1964 United States House of Representatives election in Wyoming

Last updated

1964 United States House of Representatives election in Wyoming
Flag of Wyoming.svg
←  1962 November 3, 1964 1966  →
  Teno Roncalio 1965.png William Henry Harrison III 1963.png
Nominee Teno Roncalio William Henry Harrison III
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote70,69368,482
Percentage50.79%49.21%
Wyoming House Election Results, 1964.svg
County results
Roncalio:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%
Harrison:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%
Representative At-large before election

William Henry Harrison
Republican

Elected Representative At-large

Teno Roncalio
Democratic

The 1964 United States House of Representatives election in Wyoming was held on November 3, 1964. Incumbent Republican Congressman William Henry Harrison ran for re-election. He was challenged in the general election by Democratic nominee Teno Roncalio, an attorney and former member of the International Joint Commission. Aided by President Lyndon B. Johnson's landslide victory in the presidential election, Roncalio narrowly defeated Harrison, becoming the first Democrat to win a U.S. House election in Wyoming since 1940.

Contents

Democratic primary

Candidates

Campaign

In early 1964, Congressman William Henry Harrison announced that he would seek re-election rather than run for the Senate, kicking off the race for Congress. Walter Phelan, the Chairman of the Wyoming Democratic Party, named eight possible candidates: State Representative Edgar Herschler; U.S. Postal Service official William Hill; State Senator Ed Kendig; Natrona County Attorney Harry Leimback; Cheyenne Mayor Bill Nation; Teno Roncalio, a member of the International Joint Commission; John Terril, the U.S. Marshal for the District of Wyoming and the former Carbon County Sheriff; and Ray Whitaker, the former Natrona County Attorney. [2] Roncalio announced his campaign later in the year, and received the state party's endorsement at its convention. [3] While Roncalio was originally thought to be the main Democratic candidate in the primary, at the end of candidate filing, uranium developer Hepburn T. Armstrong and former Laramie Mayor Stephen Moyle, both of whom had run for Congress previously, filed to run. [1] Ultimately, Roncalio defeated both in a landslide, winning 70 percent of the vote.

Results

Democratic primary results [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Teno Roncalio 29,860 70.26%
Democratic Hepburn T. Armstrong9,37122.05%
Democratic Stephen W. Moyle2,0804.89%
Democratic George W. K. Posvar1,1882.80%
Total votes42,499 100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

Republican primary results [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican William Henry Harrison (inc.) 41,821 100.00%
Total votes41,821 100.00%

General election

Results

1964 Wyoming's at-large congressional district general election results [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Teno Roncalio 70,693 50.79%
Republican William Henry Harrison (inc.)68,48249.21%
Total votes139,175 100.00%
Democratic gain from Republican

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Four-Way Race Erupts In Dem House Primary". Casper Morning Star . Casper, Wyoming. July 8, 1964. p. 1. Retrieved June 19, 2025.
  2. ↑ "Harrison Won't Try For Senate". Casper Tribune . Casper, Wyoming. January 30, 1964. p. 2. Retrieved June 19, 2025.
  3. ↑ "Roncalio Wins Endorsements". Billings Gazette . Billings, Montana. May 14, 1964. p. 15W. Retrieved June 19, 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 Thomson, Thyra; Hanes, John G. (1965). 1965 Wyoming Official Directory and 1964 Election Returns. Cheyenne, Wyoming: Wyoming Secretary of State.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.