Dick Cheney Returns to Home State of Wyoming for Final Campaign Push

LARAMIE, Wyo. – With his old House district at risk, Vice President Dick Cheney told voters on Saturday to reject Democratic "resignation and defeatism" against terrorists.

"We live in a two-party state," Cheney said. "But I've got a feeling Wyoming Democrats don't find much in common with Democratic leaders like Howard Dean, Ted Kennedy, John Kerry and Nancy Pelosi."

Cheney's visit to this heavily Republican region reflected the high stakes for the White House. Democrats need to pick up 15 seats to win the House in Tuesday's elections.

Polls show Republicans are in real danger of losing their majority on Capitol Hill because of concerns about the U.S. death toll in Iraq, a series of congressional scandals and a sense the country is off course.

Surprisingly, Wyoming's sole seat is among those that Democrats might win.

Since Cheney won it in 1978, kicking off a six-term run in the House, no Democrat has held the seat. This year, Democrat Gary Trauner is running well against incumbent Rep. Barbara Cubin.

Cheney drew about 800 people to a high school gym on a Saturday afternoon. He stuck to his message that a Republican-led Congress will better protect the country and keep taxes lower than would a Democratic-run Congress.

"The choice before the American people is becoming more clear every day," Cheney said. "For the sake of our security, this nation must reject any strategy of resignation and defeatism in the war on terror."

The vice president capped a campaign tour that ran through Montana, Idaho and Colorado. He ended it in Wyoming, where he began his political career more than 30 years.

In this election, Cheney has raised $40 million for Republicans in 118 campaign stops.

With no intention to run for president, Cheney is seeking to finish his time in office with a friendly Congress. No matter what the result of the election, the administration plans to go "full speed ahead" with its policies in Iraq, Cheney told ABC News in an interview Friday.

Playing down what voters say about the war, he said, "It doesn't matter in the sense that we have to continue the mission and do what we think is right. ... We're not running for office."