 | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
 County results Hickey: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Simpson: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| Elections in Wyoming | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
The1958 Wyoming gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 1958. Incumbent Republican GovernorMilward Simpson ran for re-election to a second term. He was challenged byJohn J. Hickey, the former U.S. Attorney for theDistrict 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. In an irony, just four years later, in the1962 special U.S. Senate election, Simpson would defeat Hickey, avenging his loss in the gubernatorial election. To date, this is the last Wyoming gubernatorial election where an incumbent Republican was defeated.
Louis W. Carlson ran a campaign around legalizing gambling. Simpson attributed him defeat to his failure to win the traditional RepublicanSheridan County. Voters in Sheridan County were displeased withInterstate 90 going fromGillette toBuffalo rather than between Gillette andSheridan.[1]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | John J. Hickey | 33,027 | 100.00% | |
| Total votes | 33,027 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Milward Simpson (inc.) | 28,749 | 77.61% | |
| Republican | Stanley Edwards | 8,294 | 22.39% | |
| Total votes | 37,043 | 100.00% | ||
| 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 | ||||
| Democraticgain fromRepublican | |||||
