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2010 Wyoming elections

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2010 Wyoming elections

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A general election was held in the U.S. state of Wyoming on Tuesday, November 2, 2010. All of the state's executive officers—the Governor, Secretary of State, Auditor, Treasurer, and Superintendent of Public Instruction—were up for election.

Gubernatorial election

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Incumbent Governor Dave Freudenthal, a Democrat, was ostensibly unable to run for re-election due to term limits. Despite the questionable legality of the state's term limits, Freudenthal did not challenge his inability to seek re-election and declined to seek a third term. Former U.S. Attorney Matt Mead narrowly won the Republican nomination while former Teton County Commissioner Leslie Petersen won the Democratic primary. In the general election, Mead defeated Petersen in a landslide.

Wyoming gubernatorial election, 2010[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Matt Mead 123,780 65.68% +35.67%
Democratic Leslie Petersen 43,240 22.94% −47.05%
Independent Taylor Haynes 13,796 7.32%
Libertarian Mike Wheeler 5,362 2.85%
Write-in 2,285 1.21%
Majority 80,540 42.74% +2.75%
Turnout 190,822
Republican gain from Democratic Swing

Secretary of State

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Incumbent Secretary of State Max Maxfield, a Republican, ran for re-election to a second term.

Democratic primary

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Candidates

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  • Andrew Simons, political activist[2]

Results

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Democratic Party primary results[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Andrew Simons 19,880 99.41
Democratic Write-ins 117 0.59
Total votes 19,997 100.00

Republican primary

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Candidates

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  • Max Maxfield, incumbent Secretary of State

Results

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Republican Primary results[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Max Maxfield (inc.) 91,484 99.57
Republican Write-ins 399 0.43
Total votes 91,883 100.00

General election

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Results

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2010 Wyoming Secretary of State election[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Max Maxfield (inc.) 140,087 76.07% −5.92%
Democratic Andrew Simons 35,873 19.48% +19.48%
Libertarian Candice De Laat 8,045 4.37% −13.64%
Write-in 151 0.08% +0.08%
Majority 104,214 56.59% −7.39%
Turnout 184,156
Republican hold Swing
Results of the 2010 Wyoming Secretary Of State election by county

Maxfield

  40–50%
  60–70%
  70–80%
  80–90%

Auditor

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Incumbent Republican Auditor Rita Meyer opted to run for Governor rather than seek re-election to a second term. In the Republican primary, two accountants—Jim Brown, the former vice-chairman of the Republican Party of Wyoming, who unsuccessfully ran against Meyer in 2006, and Cynthia Cloud—ran to succeed her.[4] During the campaign, Brown attracted widespread support from the Republican establishment and outraised Cloud, but she narrowly defeated him in the primary, which the Casper Star-Tribune called "the biggest upset of the election."[5]

No Democrat filed for the race, but former State Senator and then-Casper City Councilman Keith Goodenough won 31 write-in votes, despite not being a candidate. Under Wyoming law, Goodenough could have accepted the nomination, but ultimately declined to do so, opting to run for re-election to the Casper City Council instead.[6]

Democratic primary

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Candidates

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No Democratic candidates filed.

Results

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Democratic Party primary results[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Write-ins 839 100.00
Total votes 839 100.00

Republican primary

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Candidates

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Results

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Republican Primary results[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Cynthia Cloud 47,427 50.76
Republican Bruce Brown 45,861 49.08
Total votes 93,439 100.00

General election

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Results

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2010 Wyoming Auditor election[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Cynthia Cloud 157,848 99.00% +30.93%
Write-in 1,598 1.00%
Majority 156,250 98.00% +61.86%
Turnout 159,446
Republican hold Swing

Treasurer

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Incumbent Republican Treasurer Joe Meyer, first elected in 2006, opted to run for re-election. He was unopposed in the Republican primary, and no Democratic candidates filed to run in the primary. Worth Christie, an insurance agent in Casper, despite not being a candidate, received 30 write-in votes in the Democratic primary. However, Christie ultimately declined to accept the nomination, instead opting to run for the Casper College Board of Trustees.[7] With no candidates filed to run against him, Meyer was re-elected unopposed. However, just two years into his term, Meyer would die in office and was replaced by Mark Gordon.

Democratic primary

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Candidates

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No candidates filed.

Results

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Democratic Party primary results[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Write-ins 727 100.00
Total votes 727 100.00

Republican primary

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Candidates

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Results

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Republican Primary results[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Joe Meyer (inc.) 90,528 99.66
Republican Write-ins 313 0.34
Total votes 90,841 100.00

General election

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Results

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2010 Wyoming Treasurer election[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Joe Meyer (inc.) 159,436 99.20% +26.48%
Write-in 1,282 0.80%
Majority 158,154 98.40% +52.96%
Turnout 160,718
Republican hold Swing

Superintendent of Public Instruction

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Incumbent Republican Superintendent of Public Instruction Jim McBride ran for re-election to a second term. However, owing to the controversy surrounding the state's standardized testing system,[8] he faced strong competition in the Republican primary from Cindy Hill, a high school assistant principal; Trent Blankenship, the former Superintendent of Public Instruction; and Ted Adams, the Laramie County School District 1 Superintendent.[9] Hill established herself as the leading candidate against McBride, with polling showing her with a double-digit lead on the incumbent[10] while Blankenship was forced to defend his 2005 decision to abruptly resign from office.[11] Ultimately, Hill won the primary by a wide margin, winning 49% of the vote to McBridge's 25%, Blankenship's 15%, and Adams's 11%.

Meanwhile, State Senator Mike Massie, long considered a candidate for statewide office,[12] won the Democratic primary unopposed and emerged as the party's strongest candidate in the statewide races. He campaigned on ditching the state's beleaguered standardized testing regime[13] and attacked Hill for releasing her education plan only weeks before the election.[14] Popular Democratic Governor Dave Freudenthal endorsed Massie as the general election started, and criticized the state's Republican leadership for its inaction in fixing education problems.[15] He also won the endorsement of the Casper Star-Tribune, which praised his "clear handle on what needs to happen at the Department of Education" and argued that he was "the right person at the right time for this very demanding job." The Star-Tribune criticized Hill for the delay in releasing her platform, which it called "more of a philosophical statement than a blueprint to improve education."[16] The Jackson Hole News and Guide also endorsed Massie, praising him as "well-versed in the education issues Wyoming faces" and as a policymaker who "listens and offers pragmatic solutions to the problems facing Wyoming educators today."[17] As the campaign closed out, Massie's fundraising remained strong, allowing him to stay competitive with Hill.[18]

Despite Massie's strength as a candidate, however, he was unable to overcome the state's significant Republican lean, and lost to Hill in a landslide, winning only 39% of the vote to her 61%. However, in so doing, he received the most votes of any statewide Democratic candidate, significantly outpacing Leslie Petersen, the party's gubernatorial nominee.

Democratic primary

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Candidates

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Results

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Democratic Party primary results[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Mike Massie 20,478 99.20
Democratic Write-ins 165 0.80
Total votes 20,643 100.00

Republican primary

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Candidates

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  • Cindy Hill, assistant high school principal
  • Jim McBride, incumbent Superintendent of Public Instruction
  • Trent Blankenship, former Superintendent of Public Instruction
  • Ted Adams, Laramie County School District 1 Superintendent

Results

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Republican Party primary results[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Cindy Hill 47,165 49.20
Republican Jim McBride (inc.) 24,284 25.33
Republican Trent Blankenship 13,988 14.59
Republican Ted Adams 10,227 10.67
Republican Write-ins 209 0.22
Total votes 95,873 100.00

General election

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Results

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2010 Wyoming Superintendent of Public Instruction election[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Cindy Hill 113,026 61.08% +2.54%
Democratic Mike Massie 71,772 38.79% −2.67%
Write-in 250 0.14%
Turnout 185,048
Republican hold Swing

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Statewide Candidates Official Summary, Wyoming General Election - November 2, 2010" (PDF). Wyoming Secretary of State. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  2. ^ Gruver, Mead (October 31, 2010). "Underdog takes on Maxfield for No. 2 job". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. p. 3.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "Statewide Candidates Official Summary, Wyoming Primary Election - August 17, 2010" (PDF). Wyoming Secretary of State. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  4. ^ Joyce, Matt (August 15, 2010). "Two battle for GOP nod for state auditor". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. p. E3.
  5. ^ "Hard work begins for winners of primaries". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. August 19, 2010. p. A7.
  6. ^ Wolfson, Joshua (September 1, 2010). "Goodenough won't seek auditor spot". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. p. B1.
  7. ^ "Worth Christie won't run for treasurer". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. August 31, 2010. p. A3.
  8. ^ Borchardt, Jackie (April 23, 2010). "McBride defends PAWS testing". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. p. A1.
  9. ^ Pelzer, Jeremy (February 23, 2010). "State superintendent race heats up". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. p. A3.
  10. ^ Borchardt, Jackie (August 2, 2010). "Poll: Hill leading GOP pack". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. p. A1, A8.
  11. ^ Pelzer, Jeremy (June 20, 2010). "Blankenship seeks second chance". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. p. A1.
  12. ^ Pelzer, Jeremy (March 5, 2010). "Democrats mull gubernatorial runs". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. p. A1.
  13. ^ Neary, Ben (June 20, 2010). "Massie promises to get rid of PAWS". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. p. A3.
  14. ^ Pelzer, Jeremy (October 13, 2010). "Schools race heats up". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. p. A1.
  15. ^ Borchardt, Jackie (September 22, 2010). "Gov backs Massie for schools post". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. p. B1, B2.
  16. ^ "Massie has best plan to improve Wyo schools". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. October 24, 2010. p. A6.
  17. ^ "A guide to state races". Jackson Hole News & Guide. Jackson Hole, Wyo. October 20, 2010. p. 4A.
  18. ^ Borchardt, Jackie (October 28, 2010). "$50K separates superintendent candidates". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. p. A1.