The 1958 Wyoming gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 1958. Incumbent Republican Governor Milward Simpson ran for re-election to a second term. He was challenged by John J. Hickey, the former U.S. Attorney for the District of Wyoming and the Democratic nominee. Following a close campaign, Hickey narrowly defeated Simpson for re-election, winning just a narrow plurality because of a third-party candidate in the race. Four years after this, in the 1962 special U.S. Senate election, Simpson defeated Hickey in a rematch. To date, this is the last Wyoming gubernatorial election where an incumbent Republican was defeated.

Campaign

Louis W. Carlson ran a campaign around legalizing gambling. Simpson attributed him defeat to his failure to win the traditional Republican Sheridan County. Voters in Sheridan County were displeased with Interstate 90 going from Gillette to Buffalo rather than between Gillette and Sheridan.[1]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Democratic primary[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic John J. Hickey 33,027 100.00%
Total votes 33,027 100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

  • Milward Simpson, incumbent Governor
  • Stanley Edwards, former state civil defense director, former deputy state adjutant general[3]

Results

Republican primary[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Milward Simpson (inc.) 28,749 77.61%
Republican Stanley Edwards 8,294 22.39%
Total votes 37,043 100.00%

Results

1958 Wyoming gubernatorial election[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic John J. Hickey 55,070 48.94% −0.57%
Republican Milward Simpson (inc.) 52,488 46.64% −3.86%
Economy Louis W. Carlson 4,979 4.42% −
Majority 2,582 2.29% +1.30%
Turnout 112.537
Democratic gain from Republican

References

  1. ↑ Trachsel 1959, p. 364.
  2. 1 2 3 Gage, Jack R. (1959). 1959 Wyoming Official Directory and 1958 Election Returns. pp. 54–56.
  3. ↑ "Primary Interest Picking Up, Says Stanley Edwards". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. August 17, 1958. p. 2.

Works cited

source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1958_Wyoming_gubernatorial_election