2018 Wyoming gubernatorial election

For related races, see 2018 United States gubernatorial elections.

2018 Wyoming gubernatorial election

←  2014 November 6, 2018 2022  →
Turnout	73.45% registered 10.08% 41.16% of total population 7.16%
Nominee Mark Gordon Mary Throne Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 136,412 55,965 Percentage 67.12% 27.54%
County results Precinct results Gordon:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90% Throne:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%      No votes
Governor before election Matt Mead Republican Elected Governor Mark Gordon Republican

The 2018 Wyoming gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the governor of Wyoming. Incumbent Republican governor Matt Mead was term-limited and could not seek a third consecutive term. Republican nominee Mark Gordon defeated Democratic nominee Mary Throne by nearly 40 percentage points. ^[1]

This was the only time since 1978 that a candidate from the President's party was elected governor of Wyoming.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominated

• Mark Gordon, Wyoming State Treasurer ^{[2] [3] [4]}

Declared

• Bill Dahlin, businessman ^{[5] [6]}
• Foster Friess, businessman and activist ^[7]
• Sam Galeotos, businessman ^[8]
• Harriet Hageman, attorney and former Liz Cheney campaign advisor ^[9]
• Taylor Haynes, physician, write-in candidate for governor in 2010 and candidate for governor in 2014 ^{[10] [11]}

Withdrew

• Rex Rammell, veterinarian and perennial candidate ^[12] (running for Constitution Party nomination) ^[13]

Endorsements

Foster Friess

Federal officials

• Rand Paul, U.S. Senator (R-KY) ^[14]
• Rick Santorum, former U.S. Senator (R-PA) ^[15]
• Donald Trump, 45th President of the United States (2017–2021) ^[16]

State legislators

• Mark Baker, former state representative ^[17]

Individuals

• Kimberly Guilfoyle, television news personality ^[18]
• Kyle Kashuv, school safety activist ^[19]
• Charlie Kirk, founder and president of Turning Point USA ^[20]
• Chuck Norris, martial artist, actor, film producer and screenwriter ^[21]
• Donald Trump Jr., businessman and son of President Donald Trump ^[22]

Organizations

• Family Research Council ^[23]
• Tea Party Patriots ^[24]
• Wyoming Right to Life ^[25]

Sam Galeotos

Federal elected officials

• Cynthia Lummis, former U.S. Representative (R-WY) ^[26]

State legislators

• Amy Edmonds, former state representative ^[26]
• Affie Ellis, state senator ^[26]

Individuals

• Ray Hunkins, Republican nominee for Governor in 2006

Mark Gordon

Federal elected officials

• Alan Simpson, former U.S. Senator (R-WY) ^[26]

State elected officials

• Cynthia Cloud, State Auditor ^[27]
• Max Maxfield, former secretary of state of Wyoming and former State Auditor ^[28]
• Diana Ohman, former secretary of state of Wyoming and former State Superintendent of Public Instruction ^[27]

State legislators

• Jim Anderson, state senator ^[27]
• Rex Arney, former state representative ^[27]
• Eric Barlow, state representative ^[27]
• Rosie Berger, former Majority Leader of the Wyoming House of Representatives ^[27]
• Gregg Blikre, former state representative ^[27]
• Landon Brown, state representative ^[27]
• Donald Burkhart, Speaker pro tempore of the Wyoming House of Representatives ^[27]
• Bruce Burns, state senator ^[27]
• Johnnie Burton, former state representative ^[27]
• Cale Case, state senator ^[27]
• Aaron Clausen, state representative ^[27]
• Hank Coe, state senator ^[27]
• Stan Cooper, former state senator ^[27]
• Jamie Flitner, state representative ^[27]
• Mike Greear, state representative ^[27]
• Elaine Harvey, former state representative ^[27]
• Jerry Iekel, former state representative ^[27]
• Pete Illoway, former state representative ^[28]
• Wayne Johnson, former state senator ^[27]
• Dan Kirkbride, state representative ^[27]
• Lloyd Larsen, state representative ^[27]
• Grant Larson, former state representative ^[27]
• Clarene Law, former state representative ^[28]
• Tyler Lindholm, state representative ^[29]
• Tom Lubnau, former Speaker of the Wyoming House of Representatives ^[27]
• Mike Madden, state representative ^[27]
• Larry Meuli, former state representative ^[27]
• Frank Moore, former state representative ^[28]
• Bob Nicholas, state representative ^[27]
• David Northrup, state representative ^[27]
• Jerry Obermueller, state representative ^[27]
• Doug Osborne, former state representative ^[27]
• Ruth Petroff, former state representative ^[28]
• Doug Samuelson, former state representative ^[27]
• Nels J. Smith, former Speaker of the Wyoming House of Representatives ^[27]
• Clark Stith, state representative ^[27]
• Dan Sullivan, former state senator ^[27]
• Pat Sweeney, state representative ^[27]
• Michael Von Flatern, state senator ^[27]
• Tom Walters, state representative ^[27]
• Peter Wold, former state representative ^[27]
• Dan Zwonitzer, state representative ^[27]
• David Zwonitzer, former state representative ^[27]

Individuals

• Susan Thomas, wife of late Senator Craig Thomas (R-WY) ^[28]
• Isabel Wallop, wife of late Senator Malcolm Wallop (R-WY) ^[28]

Organizations

• National Federation of Independent Business ^[30]

Harriet Hageman

State legislators

• Scott Clem, state representative ^[31]
• Mark Jennings, state representative ^[32]
• Charles Scott, state senator ^[33]
• Cheri Steinmetz, state representative ^[34]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Foster Friess	Sam Galeotos	Mark Gordon	Harriet Hageman	Taylor Haynes	Other	Undecided
University of Wyoming [35]	August 17–19, 2018	357	–	20%	10%	26%	18%	9%	1% [36]	15%
The Trafalgar Group (R) [37]	August 11–14, 2018	1,775	± 2.4%	21%	10%	20%	16%	6%	8% [38]	20%
University of Wyoming [39]	June 18–20, 2018	596	± 4.0%	6%	14%	19%	11%	10%	1% [36]	35%

Results

Results by county:

  Gordon—50–60%

  Gordon—40–50%

  Gordon—30–40%

  Gordon—<30%

  Friess—<30%

  Friess—30–40%

  Hageman—<30%

  Hageman—30–40%

  Hageman—40–50%

Republican primary results ^[40]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mark Gordon	38,951	33.0
	Republican	Foster Friess	29,842	25.3
	Republican	Harriet Hageman	25,052	21.2
	Republican	Sam Galeotos	14,554	12.3
	Republican	Taylor Haynes	6,511	5.5
	Republican	Bill Dahlin	1,763	1.5
	n/a	Under votes	1,269	1.1
	Republican	Write-ins	113	0.0
	n/a	Over votes	46	0.0
Total votes			118,101	100.0

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominated

• Mary Throne, former Minority Leader of the Wyoming House of Representatives ^{[10] [41] [42]}

Declared

• Ken Casner, candidate for governor in 2002 ^[43]
• Michael Allen Green, nominee for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2000 ^[43]
• Rex Wilde, candidate for governor in 2010 ^[43]

Declined

• James W. Byrd, state representative ^[44] (running for secretary of state)
• Ryan Greene, nominee for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2016 (running for Mayor of Rock Springs) ^{[10] [45] [3] [46]}
• Chris Rothfuss, Minority Leader of the Wyoming Senate and nominee for U.S. Senate in 2008 ^{[10] [3]}
• Milward Simpson, director of the Wyoming Nature Conservancy ^[10]
• Gary Trauner, businessman and nominee for U.S. House of Representatives in 2006 and 2008 (running for U.S. Senate) ^[47]

Endorsements

Mary Throne

Federal executive officers

• Julian Castro, former United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and former Mayor of San Antonio, Texas ^[48]

State executive officers

• Kathy Karpan, former Wyoming Secretary of State, 1994 Democratic nominee for Governor, and 1996 Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate ^[49]

State legislators

• Mike Gierau, state representative ^[50]
• Chris Rothfuss, Minority Leader of the Wyoming Senate ^[51]
• Andy Schwartz, state representative ^[50]

Individuals

• Mickey Babcock, Wyoming activist and Founder/Director of The Equipoise Fund ^[50]
• Ryan Greene, author, businessman, and nominee for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2016 ^[51]

Organizations

• Greater Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce ^[52]
• Wyoming Education Association ^[53]

Newspapers

• Wyoming Tribune Eagle ^[54]

Results

Results by county:

  Throne—80–90%

  Throne—70–80%

  Throne—60–70%

  Throne—50–60%

Democratic primary results ^[40]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mary Throne	12,948	66.5
	Democratic	Michael Green	2,391	12.3
	n/a	Under votes	1,385	7.1
	Democratic	Kenneth Casner	1,213	6.2
	Democratic	Rex Wilde	1,201	6.2
	Democratic	Write-ins	323	1.7
	n/a	Over votes	13	0.0
Total votes			19,474	100.0

Independents and third parties

Candidates

Declared

• Rex Rammell, veterinarian and perennial candidate (Constitution) ^[13]

General election

Debates

• Complete video of debate, October 6, 2018
• Complete video of debate, October 18, 2018

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report [55]	Safe R	October 26, 2018
The Washington Post [56]	Safe R	November 5, 2018
FiveThirtyEight [57]	Safe R	November 5, 2018
Rothenberg Political Report [58]	Safe R	November 1, 2018
Sabato's Crystal Ball [59]	Safe R	November 5, 2018
RealClearPolitics [60]	Safe R	November 4, 2018
Daily Kos [61]	Safe R	November 5, 2018
Fox News [62] [a]	Likely R	November 5, 2018
Politico [63]	Safe R	November 5, 2018
Governing [64]	Safe R	November 5, 2018

Notes

1. The Fox News Midterm Power Rankings uniquely does not contain a category for Safe/Solid races

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Mark Gordon (R)	Mary Throne (D)	Rex Rammell (C)	Lawrence Struempf (L)	Undecided
Change Research [65]	November 2–4, 2018	858	–	61%	27%	6%	4%	–

Results

State Senate results

Wyoming gubernatorial election, 2018 ^[66]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Mark Gordon	136,412	67.12%	+7.73%
	Democratic	Mary Throne	55,965	27.54%	+0.29%
	Constitution	Rex Rammell	6,751	3.32%	N/A
	Libertarian	Lawrence Struempf	3,010	1.48%	−0.93%
	Write-in		1,100	0.54%	-4.52%
Total votes			203,238	100.00%	N/A
	Republican hold

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

• Teton (Largest city: Jackson)

References

1. Reynolds, Nick (November 7, 2018). "Wyoming governor-elect Gordon outlines vision for his first year in office". Casper Star-Tribune. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
2. Hancock, Laura (June 29, 2016). "Lummis not ruling out run for governor". Wyoming Tribune Eagle. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
3. Funk, Joel (September 20, 2017). "GOP candidate for Wyoming governor remains unclear". Wyoming Tribune Eagle . Retrieved September 20, 2017.
4. "State Treasurer Says He Plans to Run for Wyoming Governor". U.S. News & World Report . February 20, 2018. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
5. "Bill Dahlin Announces Candidacy For Wyoming Governor". Wyo 4 News. July 25, 2017. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
6. Sniffin, Bill (August 7, 2017). "The Wild, Wild 2018 Race for Governor is Already Starting to Heat Up in State". Sheridan Media. Archived from the original on August 7, 2017. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
7. "GOP megadonor Friess to run for Wyoming governor". Politico . April 20, 2018. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
8. "Cheyenne businessman studies run for governor". Gillette News-Record . February 15, 2018. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
9. "Cheyenne attorney to join GOP primary battle for governor". Wyoming Tribune Eagle . January 6, 2018. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
10. Hancock, Laura (April 15, 2017). "Race to the top: Potential candidates dip toes into governor's race". Casper Star-Tribune. Retrieved April 16, 2017.
11. Randall, Doug (January 29, 2018). "Haynes believes his time has come in Wyoming's governor race". KGAB. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
12. "'I'm Wyoming's Donald Trump': Rex Rammell enters governor's race on libertarian right". Sidney Herald. January 3, 2018. Retrieved January 4, 2018.^{[ permanent dead link ‍]}
13. "Rex Rammell to run as third-party candidate, guaranteeing appearance in general election". Casper Star-Tribune. May 10, 2018. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
14. Strauss, Daniel. "'We'll see whether you can really buy a governor's race'". Politico .
15. Santorum, Rick (August 18, 2018). ".@FosterFriess will be a great governor. Wyomingites please vote this Tuesday for this good man who has soared to the top of the polls w/o saying an unkind word. He has been 100% positive in his campaign and will be as governor. #civility".
16. Trump, Donald J. [@realDonaldTrump] (August 21, 2018). "To the incredible people of the Great State of Wyoming: Go VOTE TODAY for Foster Friess – He will be a fantastic Governor! Strong on Crime, Borders & 2nd Amendment. Loves our Military & our Vets. He has my complete and total Endorsement!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on April 10, 2019 – via Twitter.
17. "Former legislator supports Friess". Green River Star. August 8, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
18. @kimguilfoyle (August 21, 2018). "Ο χρήστης Kimberly Guilfoyle στο Twitter: "Foster is a true patriot, humble servant, and generous supporter of the #MAGA movement. Loved meeting him in Iowa, we need more leaders like him. Get out and vote for him Wyoming! 🇺🇸" (Tweet). Archived from the original on August 21, 2018. Retrieved August 30, 2022– via Twitter.
19. Kashuv, Kyle [@KyleKashuv] (May 11, 2018). "If you support the 2nd amendment and you live in Wyoming, @FosterFriess is your guy. He's been a great friend of the 2A" (Tweet). Retrieved May 16, 2018– via Twitter.
20. Kirk, Charlie (August 20, 2018). "Tomorrow is election day in Wyoming My dear friend @FosterFriess is running for governor and in a super close race to win the primary He wrote the first $10,000 check to get @TPUSA started and as they say "the rest is history" Foster is a patriot and deserves your vote".
21. "Latest poll shows Jacksonite Foster Friess leads race for Governor". Buckrail. August 15, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
22. Samuels, Brett (August 5, 2018). "Trump Jr. backs Wyoming businessman in gubernatorial primary". The Hill .
23. "FRC Action PAC Announces Endorsement of Foster Friess for Governor of Wyoming" . Retrieved August 11, 2018.
24. "Citizens Fund Endorses Foster Friess in WY Governor's Race". Archived from the original on August 11, 2018. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
25. "Foster Friess". www.facebook.com.
26. "Lummis endorses Galeotos for governor, says Cheyenne businessman can 'downsize' Wyoming". KPVI . April 26, 2018. Archived from the original on April 26, 2018. Retrieved April 26, 2018.
27. "More than 40 Wyo. leaders stand with Mark Gordon for Governor". Oil City News. August 20, 2018. Archived from the original on August 21, 2018. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
28. "Mark Gordon Announces Statewide Campaign Committee". Gordon for Wyoming. May 24, 2018.^{[ permanent dead link ‍]}
29. "Will Hageman's attack tactics help or hurt her bid for Wyoming governor?". Billings Gazette. August 13, 2018.
30. "Small Business PAC Endorses Mark Gordon for Governor". NFIB. October 1, 2018.
31. "Scott Clem Endorsement". Facebook. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
32. "Mark Jennings Endorsement". Facebook. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
33. "Scott: GOP gubernatorial leaders all excellent choices". Casper Star-Tribune. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
34. "Cheri Steinmetz Endorsement". Facebook. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
35. University of Wyoming
36. Bill Dahlin 1%
37. The Trafalgar Group (R)
38. Bill Dahlin 2%, 6% "voted early."
39. University of Wyoming
40. Statewide Election Results
41. Funk, Joel (August 27, 2017). "Former Wyoming lawmaker Mary Throne announces bid for governor". Wyoming Tribune Eagle. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
42. Greenwald, Joy (August 25, 2017). "Throne Launches Campaign for Wyoming Governor". KGAB. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
43. "2018 Primary Election Candidate Roster" (PDF). Wyoming Secretary of State. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
44. Rosenfeld, Arno (February 9, 2018). "First Republican enters race for Wyoming secretary of state". Casper Star-Tribune. Retrieved February 12, 2018.
45. Rosenfeld, Arno (August 25, 2017). "Throne enters Wyoming gov. race with support of Greene, consolidating Democratic field". Casper Star-Tribune . Retrieved August 28, 2017.
46. "Businessman to run for mayor". Rock Springs Daily Rocket-Miner . April 3, 2018. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
47. "Democrat Gary Trauner Announces Bid for Wyoming U.S. Senate". U.S. News & World Report . December 8, 2017. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
48. "Democrat shindig this weekend sells out fast, training sessions full – Buckrail, Jackson Hole News". buckrail.com. February 23, 2018. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
49. "We have some exciting news! Mary is officially announcing that she is running to be the next Governor of Wyoming. Tune in now!". Mary Throne for Governor. August 26, 2017. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
50. "Mickey Babcock – Rep. Mike and Paty Gierau, Rep. Andy Schwartz cordially invite you to a fundraising reception to support the election of Mary Throne, Candidate for Governor of Wyoming on Thursday, November 9th from 5:00 – 7:00 PM". Teton County Democrats. October 24, 2017. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
51. Rosenfeld, Arno (October 10, 2017). "A Wyoming Democrat in an increasingly polarized country, Throne faces uphill battle for governor". Casper Star-Tribune . Retrieved November 28, 2017.
52. Randall, Doug (July 7, 2018). "GREATER CHEYENNE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ENDORSES CANDIDATES". KGAB. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
53. Klamann, Seth (July 7, 2018). "Casper lawmakers mostly miss out on Wyoming Education Association endorsements". Casper Star-Tribune. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
54. "Throne is obvious, clear choice for Democrats in governor's race". Wyoming Tribune Eagle. July 8, 2018. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
55. "2018 Governor Race Ratings for October 26, 2018". The Cook Political Report . Retrieved April 10, 2021.
56. "The Washington Post's gubernatorial race ratings". The Washington Post . October 16, 2018.
57. "2018 Governor Forecast". FiveThirtyEight . October 17, 2018. Archived from the original on October 18, 2018. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
58. "2018 Gubernatorial Ratings | Inside Elections". insideelections.com. Retrieved November 15, 2017.
59. "Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball » 2018 Governor". www.centerforpolitics.org. Retrieved November 15, 2017.
60. "2018 Governor Races". RealClearPolitics . October 9, 2018.
61. "2018 Governor Race Ratings". Daily Kos . June 5, 2018.
62. "2018 Midterm Power Ranking". Fox News . October 23, 2022.
63. "Politico Race Ratings". Politico .
64. "2018 Governor Elections: As November Nears, More Governors' Races Become Tossups". www.governing.com. Archived from the original on October 21, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
65. Change Research
66. Statewide Candidates soswy.state.wy.us

External links

• Candidates at Vote Smart
• Candidates at Ballotpedia

Official campaign websites

• Mark Gordon (R) for Governor
• Lawrence Struempf (L) for Governor
• Rex Rammell (C) for Governor
• Mary Throne (D) for Governor