Wyoming gubernatorial election, 2018
- General election: Nov. 6
- Voter registration deadline: Oct. 22
- Early voting: Sept. 27 - Nov. 5
- Absentee voting deadline: Nov. 6
- Online registration: No
- Same-day registration: Yes
- Voter ID: No
- Poll times: 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
2022 →
← 2014
|
| Governor of Wyoming |
|---|
 |
| Democratic primary Republican primary General election |
| Election details |
| Filing deadline: June 1, 2018 |
| Primary: August 21, 2018 General: November 6, 2018 Pre-election incumbent(s): Matt Mead (Republican) |
| How to vote |
| Poll times: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voting in Wyoming |
| Race ratings |
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Republican Inside Elections: Solid Republican |
| Ballotpedia analysis |
| Federal and state primary competitiveness State executive elections in 2018 Impact of term limits in 2018 State government trifectas State government triplexes Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2018 |
| Wyoming executive elections |
| Governor Secretary of State |
Wyoming held an election for governor on November 6, 2018. The candidate filing deadline was June 1, 2018.
State Treasurer Mark Gordon (R) defeated Mary Throne (D), Rex Rammell (Constitution), and Lawrence Gerard Struempf (L), receiving 67.4 percent of the vote to Throne's 27.7 percent, Rammell's 3.3 percent, and Struempf's 1.5 percent. Gordon's 67.4 percent share of the vote was greater than any Republican candidate for governor in state history, surpassing the 65.68 percent record set by Matt Mead (R) in 2010. Click here for more.
For more information about the Democratic primary, click here.
For more information about the Republican primary, click here.
For more information about gubernatorial elections in 2018, click here.
| SETTING THE STAGE | |
Wyoming was one of 36 states that held an election for governor in 2018. Democrats gained seven previously Republican-held seats, and Republicans gained one previously independent-held seat. Heading into the 2018 elections, there were 16 Democratic governors, 33 Republican governors, and one independent governor. In 2018, 26 of the 33 states with a Republican governor held a gubernatorial election, while nine out of the 16 states with a Democratic governor held a gubernatorial election. Seventeen of the 36 seats up for election were open seats (four Democratic, 12 Republican, and one independent), meaning that the sitting governor was not seeking re-election. Click here for more information on other 2018 gubernatorial elections.
Candidates and election results
General election
General election for Governor of Wyoming
Mark Gordon defeated Mary Throne, Rex Rammell, and Lawrence Gerard Struempf in the general election for Governor of Wyoming on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Mark Gordon (R) | 67.1 | 136,412 | |
| Mary Throne (D) | 27.5 | 55,965 | ||
| Rex Rammell (Constitution Party) | 3.3 | 6,751 | ||
| Lawrence Gerard Struempf (L) | 1.5 | 3,010 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.5 | 1,100 | ||
| Total votes: 203,238 | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Governor of Wyoming
Mary Throne defeated Michael Allen Green, Ken Casner, and Rex Wilde in the Democratic primary for Governor of Wyoming on August 21, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Mary Throne | 72.9 | 12,948 | |
| Michael Allen Green | 13.5 | 2,391 | ||
| Ken Casner | 6.8 | 1,213 | ||
| Rex Wilde | 6.8 | 1,201 | ||
| Total votes: 17,753 | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Governor of Wyoming
The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for Governor of Wyoming on August 21, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Mark Gordon | 33.4 | 38,951 | |
| Foster Friess | 25.6 | 29,842 | ||
| Harriet Hageman | 21.5 | 25,052 | ||
| Sam Galeotos | 12.5 | 14,554 | ||
| Taylor Haynes | 5.6 | 6,511 | ||
| Bill Dahlin | 1.5 | 1,763 | ||
| Total votes: 116,673 | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Context of the 2018 election
Race rating
| Race ratings: Wyoming gubernatorial election, 2018 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race tracker | Race ratings | ||||||||
| November 5, 2018 | October 30, 2018 | October 23, 2018 | October 16, 2018 | ||||||
| The Cook Political Report | Solid Republican | Solid Republican | Solid Republican | Solid Republican | |||||
| Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales | Solid Republican | Solid Republican | Solid Republican | Solid Republican | |||||
| Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball | Safe Republican | Safe Republican | Safe Republican | Safe Republican | |||||
| Note: Ballotpedia updates external race ratings every two weeks throughout the election season. | |||||||||
Other 2018 statewide elections
This race took place in one of twenty-two states that held elections for both governor and U.S. Senate in 2018.
A table of where these elections occurred, the names of incumbents prior to the 2018 elections, and links to our coverage of these races can be viewed by clicking "[show]" on the banner below:
Wave election analysis
- See also: Wave elections (1918-2016)
The term wave election is frequently used to describe an election cycle in which one party makes significant electoral gains. How many seats would Republicans have had to lose for the 2018 midterm election to be considered a wave election?
Ballotpedia examined the results of the 50 election cycles that occurred between 1918 and 2016—spanning from President Woodrow Wilson's (D) second midterm in 1918 to Donald Trump's (R) first presidential election in 2016. We define wave elections as the 20 percent of elections in that period resulting in the greatest seat swings against the president's party.
Applying this definition to gubernatorial elections, we found that Republicans needed to lose seven seats for 2018 to qualify as a wave election.
The chart below shows the number of seats the president's party lost in the 11 gubernatorial waves from 1918 to 2016. Click here to read the full report.
| Gubernatorial wave elections | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | President | Party | Election type | Gubernatorial seats change | Elections analyzed[1] | |
| 1970 | Nixon | R | First midterm | -12 | 35 | |
| 1922 | Harding | R | First midterm | -11 | 33 | |
| 1932 | Hoover | R | Presidential | -10 | 35 | |
| 1920 | Wilson | D | Presidential | -10 | 36 | |
| 1994 | Clinton | D | First midterm | -10 | 36 | |
| 1930 | Hoover | R | First midterm | -9 | 33 | |
| 1938 | Roosevelt | D | Second midterm | -9 | 33 | |
| 1966 | Johnson | D | First midterm[2] | -9 | 35 | |
| 1954 | Eisenhower | R | First midterm | -8 | 33 | |
| 1982 | Reagan | R | First midterm | -7 | 36 | |
| 2010 | Obama | D | First midterm | -7 | 33 | |
State overview
Partisan control
This section details the partisan control of federal and state positions in Wyoming heading into the 2018 elections.
Congressional delegation
- Following the 2014 elections, Republicans held both U.S. Senate seats in Wyoming.
- Republicans held the state's at-large U.S. House seat.
State executives
- As of September 2018, Republicans held six of seven state executive positions, with the remaining position held by a nonpartisan official.
- The governor of Wyoming was Republican Matt Mead. The state held an election for governor on November 6, 2018.
State legislature
- Republicans controlled both chambers of the Wyoming State Legislature. They had a 51-9 majority in the state House and a 27-3 majority in the state Senate.
Trifecta status
- Wyoming was under Republican trifecta control. Matt Mead (R) served as governor, while Republicans controlled the state legislature.
2018 elections
- See also: Wyoming elections, 2018
Wyoming held elections for the following positions in 2018:
- One seat in the U.S. Senate
- One seat in the U.S. House
- Governor
- Four other state executive offices
- Fifteen out of 30 state Senate seats
- All 60 state House seats
Demographics
| Demographic data for Wyoming | ||
|---|---|---|
| Wyoming | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 586,555 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 97,093 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 91% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 1.1% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 0.9% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 2.2% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 2.7% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 9.6% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 92.3% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 25.7% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $58,840 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 12.7% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Wyoming. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
As of July 2017, Wyoming's three largest cities were Cheyenne (pop. est. 64,000), Casper (pop. est. 58,000), and Laramie (pop. est. 32,000).[3]
State election history
This section provides an overview of federal and state elections in Wyoming from 2000 to 2016. All data comes from the Wyoming Secretary of State.
Historical elections
Presidential elections, 2000-2016
| Election results (President of the United States), Wyoming 2000-2016 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | First-place candidate | First-place candidate votes (%) | Second-place candidate | Second-place candidate votes (%) | Margin of victory (%) |
| 2016 | 68.2% | 21.9% | 46.3% | ||
| 2012 | 68.6% | 27.8% | 40.8% | ||
| 2008 | 64.8% | 32.5% | 32.3% | ||
| 2004 | 68.9% | 29.1% | 39.8% | ||
| 2000 | 67.8% | 27.7% | 40.1% | ||
U.S. Senate elections, 2000-2016
This chart shows the results of U.S. Senate races in Wyoming from 2000 to 2016. Every state has two Senate seats, and each seat goes up for election every six years. The terms of the seats are staggered so that roughly one-third of the seats are up every two years.
| Election results (U.S. Senator), Wyoming 2000-2016 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | First-place candidate | First-place candidate votes (%) | Second-place candidate | Second-place candidate votes (%) | Margin of victory (%) |
| 2014 | 72.2% | 17.5% | 54.7% | ||
| 2012 | 75.9% | 21.6% | 54.3% | ||
| 2008 | 75.6% | 24.3% | 51.3% | ||
| 2008 (special election) | 73.4% | 26.5% | 46.9% | ||
| 2006 | 70.0% | 29.9% | 40.1% | ||
| 2002 | 73.0% | 27.0% | 46.0% | ||
| 2000 | 73.8% | 22.0% | 51.8% | ||
Gubernatorial elections, 2000-2016
This chart shows the results of the four gubernatorial elections held between 2000 and 2016. Gubernatorial elections are held every four years in Wyoming.
| Election results (U.S. Senator), Wyoming 2000-2016 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | First-place candidate | First-place candidate votes (%) | Second-place candidate | Second-place candidate votes (%) | Margin of victory (%) |
| 2014 | 58.3% | 26.7% | 31.6% | ||
| 2010 | 65.7% | 22.9% | 42.8% | ||
| 2006 | 70.0% | 30.0% | 40.0% | ||
| 2002 | 47.9% | 47.9% | 2.1% | ||
Congressional delegation, 2000-2016
This chart shows the number of Democrats and Republicans who were elected to represent Wyoming in the U.S. House from 2000 to 2016. Elections for U.S. House seats are held every two years.
| Congressional delegation, Wyoming 2000-2016 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Republicans | Republicans (%) | Democrats | Democrats (%) | Balance of power |
| 2016 | 100% | 0.0% | R+1 | ||
| 2014 | 100% | 0.0% | R+1 | ||
| 2012 | 100% | 0.0% | R+1 | ||
| 2010 | 100% | 0.0% | R+1 | ||
| 2008 | 100% | 0.0% | R+1 | ||
| 2006 | 100% | 0.0% | R+1 | ||
| 2004 | 100% | 0.0% | R+1 | ||
| 2002 | 100% | 0.0% | R+1 | ||
| 2000 | 100% | 0.0% | R+1 | ||
Trifectas, 1992-2017
A state government trifecta occurs when one party controls both chambers of the state legislature and the governor's office.
Wyoming Party Control: 1992-2024
No Democratic trifectas • Twenty-two years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.
| Year | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
| Senate | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
| House | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
Pivot Counties
- See also: Pivot Counties by state
There are no Pivot Counties in Wyoming. Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.
In the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump (R) won Wyoming with 68.2 percent of the vote. Hillary Clinton (D) received 21.9 percent. In presidential elections between 1900 and 2016, Wyoming cast votes for the winning presidential candidate 76.7 percent of the time. In that same time frame, Wyoming supported Republican candidates more often than Democratic candidates, 76.7 to 23.3 percent. The state favored Republicans in every presidential election between 2000 and 2016.
Presidential results by legislative district
The following table details results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections by state House districts in Wyoming. Click [show] to expand the table. The "Obama," "Romney," "Clinton," and "Trump" columns describe the percent of the vote each presidential candidate received in the district. The "2012 Margin" and "2016 Margin" columns describe the margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in those years. The "Party Control" column notes which party held that seat heading into the 2018 general election. Data on the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections broken down by state legislative districts was compiled by Daily Kos.[4][5]
| In 2012, Barack Obama (D) won five out of 60 state House districts in Wyoming with an average margin of victory of 13.7 points. In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) won three out of 60 state House districts in Wyoming with an average margin of victory of 24.1 points. |
| In 2012, Mitt Romney (R) won 55 out of 60 state House districts in Wyoming with an average margin of victory of 45 points. In 2016, Donald Trump (R) won 57 out of 60 state House districts in Wyoming with an average margin of victory of 51 points. Trump won seven districts controlled by Democrats heading into the 2018 elections. |
| 2016 presidential results by state House district | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District | Obama | Romney | 2012 Margin | Clinton | Trump | 2016 Margin | Party Control |
| 1 | 11.24% | 85.71% | R+74.5 | 7.27% | 88.99% | R+81.7 | R |
| 2 | 17.60% | 79.70% | R+62.1 | 10.91% | 83.36% | R+72.4 | R |
| 3 | 11.12% | 87.05% | R+75.9 | 6.49% | 89.45% | R+83 | R |
| 4 | 26.05% | 70.84% | R+44.8 | 15.61% | 77.84% | R+62.2 | R |
| 5 | 26.26% | 71.59% | R+45.3 | 16.74% | 76.88% | R+60.1 | R |
| 6 | 16.26% | 81.21% | R+65 | 9.43% | 85.01% | R+75.6 | R |
| 7 | 28.36% | 70.01% | R+41.7 | 24.27% | 68.70% | R+44.4 | R |
| 8 | 40.42% | 57.13% | R+16.7 | 37.19% | 54.48% | R+17.3 | R |
| 9 | 38.23% | 59.50% | R+21.3 | 31.57% | 58.11% | R+26.5 | R |
| 10 | 21.27% | 76.44% | R+55.2 | 14.79% | 78.21% | R+63.4 | R |
| 11 | 43.72% | 52.36% | R+8.6 | 34.85% | 55.04% | R+20.2 | R |
| 12 | 41.35% | 55.47% | R+14.1 | 27.83% | 62.31% | R+34.5 | R |
| 13 | 52.91% | 41.43% | D+11.5 | 49.03% | 37.02% | D+12 | D |
| 14 | 41.85% | 53.44% | R+11.6 | 40.33% | 48.15% | R+7.8 | R |
| 15 | 41.25% | 56.03% | R+14.8 | 25.40% | 64.63% | R+39.2 | R |
| 16 | 62.92% | 34.31% | D+28.6 | 66.35% | 25.25% | D+41.1 | D |
| 17 | 33.59% | 62.81% | R+29.2 | 21.53% | 70.03% | R+48.5 | D |
| 18 | 19.74% | 77.99% | R+58.3 | 13.08% | 80.74% | R+67.7 | R |
| 19 | 16.63% | 80.47% | R+63.8 | 11.41% | 80.74% | R+69.3 | R |
| 20 | 17.23% | 80.53% | R+63.3 | 14.51% | 79.68% | R+65.2 | R |
| 21 | 6.92% | 92.19% | R+85.3 | 7.49% | 86.40% | R+78.9 | R |
| 22 | 35.46% | 62.06% | R+26.6 | 35.90% | 57.66% | R+21.8 | R |
| 23 | 48.80% | 48.93% | R+0.1 | 55.89% | 36.72% | D+19.2 | D |
| 24 | 22.73% | 75.27% | R+52.5 | 19.89% | 73.40% | R+53.5 | R |
| 25 | 22.09% | 75.00% | R+52.9 | 18.81% | 73.50% | R+54.7 | R |
| 26 | 16.97% | 80.82% | R+63.9 | 12.21% | 79.51% | R+67.3 | R |
| 27 | 19.91% | 77.45% | R+57.5 | 14.13% | 78.83% | R+64.7 | R |
| 28 | 18.23% | 78.86% | R+60.6 | 13.32% | 79.44% | R+66.1 | R |
| 29 | 28.95% | 68.57% | R+39.6 | 22.80% | 67.97% | R+45.2 | R |
| 30 | 24.51% | 72.88% | R+48.4 | 19.19% | 74.01% | R+54.8 | R |
| 31 | 12.18% | 85.70% | R+73.5 | 6.28% | 88.41% | R+82.1 | R |
| 32 | 14.58% | 83.77% | R+69.2 | 9.87% | 85.48% | R+75.6 | R |
| 33 | 56.07% | 42.24% | D+13.8 | 43.88% | 48.71% | R+4.8 | R |
| 34 | 16.37% | 81.33% | R+65 | 11.82% | 83.41% | R+71.6 | R |
| 35 | 22.53% | 75.07% | R+52.5 | 17.84% | 76.07% | R+58.2 | R |
| 36 | 31.86% | 64.88% | R+33 | 22.04% | 70.04% | R+48 | D |
| 37 | 25.70% | 72.32% | R+46.6 | 20.84% | 72.35% | R+51.5 | R |
| 38 | 22.15% | 75.32% | R+53.2 | 15.08% | 78.87% | R+63.8 | R |
| 39 | 28.42% | 67.88% | R+39.5 | 19.31% | 72.59% | R+53.3 | D |
| 40 | 17.50% | 79.96% | R+62.5 | 14.40% | 80.28% | R+65.9 | R |
| 41 | 41.35% | 55.66% | R+14.3 | 32.58% | 57.38% | R+24.8 | R |
| 42 | 30.25% | 67.49% | R+37.2 | 26.26% | 65.94% | R+39.7 | R |
| 43 | 38.57% | 58.11% | R+19.5 | 28.50% | 61.55% | R+33.1 | R |
| 44 | 51.90% | 44.70% | D+7.2 | 41.02% | 48.67% | R+7.7 | D |
| 45 | 51.24% | 43.62% | D+7.6 | 43.54% | 43.68% | R+0.1 | D |
| 46 | 41.79% | 54.50% | R+12.7 | 37.67% | 52.51% | R+14.8 | R |
| 47 | 21.31% | 75.47% | R+54.2 | 13.82% | 80.13% | R+66.3 | R |
| 48 | 30.34% | 66.16% | R+35.8 | 21.53% | 71.35% | R+49.8 | R |
| 49 | 22.81% | 74.97% | R+52.2 | 18.99% | 71.40% | R+52.4 | R |
| 50 | 16.74% | 81.25% | R+64.5 | 14.54% | 79.22% | R+64.7 | R |
| 51 | 24.13% | 73.76% | R+49.6 | 20.67% | 73.60% | R+52.9 | R |
| 52 | 10.61% | 87.04% | R+76.4 | 5.97% | 89.88% | R+83.9 | R |
| 53 | 16.85% | 80.53% | R+63.7 | 10.18% | 84.03% | R+73.8 | R |
| 54 | 36.87% | 60.26% | R+23.4 | 33.60% | 57.34% | R+23.7 | R |
| 55 | 24.77% | 72.52% | R+47.8 | 18.63% | 74.01% | R+55.4 | R |
| 56 | 34.31% | 61.96% | R+27.6 | 26.93% | 64.03% | R+37.1 | R |
| 57 | 32.45% | 63.83% | R+31.4 | 24.54% | 66.50% | R+42 | R |
| 58 | 23.70% | 73.45% | R+49.8 | 13.62% | 79.63% | R+66 | R |
| 59 | 33.92% | 61.68% | R+27.8 | 21.68% | 69.96% | R+48.3 | R |
| 60 | 30.10% | 66.75% | R+36.6 | 21.45% | 69.85% | R+48.4 | D |
| Total | 28.05% | 69.21% | R+41.2 | 22.48% | 70.06% | R+47.6 | - |
| Source: Daily Kos | |||||||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Wyoming governor election 2018. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
|
Wyoming government: |
Elections: |
Ballotpedia exclusives: |
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ The number of gubernatorial seats up for election varies, with as many as 36 seats and as few as 12 seats being up in a single even-numbered year.
- ↑ Lyndon Johnson's (D) first term began in November 1963 after the death of President John F. Kennedy (D), who was first elected in 1960. Before Johnson had his first midterm in 1966, he was re-elected president in 1964.
- ↑ Wyoming Demographics by Cubit, "Wyoming Cities by Population," accessed September 6, 2018
- ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' statewide election results by congressional and legislative districts," July 9, 2013
- ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' 2016 presidential results for congressional and legislative districts," February 6, 2017
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