Lack of anonymity a factor in the Wyoming Senate race

It's nearly "old news" now that Liz Cheney this morning dropped her challenge to U.S. Senator Michael Enzi.  Read the New York Times coverage here, in which Jonathan Martin writes of some of the reasons that Cheney had a hard time gaining ground in the campaign again Enzi, now in his third term and also a Republican.  Among other things, Martin refers to a rural characteristic--lack of anonymity--as noted by former Senator Alan Simpson, a long-time friend of both the Cheneys and Enzi:

The former senator said Ms. Cheney was unable to gain ground against Mr. Enzi because he had helped so many people in the sparsely populated state in his nearly 18 years in office and because he was not vulnerable to an ideological challenge.