The Wyoming Democratic Party is the affiliate of the state's Democratic Party, headquartered in Cheyenne, Wyoming. The party was strong during Wyoming's territorial days, but suffered a decline in its early statehood. It rose to prominence again from the 1930s to the 1950s before experiencing another decline.
The party is led by Chris Rothfuss in the state senate and Mike Yin in the state house. The party currently has very weak electoral power in the state, and is one of the weakest affiliates of the national Democratic Party. It currently controls none of Wyoming's statewide and/or federal elected offices and very few seats in the Wyoming Legislature.
History
On September 2, 1869, Wyoming held its first territorial elections and the Democratic party won in a landslide winning all nine seats in the Council and all twelve seats in the House of Representatives. In 1889, the party selected fifteen delegates to the Wyoming constitutional convention to draft its constitution to be submitted for statehood that included Henry S. Elliott, George W. Baxter, Anthony C. Campbell, Henry A. Coffeen, William C. Irvine, James A. Johnston, Edward J. Morris, John M. McCandlish, Caleb P. Organ, Louis J. Palmer, John L. Russell, Charles H. Burritt, Douglas A. Preston, Thomas R. Reid, and Noyes Baldwin.
In the 1920 elections the party was defeated in a landslide by the Republicans with Warren G. Harding flipping the state in the presidential election after gaining 22.29% from Charles Evans Hughes' performance in 1916, losing seven of their ten senate seats, and losing ten of their eleven house seats with Thurman Arnold of Albany county as the only Democratic member of the state house. However, the party improved in the 1922 elections and gained twenty-two seats in the state house.
In the 1934 elections the party won every statewide office for the only time in its history and took control of the state senate for the first time since statehood. However, in the 1938 elections the party lost all three of the five statewide offices and lost control of both legislative chambers and since then has never held a majority in the state senate and only held a majority in the state house for four years.
In 1958, the Democrats regained control of the state house for the first time in twenty years. The Democrats lost the state house in the 1960 election.
On May 11, 1974, delegates to the party's state convention voted to add the impeachment of President Richard Nixon to the state party's platform. In the 1984 state legislative elections the party lost seven seats in the House of Representatives due to Governor Edgar Herschler's unpopular decision to veto a homeowners tax credit program stating that it would subsidize homeowners who did not need it.
Chuck Graves, who was then the party's chairman, criticized the Democratic National Committee for including Wyoming as a state that was too Republican and would be written off during the 1992 presidential election along with Nevada, Idaho, and Utah.
During the 2002 elections the national party gave the party $25,000. During the 2006 elections the national party conducted a fifty-state strategy under Chairman Howard Dean's leadership and invested large amounts of money in swing and red states. In 2005 the national committee started sending $10,000 per month for staff support and in 2006 it paid for field and communications directors and invested $100,000 into the party. In the 2006 House election Gary Trauner was narrowly defeated by Representative Barbara Cubin and was the closest the party had come to winning Wyoming's federal House seat since Teno Roncalio won reelection in 1976.
During the 2020 election, the party reimagined its presidential preference caucus into the state's first ranked choice voting election. Initially planned as a hybrid in-person and mail-in caucus, due to the COVID-19 pandemic the party eventually shifted to mail-in only format. Ultimately, the 2020 Wyoming Democratic caucus voter turnout was more than double than in 2016.
Officials
Congressional
Gale W. McGee, United States Senator (1959–1977) John J. Hickey, United States Senator (1961–1962) Joseph C. O'Mahoney, United States Senator (1934–1953; 1954–1961) Lester C. Hunt, United States Senator (1949–1954) Henry H. Schwartz, United States Senator (1937–1943) John B. Kendrick, United States Senator (1917–1933) Teno Roncalio, United States Representative from Wyoming's at-large district (1965–1967; 1971–1978) John J. McIntyre, United States Representative from Wyoming's at-large district (1941–1943) Paul Ranous Greever, United States Representative from Wyoming's at-large district (1935–1939) John Eugene Osborne, United States Representative from Wyoming's at-large district (1897–1899) Henry A. Coffeen, United States Representative from Wyoming's at-large district (1893–1895) Morton Everel Post, Delegate to the United States House from Wyoming Territory's at-large district (1881–1885) William Randolph Steele, Delegate to the United States House from Wyoming Territory's at-large district (1873–1877) Stephen Friel Nuckolls, Delegate to the United States House from Wyoming Territory's at-large district (1869–1871)
State officials
Dave Freudenthal, Governor of Wyoming (2003–2011) Mike Sullivan, Governor of Wyoming (1987–1995) Edgar Herschler, Governor of Wyoming (1975–1987) Jack R. Gage, Governor of Wyoming (1961–1963) John J. Hickey, Governor of Wyoming (1959–1961) Lester C. Hunt, Governor of Wyoming (1943–1949) Leslie A. Miller, Governor of Wyoming (1933–1939) Nellie Tayloe Ross, Governor of Wyoming (1925–1927) William B. Ross, Governor of Wyoming (1923–1924) Frank L. Houx, Governor of Wyoming (1917–1919) John B. Kendrick, Governor of Wyoming (1915–1917) John Eugene Osborne, Governor of Wyoming (1893–1895) Thomas Moonlight, Governor of Wyoming Territory (1887–1889) George W. Baxter, Governor of Wyoming Territory (1886) Kathy Karpan, Secretary of State (1987–1995) Jack R. Gage, Secretary of State (1959–1961) William M. Jack, Secretary of State (1944–1947) Lester C. Hunt, Secretary of State (1935–1943) Frank L. Houx, Secretary of State (1911–1919) Samuel D. Shannon, Secretary of the Territory (1877–1888) Jason B. Brown, Secretary of the Territory (1873–1875) John J. McIntyre, Auditor (1945–1946) Carl Robinson, Auditor (1944) William M. Jack, Auditor (1935–1944) Benjamin Gallagher, Territorial Auditor (1869–1870) J. Kirk Baldwin, Treasurer (1935–1939) John W. Donnellan Territorial Treasurer (1869–1872) Lynn Simons, Superintendent of Public Instruction (1979–1991) Velma Linford, Superintendent of Public Instruction (1955–1963) Jack R. Gage, Superintendent of Public Instruction (1935–1939) C. H. Parmelee, Superintendent of Public Instruction (1898)
Mike Gierau, state senator (2019–present) Andi Clifford, state representative (2019–present) Mike Yin, state representative (2019–present) Sara Burlingame, state representative (2019–present) Liisa Anselmi-Dalton, state senator (2017–present) Charles Pelkey, state representative (2015–present) JoAnn Dayton-Selman, state representative (2015–present) Chris Rothfuss, state senator (2011–present) Cathy Connolly, state representative (2009–present) Stan Blake, state representative (2007–present) Mary Throne, state representative (2007–2017) Della Herbst, state representative (1983–1987) Herman F. Krueger, state representative (1931–1939; 1941–1943) Thurman Arnold, state representative (1921–1923) Theodore C. Diers, state senator (1915–1919) Theodore C. Diers, state representative (1913–1915) Otto L. Burns, state representative (1913–1915) Jacob Berner, state senator (1911–1919) James R. Carpenter, state senator (1911–1915) George H. Cross, state senator (1895–1897; 1909–1913) Robert H. Homer, territorial legislature
Guy Padgett, mayor of Casper (2005–2006) Della Herbst, mayor of Sheridan (1993–1996) Paul Ranous Greever, mayor of Cody (1930–1932) Thurman Arnold, mayor of Laramie (1923–1924)
Leaders
Mike Yin, House Minority Leader (2023-present) Cathy Connolly, House Minority Leader (2017–2023) Mary Throne, House Minority Leader (2013–2017) Herman F. Krueger, Speaker of the House (1937–1939) Thurman Arnold, House Minority Leader (1921–1923)
Will Reid, Secretary (1904)
Electoral performance Presidential
+PresidentElection yearVote percentage+/–VotesPresidential candidateVice presidential candidateResult18927,722James B. WeaverJames G. FieldLost1896 5.3510,861William Jennings BryanArthur SewallThomas E. WatsonWon1900 10.3210,164William Jennings BryanAdlai Stevenson ILost1904 12.098,930Alton B. ParkerHenry Gassaway DavisLost1908 10.5914,918William Jennings BryanJohn W. KernLost1912 3.4715,310Woodrow WilsonThomas R. MarshallWon1916 18.4228,316Woodrow WilsonThomas R. MarshallWon1920 22.7617,429James M. CoxFranklin D. RooseveltLost1924 15.7512,868John W. DavisCharles W. BryanLost1928 19.2629,299Al SmithJoseph Taylor RobinsonLost1932 20.7054,370Franklin D. RooseveltJohn Nance GarnerWon1936 4.5162,624Franklin D. RooseveltJohn Nance GarnerWon1940 7.7659,287Franklin D. RooseveltHenry A. WallaceWon1944 4.0549,419Franklin D. RooseveltHarry S. TrumanLost1948 2.8552,354Harry S. TrumanAlben W. BarkleyWon1952 14.5347,934Adlai Stevenson IIJohn SparkmanLost1956 2.8349,554Adlai Stevenson IIEstes KefauverLost1960 5.0763,331John F. KennedyLyndon B. JohnsonLost1964 11.5780,718Lyndon B. JohnsonHubert HumphreyWon1968 21.0545,173Hubert HumphreyEdmund MuskieLost1972 5.0444,358George McGovernSargent ShriverLost1976 9.3462,239Jimmy CarterWalter MondaleLost1980 11.8449,427Jimmy CarterWalter MondaleLost1984 0.2753,370Walter MondaleGeraldine FerraroLost1988 9.7767,113Michael DukakisLloyd BentsenLost1992 3.9168,160Bill ClintonAl GoreLost1996 2.7477,934Bill ClintonAl GoreLost2000 9.1460,481Al GoreJoe LiebermanLost2004 1.3770,776John KerryJohn EdwardsLost2008 3.4782,868Barack ObamaJoe BidenLost2012 4.7269,286Barack ObamaJoe BidenLost2016 6.1955,973Hillary ClintonTim KaineLost2020 4.9273,491Joe BidenKamala HarrisLost2024 0.7169,527Kamala HarrisTim WalzLost
Congressional
+United StatesHouse of RepresentativesElection yearVote percentage+/–VotesNo. ofoverall seats won+/–18906,5201892 9.56%8,855 11894 19.17%6,152 11896 16.97%10,310 11898 6.10%8,466 11900 2.25%10,0171902 4.79%8,8921904 3.79%9,9031906 0.86%8,9441908 3.25%13,6431910 3.16%14,6591912 3.76%14,7201914 5.73%17,2461916 6.51%24,1561918 12.15%14,6391920 9.31%14,9521922 19.48%27,0171924 7.07%28,5371926 0.19%25,0821928 9.09%35,9721930 13.43%23,5191932 13.36%43,0561934 10.57%53,288 11936 1.14%56,2041938 10.05%44,525 11940 6.23%57,030 11942 4.07%36,892 11944 4.98%42,5691946 0.31%34,9561948 4.49%47,2461950 2.97%42,4831952 5.61%50,5591954 3.92%47,6601956 2.01%50,2251958 4.61%51,8861960 1.29%64,0901962 9.09%44,9851964 12.17%70,693 11966 3.09%57,442 11968 10.44%45,9501970 13.00%58,456 11972 1.44%75,6321974 3.00%69,4341976 1.74%85,7211978 15.07%53,522 11980 9.94%53,3381982 2.52%46,0411984 4.51%45,8571986 6.32%48,7801988 1.10%56,5271989 11.16%60,8451990 1.93%70,9771992 5.61%77,4181994 2.00%81,0221996 0.48%85,7241998 2.13%67,3992000 10.13%60,6382002 7.65%65,9612004 5.62%99,9892006 5.91%92,3242008 4.93%106,7582010 18.33%45,7682012 0.65%57,5732014 0.93%37,8032016 7.07%75,4662018 0.20%59,9032020 5.19%66,5762022 0.22%47,2502024 1.13%60,778
+United StatesSenateElection yearVote percentage+/–VotesNo. ofoverall seats won+/–191626,324 1191817,5281922 5.2735,7341924 0.8433,5361928 3.2443,0321930 2.1230,2591934 3.1253,8061936 12.6653,919 11940 2.1265,0221942 8.4234,503 11946 2.5345,8431948 11.7057,953 11952 7.8562,921 11954 5.5857,8451958 2.4858,035 11960 7.9060,447 11964 3.1576,4851966 4.5759,141 1970 1.7967,207 1972 19.5140,753 1976 10.3770,558 11978 9.1450,4561982 2.0772,4661984 16.1540,5251988 6.2989,8211990 14.3856,8481994 10.3279,2871996 6.1589,1032000 17.2747,0872002 15.1649,5702006 7.8257,6712008 2.7966,2022012 8.2153,0192014 6.8129,3772018 8.4561,2272020 9.3172,7662024 5.9863,727
Gubernatorial