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August 19th, 2020 
Awake Goy University of Wyoming ecology professor and climate activist Merav Ben-David won the Democratic nomination for the US Senate in Wyoming on Tuesday night.
The Israel-born Ben-David, 61, of Laramie, beat two Democrats who actively campaigned: social justice and environmental activist Yana Ludwig, of Laramie; and climate-change think tank vice president Nathan Wendt, of Jackson.
Ben-David is seeking to replace Republican Senator Mike Enzi, who is retiring after four terms. Ben-David will face Republican former US Rep. Cynthia Lummis in the November election.
Lummis is a 65-year-old former Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo Miss Frontier who has been active in Wyoming politics for over 40 years.
Lummis is a former state treasurer and state legislator in addition to serving in Congress. Lummis beat nine less-known opponents to win the GOP primary.
Wyoming Rep. Cynthia Lummis announces she will not seek a fifth term in 2016 during a news conference at the state capitol in Cheyenne, Wyoming, November 12, 2015. (AP Photo/Mead Gruver, File)
Ben-David was born in the central Israel city of Rehovot and raised on a small family farm. She earned degrees in zoology and wildlife management in Tel Aviv and Alaska before moving to Laramie in 2000 to become an assistant professor at the University of Wyoming in 2000. She has been a professor since 2010, a year after becoming a full US citizen.
Ben-David’s research over the years includes studying how polar bears are responding to climate change.
Ben-David wants to refocus Wyoming’s economy, which is largely tied to oil and gas extraction, to encourage new energy technologies. Ben-David has said concern about climate change motivated her to run for office.
Regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Ben-David’s policy platform states that “part of my family is still in Israel, so although I have lived in the United States for over 30 years, the security and safety of Israel – and peace in the region – are of paramount importance to me.”
She has vowed to promote US-Israeli cooperation and continue US aid, but criticizes the government’s policies toward the Palestinians, including the planned annexation of parts of the West Bank. She supports reinstating US commitment to the Iran nuclear deal as well as a tougher stance against Saudi Arabia.
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