2018 Wyoming elections

2018 Wyoming elections

←  2014 2020  →

A general election was held in the U.S. state of Wyoming on November 6, 2018. All of Wyoming's executive offices were up for election, as well as a United States Senate seat and Wyoming's at-large seat in the United States House of Representatives. Primary elections were held on August 21, 2018.

Governor

Main article: 2018 Wyoming gubernatorial election

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 67.1% 27.5%
County results Gordon:     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%Throne:     40–50%     50–60%
Governor before election Matt Mead Republican Elected Governor Mark Gordon Republican

Incumbent Republican Governor Matt Mead was term-limited and could not run for a third term. Republican State Treasurer Mark Gordon defeated attorney Harriet Hageman, businessmen Bill Dahlin, Foster Friess, Sam Galeotos, and physician Taylor Haynes.

Former Democratic Minority Leader of the Wyoming House of Representatives Mary Throne ran for the Democratic nomination with minimal opposition.

Results

Wyoming gubernatorial election, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mark Gordon	136,339	67.4
	Democratic	Mary Throne	55,984	27.7
	Constitution	Rex Rammell	6,739	3.3
	Libertarian	Lawrence Struempf	3,114	1.5
Total votes			202,176	100

Secretary of State

2018 Wyoming Secretary of State election

←  2014 November 6, 2018 2022  →

Nominee Edward Buchanan James W. Byrd Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 136,939 53,384 Percentage 68.8% 26.8%

County results Buchanan:     40–50%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90% Byrd:     50–60%

Secretary of State before election Edward Buchanan Republican Elected Secretary of State Edward Buchanan Republican

Ed Murray, who had first been elected in 2014, intended to run for governor, but resigned February 9, 2018 following claims of sexual assault. ^[1] Governor Matt Mead appointed former Speaker of the Wyoming House of Representatives Edward Buchanan to fill the remainder of Murray's term.

Republican primary

Candidates

• Edward Buchanan, incumbent Secretary of State of Wyoming and former Speaker of the Wyoming House of Representatives ^[2]

Withdrew

• Leland Christensen, State Senator and candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2016 (running for State Treasurer) ^[3]

Republican primary results ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Edward Buchanan (incumbent)	94,603	80.1
	Republican	Under votes	22,691	19.9
	Republican	Write-ins	793	0.0
	Republican	Over votes	7	0.0
Total votes			118,101	100.0

Democratic primary

Candidates

• James W. Byrd, state representative ^[5]

Democratic primary results ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	James W. Byrd	16,754	86.4
	Democratic	Under votes	2,646	13.6
	Democratic	Write-ins	73	0.0
	Democratic	Over votes	1	0.0
Total votes			19,474	100.0

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
Governing magazine [6]	Safe R	June 4, 2018

Results

Wyoming Secretary of State election, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Edward Buchanan (incumbent)	136,939	68.8
	Democratic	James W. Byrd	53,384	26.8
	Libertarian	Kit Carson	8,604	4.3
Total votes			198,927	100

State Treasurer

2018 Wyoming State Treasurer election

← 2014 November 6, 2018 2022 →

Nominee Curt Meier Chris Lowry Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 141,732 54,894 Percentage 72.1% 27.9%

Treasurer before election Mark Gordon Republican Elected Treasurer Curt Meier Republican

Incumbent Republican State Treasurer Mark Gordon declined to run for a third full term and instead ran successfully for Governor of Wyoming.

Republican primary

Candidates

• Leland Christensen, State Senator and candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2016 ^[3]
• Curt Meier, state senator ^[7]
• Ron Redo, candidate for State Treasurer in 2014

Republican primary results ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Curt Meier	51,338	43.5
	Republican	Leland Christensen	46,070	39.0
	Republican	Under votes	15,646	13.1
	Republican	Ron Redo	4,779	4.0
	Republican	Write-ins	247	0.0
	Republican	Over votes	21	0.0
Total votes			118,101	100.0

Democratic primary

Candidates

No candidate filed to run; however, Chris Lowry qualified for the general election by receiving enough sufficient write-in votes.

Results

Wyoming State Treasurer election, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Curt Meier	141,732	72.1
	Democratic	Chris Lowry	54,894	27.9
Total votes			196,626	100

State Auditor

2018 Wyoming State Auditor election

←  2014 November 6, 2018 2022 →

Nominee Kristi Racines Jeff Dockter Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 143,887 52,488 Percentage 73.3% 26.7%

Auditor before election Cynthia Cloud Republican Elected Auditor Kristi Racines Republican

Incumbent Republican State Auditor Cynthia Cloud declined to run for a third term.

Republican primary

Candidates

• Kristi Racines, certified public accountant ^[8]
• Nathan Winters, state representative ^[9]

Republican primary results ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Kristi Racines	59,529	50.4
	Republican	Nathan Winters	39,873	33.8
	Republican	Under votes	18,481	15.7
	Republican	Write-ins	201	0.0
	Republican	Over votes	17	0.0
Total votes			118,101	100.0

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Jeff Dockter, Wyoming Department of Enterprise Technology Services supervisor ^[10]

Democratic primary results ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jeff Dockter	16,330	83.9
	Democratic	Under votes	3,072	15.8
	Democratic	Write-ins	72	0.0
	Democratic	Over votes	0	0.0
Total votes			19,474	100.0

Results

Wyoming State Auditor election, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Kristi Racines	143,887	73.3
	Democratic	Jeff Dockter	52,488	26.7
Total votes			196,375	100

Superintendent of Public Instruction

2018 Wyoming Superintendent of Public Instruction election

←  2014 November 6, 2018 2022  →

Nominee Jillian Balow Party Republican Popular vote 163,790 Percentage 98.1%

Instruction before election Jillian Balow Republican Elected Instruction Jillian Balow Republican

Incumbent Republican Superintendent Jillian Balow ran for a second term.

Republican primary

Candidates

• Jillian Balow, incumbent Superintendent of Public Instruction ^[11]

Republican primary results ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jillian Balow	92,097	77.7
	Republican	Under votes	25,108	22.3
	Republican	Write-ins	885	0.0
	Republican	Over votes	11	0.0
Total votes			118,101	100.0

Results

Wyoming Superintendent of Public Instruction election, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jillian Balow	163,790	98.1
	Write-in		3,229	1.9
Total votes			167,019	100.0
	Republican hold

United States Senate

Main article: 2018 United States Senate election in Wyoming

Incumbent Republican Senator John Barrasso ran for a third term. ^[12]

Businessman and nominee for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2006 and 2008 Gary Trauner ran for the Democratic nomination. ^[13]

Businessman Dave Dodson initially ran as an independent, but later ran in the Republican primary and was defeated. ^[14]

United States House of Representatives

Main article: 2018 United States House of Representatives election in Wyoming

Incumbent Republican U.S. Representative Liz Cheney, who had represented the state in the United States House of Representatives since 2017, successfully ran for reelection. She defeated Rod Miller, a former federal land planning coordinator, and Blake Stanley for the Republican nomination. ^[15]

Oil geologist Greg Hunter defeated attorney Travis Helm for the Democratic nomination. ^[16]

State Legislature

Wyoming Senate

Main article: 2018 Wyoming State Senate election

Further information: Wyoming Senate

Of the 30 seats in the Wyoming Senate, 15 were up for election in 2018.

District	Representative	Party	Results	Candidates
1	Ogden Driskill	Republican	Incumbent re-elected	Ogden Driskill (R) [17]
3	Curt Meier	Republican	Incumbent retired to run for State Treasurer New member elected Republican hold	Marci Shaver (D) [17] Cheri Steinmetz (R) [17]
5	Fred Emerich	Republican	Incumbent lost renomination New member elected Republican hold	Lynn Hutchings (R) [17]
7	Stephan Pappas	Republican	Incumbent re-elected	Stephan Pappas (R) [17]
9	Chris Rothfuss	Democratic	Incumbent re-elected	Chris Rothfuss (D) [17]
11	Larry S. Hicks	Republican	Incumbent re-elected	Larry S. Hicks (R) [17] Lee Ann Stephenson (D) [17]
13	John Hastert	Democratic	Incumbent lost re-election New member elected Republican gain	John Hastert (D) [17] Tom James (R) [17] Ted Barney (I) [17]
15	Paul Barnard	Republican	Incumbent lost renomination New member elected Republican hold	Wendy Davis Schuler (R) [17]
17	Leland Christensen	Republican	Incumbent retired to run for State Treasurer New member elected Democratic gain	Mike Gierau (D) [17] Kate Mead (R) [17]
19	R. Ray Peterson	Republican	Incumbent lost renomination New member elected Republican hold	R.J. Kost (R) [17]
21	Bruce Burns	Republican	Incumbent retired New member elected Republican hold	Bo Biteman (R) [17] Hollis Hackman (D) [17]
23	Jeff Wasserburger	Republican	Incumbent re-elected	Jeff Wasserburger (R) [17]
25	Cale Case	Republican	Incumbent re-elected	Cale Case (R) [17] Sergio Maldonado (D) [17]
27	Bill Landen	Republican	Incumbent re-elected	Bill Landen (R) [17]
29	Drew Perkins	Republican	Incumbent re-elected	Drew Perkins (R) [17]

Wyoming House of Representatives

Further information: Wyoming House of Representatives

All 60 seats in the Wyoming House of Representatives were up for election in 2018.

District	Representative	Party	Results	Candidates
1	Tyler Lindholm	Rep	Incumbent re-elected	Tyler Lindholm (R) [17]
2	Hans Hunt	Rep	Incumbent re-elected	Hans Hunt (R) [17]
3	Eric Barlow	Rep	Incumbent re-elected	Eric Barlow (R) [17]
4	Dan Kirkbride	Rep	Incumbent re-elected	Dan Kirkbride (R) [17]
5	Cheri Steinmetz	Rep	Incumbent retired to run for State Senate New member elected Republican hold	Joan Brinkley (D) [17] Shelly Duncan (R) [17]
6	Aaron Clausen	Rep	Incumbent re-elected	Aaron Clausen (R) [17]
7	Sue Wilson	Rep	Incumbent re-elected	Sue Wilson (R) [17]
8	Bob Nicholas	Rep	Incumbent re-elected	Mitch Guthrie (D) [17] Bob Nicholas (R) [17]
9	Landon Brown	Rep	Incumbent re-elected	Landon Brown (R) [17]
10	John Eklund, Jr.	Rep	Incumbent re-elected	John Eklund, Jr. (R) [17] Jenefer Pasqua (D) [17]
11	Jared Olsen	Rep	Incumbent re-elected	Jared Olsen (R) [17] Calob Taylor (D) [17]
12	Clarence Styvar	Rep	Incumbent re-elected	Ryan Lindsey (D) [17] Clarence Styvar (R) [17]
13	Cathy Connolly	Dem	Incumbent re-elected	Cathy Connolly (D) [17]
14	Dan Furphy	Rep	Incumbent re-elected	Dan Furphy (R) [17] Lorraine Saulino-Klein (D) [17]
15	Donald Burkhart	Rep	Incumbent re-elected	Donald Burkhart (R) [17]
16	Mike Gierau	Dem	Incumbent retired to run for State Senate New member elected Democratic hold	Barbara Allen (R) [17] Mike Yin (D) [17]
17	JoAnn Dayton-Selman	Dem	Incumbent re-elected	Traci Ciepiela (R) [17] JoAnn Dayton-Selman (D) [17]
18	Thomas Crank	Rep	Incumbent re-elected	Thomas Crank (R) [17]
19	Danny Eyre	Rep	Incumbent re-elected	Danny Eyre (R) [17]
20	Albert Sommers	Rep	Incumbent re-elected	Albert Sommers (R) [17]
21	Evan Simpson	Rep	Incumbent re-elected	Evan Simpson (R) [17]
22	Marti Halverson	Rep	Incumbent lost re-election New member elected Independent gain	Marti Halverson (R) [17] Jim Roscoe (I) [17]
23	Andy Schwartz	Dem	Incumbent re-elected	Alex Muromcew (R) [17] Andy Schwartz (D) [17]
24	Scott Court	Rep	Incumbent retired New member elected Republican hold	Paul Fees (D) [17] Sandy Newsome (R) [17]
25	Dan Laursen	Rep	Incumbent re-elected	Dan Laursen (R) [17]
26	Jamie Flitner	Rep	Incumbent re-elected	Jamie Flitner (R) [17]
27	Mike Greear	Rep	Incumbent re=elected	Mike Greear (R) [17]
28	Nathan Winters	Rep	Incumbent retired to run for State Auditor New member elected Republican hold	Howie Samelson (D) [17] John Winter (R) [17]
29	Mark Kinner	Rep	Incumbent re-elected	Mark Kinner (R) [17]
30	Mark Jennings	Rep	Incumbent re-elected	Mark Jennings (R) [17]
31	Scott Clem	Rep	Incumbent re-elected	Scott Clem (R) [17] Dave Hardesty (I) [17]
32	Timothy Hallinan	Rep	Incumbent re-elected	Timothy Hallinan (R) [17] Chad Trebby (I) [17]
33	Jim Allen	Rep	Incumbent lost re-election New member elected Democratic gain	Jim Allen (R) [17] Andi Clifford (D) [17]
34	Tim Salazar	Rep	Incumbent re-elected	Tim Salazar (R) [17]
35	Joe MacGuire	Rep	Incumbent re-elected	Joe MacGuire (R) [17]
36	Debbie Bovee	Dem	Incumbent lost re-election New member elected Republican gain	Debbie Bovee (D) [17] Art Washut (R) [17]
37	Steve Harshman	Rep	Incumbent re-elected	Steve Harshman (R) [17]
38	Tom Walters	Rep	Incumbent re-elected	Tom Walters (R) [17]
39	Stan Blake	Dem	Incumbent re-elected	Stan Blake (D) [17]
40	Mike Madden	Rep	Incumbent retired New member elected Republican hold	Chris Schock (I) [17] Richard Tass (R) [17]
41	Bill Henderson	Rep	Incumbent re-elected	Sean Castaneda (D) [17] Bill Henderson (R) [17]
42	Jim Blackburn	Rep	Incumbent re-elected	Jim Blackburn (R) [17] Juliet Daniels (D) [17]
43	Dan Zwonitzer	Rep	Incumbent re-elected	Dan Zwonitzer (R) [17]
44	James W. Byrd	Dem	Incumbent retired to run for Secretary of State New member elected Democratic hold	Sara Burlingame (D) [17] John Romero-Martinez (R) [17]
45	Charles Pelkey	Dem	Incumbent re-elected	Roxie Jackson Hensley (R) [17] Charles Pelkey (D) [17]
46	Bill Haley	Rep	Incumbent re-elected	Jackie Grimes (D) [17] Bill Haley (R) [17]
47	Jerry Paxton	Rep	Incumbent re-elected	Jerry Paxton (R) [17]
48	Clark Stith	Rep	Incumbent re-elected	Clark Stith (R) [17]
49	Garry Piiparinen	Rep	Incumbent re-elected	Garry Piiparinen (R) [17]
50	David Northrup	Rep	Incumbent re-elected	David Northrup (R) [17] Mike Specht (D) [17]
51	Bo Biteman	Rep	Incumbent retired to run for State Senate New member elected Republican hold	Cyrus Western (R) [17]
52	William Pownall	Rep	Incumbent re-elected	William Pownall (R) [17]
53	Roy Edwards	Rep	Incumbent re-elected	Roy Edwards (R) [17]
54	Lloyd Larsen	Rep	Incumbent re-elected	Mark Calhoun (D) [17] Lloyd Larsen (R) [17]
55	David Miller	Rep	Incumbent re-elected	Bethany Baldes (L) [17] David Miller (R) [17]
56	Jerry Obermueller	Rep	Incumbent re-elected	Jerry Obermueller (R) [17]
57	Chuck Gray	Rep	Incumbent re-elected	Chuck Gray (R) [17] Jane Ifland (D) [17]
58	Pat Sweeney	Rep	Incumbent re-elected	Pat Sweeney (R) [17]
59	Bunky Loucks	Rep	Incumbent re-elected	Laurie Longtine (D) [17] Bunky Loucks (R) [17]
60	John Freeman	Dem	Incumbent re-elected	John Freeman (D) [17]

References

1. Rosenfeld, Arno (January 23, 2018). "Second woman accuses Murray of sexual misconduct; Secretary of state won't seek reelection or higher office". Casper Star-Tribune. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
2. "Wyoming's appointed secretary of state running for job". Casper Star-Tribune. May 2, 2018. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
3. Anderson, Richard (March 22, 2018). "Alta's Christensen announces bid for state treasurer". Jackson Hole News and Guide. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
4. Statewide Election Results
5. Funk, Joel (February 9, 2018). "Cheyenne Democrat James Byrd to run for Wyoming secretary of state". Wyoming Tribune Eagle . Retrieved May 9, 2018.
6. Jacobson, Louis (June 4, 2018). "Secretary of State Races Are More Competitive and Important Than Ever". Governing. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
7. Brosig, Andrew (April 5, 2018). "LaGrange Sen. Meier makes treasurer run official". Wyoming Tribune Eagle . Retrieved May 9, 2018.
8. Randall, Doug (April 27, 2018). "Kristi Racines throws hat in ring for Wyoming auditor". KGAB . Retrieved May 9, 2018.
9. Spina, John (March 26, 2018). "Rep. Nathan Winters announces campaign for state auditor". Jackson Hole News and Guide. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
10. Funk, Joel (March 3, 2018). "Cheyenne Democrat Jeff Dockter declares candidacy for auditor". Wyoming Tribune-Eagle . Retrieved May 9, 2018.
11. Funk, Joel (March 3, 2018). "Wyoming Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow, a Republican, seeks re-election in 2018". Wyoming Tribune-Eagle . Retrieved May 9, 2018.
12. "Barrasso says he's ready to take on possible primary challenges". wyomingnews.com. October 11, 2017. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
13. "Democrat Gary Trauner Announces Bid for Wyoming U.S. Senate". U.S. News & World Report. December 8, 2017. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
14. "Wyoming's Barrasso draws independent challenger". Politico. February 22, 2018. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
15. "Miller announces bid for Congress". Northern Wyoming Daily News. January 12, 2018. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
16. "Democratic challenger to Cheney emerges in Wyoming US House race". Casper Star-Tribune. April 30, 2018. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
17. "2018 General Election Candidate Roster" (PDF). Wyoming Secretary of State. Retrieved September 17, 2018.

External links

• Candidates at Vote Smart
• Candidates at Ballotpedia
• Campaign finance at OpenSecrets

Official Secretary of State campaign websites

• Ed Buchanan (R) for Secretary of State
• James W. Byrd (D) for Secretary of State
• Kit Carson (L) for Secretary of State Archived 2018-10-06 at the Wayback Machine

Official Treasurer campaign websites

• Chris Lowry (D) for Treasurer ^{[ permanent dead link ]}
• Curt Meier (R) for Treasurer Archived 2018-10-06 at the Wayback Machine

Official Auditor campaign websites

• Jeff Dockter (D) for Auditor
• Kristi Racines (R) for Auditor

Official Superintendent of Public Instruction campaign websites

• Jillian Balow (R) for Superintendent