Former GOP Senator Dies Following Bicycle Accident

By
David Rufful
-
OPINION | This article contains commentary that reflects the author's opinion.

A heartbreaking report confirms the death of retired Sen. Mike Enzi.

Enzi was hospitalized with a broken neck and ribs after a bicycle accident.

He was stabilized before being flown to a hospital in Colorado but remained unconscious.

The accident occurred near his home about 8:30 p.m. Friday, family friend John Daly said. Police responded to an emergency phone call.

Enzi was a Wyoming Republican who was known as a “consensus-builder” by helping those polarized politically come together to find agreement.

Enzi reportedly died peacefully while surrounded by family and friends at age 77.

From USA Today:

A former shoe salesman first elected to the Senate in 1996, Enzi became known for emphasizing compromise over grandstanding and confrontation to get bills passed… His “80-20 rule” called on colleagues to focus on the 80% of an issue where legislators tended to agree and discard the 20% where they didn’t.

“Nothing gets done when we’re just telling each other how wrong we are,” Enzi said in his farewell address to the Senate in 2020. “Just ask yourself: Has anyone ever really changed your opinion by getting in your face and yelling at you or saying to you how wrong you are? Usually that doesn’t change hearts or minds.”

Wyoming Republican Sen. Mike Enzi retired in 2020. He died July 26 following a cycling accident.
Wyoming voters reelected Enzi by wide margins three times before he announced in 2019 that he would not seek a fifth term. Enzi was succeeded in the Senate in 2021 by Republican Cynthia Lummis, a former congresswoman and state treasurer.

In a statement released Tuesday, Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney called Enzi “an absolute giant in our state.”

“Mike was a straight-shooter, an honest broker, and a soft-spoken but powerful advocate for the causes he cared deeply about. Whether it was pushing for fiscal discipline as head of the Senate Budget Committee or fighting for the needs of Wyoming’s energy industry, Mike was always guided by principle and conviction,” Cheney said.

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