1958 Wyoming gubernatorial election
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
 | |||||||||||||||||
November 4, 1958
| |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
 County results Hickey: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Simpson: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
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
- John J. Hickey, former U.S. Attorney for the District of Wyoming
Results
| 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
| 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
| 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 | |||||