of the Wyoming Department of Agriculture from 1995-2003. During his time as the director of this state agency, Micheli served on several national boards including serving as President of the Western Association of State Departments of Agriculture (WASDA) where Micheli presided over an organization which included twelve western state departments of agriculture. As president of WASDA, Micheli helped to develop joint policy and positions with all twelve state agricultural departments to address concerns of the coalition.

Micheli has served as a Republican precinct committeeman for twenty-two years and on the Wyoming Republican State Central Committee for twelve years, including a stint as treasurer. Micheli served as the chairman of the Wyoming State Republican Convention in 1994 and twice headed the Platform committee, most recently in 2008. In 2012, Micheli served as an Elector for Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan.

On June 13, 1969, Micheli, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, married the former Patricia J. "Patty" Smith (born 1949), a 1967 graduate of Hot Springs County High School in Thermopolis and a 1971 graduate of the University of Wyoming. The couple has eight children, all of whom have attended the University of Wyoming. As of 2010, five of the Micheli offspring had received their UW degrees.

Micheli is a fourth generation rancher in Fort Bridger, where he runs and operates a ranch in partnership with his brother, Dale Dee Micheli (born 1954). The ranch maintains a purebred Hereford and Angus cattle operation with an annual bull sale each year in October. Ron Micheli is a former Regional Vice President of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association and has received the "Guardian of the Grassland Award," the highest honor of the association. In 1991, Gamma Sigma Delta named Micheli as Wyoming’s "Outstanding Agriculturalist." In 1997, Wyoming Livestock Roundup named Micheli the "Outstanding Agriculture Citizen for the State of Wyoming". The Wyoming Association of Conservation Districts awarded Micheli their Presidential Award, the highest honor given by that organization. Micheli received the "Compadre Award" from the interest group, the Wyoming Wool Growers Association, which recognizes achievement on behalf of the state's sheep industry.

Joseph Ronald Micheli, known as Ron Micheli (born May 30, 1948), is a former director of the Wyoming Department of Agriculture who also served from 1977-1992 in the Wyoming House of Representatives. He ran a strong third-place finish as a candidate for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in 2010. His primary opponents were former U.S. Attorney Matt Mead, who won the nomination and later the general election, state auditor Rita Meyer, who placed second, and Speaker of the Wyoming House Colin M. Simpson of Cody, who finished in fourth place.

Ron Micheli was born in Fort Bridger in Uinta County in the southwestern corner of Wyoming to Joseph G. Micheli (born 1927) and Rebecca T. Micheli (born 1925). In 1966, he graduated from Mountain View High School. In 1970, he received a Bachelor of Science degree in animal science from the University of Wyoming at Laramie. He was voted the "Outstanding Animal Science Student" by the agriculture honorary fraternity Alpha Zeta. Micheli has also been recognized as an "Outstanding Alumnus" of the University of Wyoming College of Agriculture.