The 1988 United States Senate election in Wyoming was held on November 8, 1988. Incumbent Republican Senator Malcolm Wallop ran for re-election to a third term. He was opposed by Democratic State Senator John Vinich in the general election. Despite Wallop's past strong performances in 1976 and 1982, and the overwhelming Republican majority in Wyoming in the presidential election, Wallop faced a surprisingly competitive race. He ended up defeating Vinich by less than 1%, by a margin of just 1,322 votes. To date, this remains the strongest performance by a Democratic U.S. Senate nominee in Wyoming since 1970, the last time a Democrat won a Senate election in the state. This is also the closest U.S. Senate race in Wyoming history.
Democratic primary Candidates John Vinich, State Senator Pete Maxfield, former Dean of the University of Wyoming School of Law Lynn Simons, Wyoming Superintendent of Instruction
Results
Republican primary Candidates Malcolm Wallop, incumbent U.S. Senator Nora Marie Lewis, farmer Bud Kinney, perennial candidate Michael J. Dee, perennial candidate, marijuana legalization advocate Russ Hanrahan, retired air traffic controller
Results
General election Results
References