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Presidential election in Wyoming, 2016

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General election in Wyoming
  Date: November 8, 2016
2016 winner:Donald Trump
Electoral votes:Three
2012 winner:Mitt Romney (R)
Democratic Caucuses
  Date: April 9, 2016
Winner:Bernie Sanders
Republican Caucuses
  Date: March 1, 2016
Winner:Ted Cruz
Down ballot races in Wyoming
  U.S. House
Wyoming State Senate
Wyoming House of Representatives
Wyoming judicial elections
Wyoming local judicial elections
State ballot measures
School boards
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Wyoming heldan election for thepresident of the United States on November 8, 2016. Democratic caucuses took place on April 9, 2016. Republican caucuses took place on March 1, 2016.

HIGHLIGHTS
  • Donald Trump won Wyoming in the general election.
  • In 2016, Wyoming hadthree electoral votes, which was0.5 percent of the538 electoral votes up for grabs and1.1 percent of the270 electoral votes needed to win the general election.
  • Between 1900 and 2016, Wyoming cast votes for the winning presidential candidate76.67 percent of the time. In that same time frame, Wyoming supported Republican candidates more often than Democratic candidates,76.67 to23.33 percent. The state favored Republicans in every presidential election between 2000 and 2016.
  • Bernie Sanders won the Wyoming Democratic caucuses with55.17 percent of the vote.Ted Cruz won the Wyoming Republican caucuses with66.13 percent.

    • General election candidates

    See also:Ballot access for presidential candidates

    The candidate list below is based on anofficial list on the Wyoming secretary of state website. The candidate names below appear in the order in which they were listed on the official list—not necessarily the order in which they appeared on the ballot in November.

    Presidential candidates on the ballot in Wyoming

    ☑Donald Trump/Mike Pence (Republican)
    ☐Hillary Clinton/Tim Kaine (Democratic)
    ☐Gary Johnson/Bill Weld (Libertarian)
    ☐Darrell Lane Castle/Scott Bradley (Constitution)
    ☐Roque De La Fuente/Michael Steinberg (Independent)
    ☐Jill Stein/Ajamu Baraka (Independent)

    Results

    U.S. presidential election, Wyoming, 2016
    PartyCandidateVote %VotesElectoral votes
        DemocraticHillary Clinton/Tim Kaine21.9%55,9730
        RepublicanGreen check mark transparent.pngDonald Trump/Mike Pence68.2%174,4193
        LibertarianGary Johnson/Bill Weld5.2%13,2870
        GreenJill Stein/Ajamu Baraka1%2,5150
        ConstitutionDarrell Lane Castle/Scott Bradley0.8%2,0420
        IndependentRoque De La Fuente/Michael Steinberg0.3%7090
        -Write-in votes2.7%6,9040
    Total Votes255,8493
    Election results via:Wyoming Secretary of State

    Historical election trends

    See also:Presidential election accuracy

    Below is an analysis of Wyoming's voting record in presidential elections. The state's accuracy is based on the number of times a state has voted for a winning presidential candidate. The majority of statistical data is from theU.S. National Archives and Records Administration and was compiled, here, by Ballotpedia, unless otherwise noted.

    Presidential election voting record in Wyoming, 1900-2016

    Between 1900 and 2016:

    • Wyoming participated in30 presidential elections.
    • Wyoming voted for the winning presidential candidate76.67 percent of the time. The average accuracy of voting for winning presidential candidates for all 50 states in this time frame was72.31 percent.[1]
    • Wyoming voted Democratic23.33 percent of the time and Republican76.67 percent of the time.

    Presidential election voting record in Wyoming, 2000-2016

    *An asterisk indicates that that candidate also won the national electoral vote in that election.

    Election results

    2012

    U.S. presidential election, Wyoming, 2012
    PartyCandidateVote %VotesElectoral votes
        RepublicanGreen check mark transparent.pngMitt Romney/Paul Ryan68.6%170,9623
        DemocraticBarack Obama/Joe BidenIncumbent27.8%69,2860
        LibertarianGary Johnson/Jim Gray2.1%5,3260
        N/A Write-ins0.8%2,0350
        Constitution Virgil Goode/James Clymer0.6%1,4520
    Total Votes249,0613
    Election results via:U.S. Election Atlas

    2008

    U.S. presidential election, Wyoming, 2008
    PartyCandidateVote %VotesElectoral votes
        RepublicanGreen check mark transparent.pngJohn McCain/Sarah Palin64.8%164,9583
        DemocraticBarack Obama/Joe Biden32.5%82,8680
        Independent Ralph Nader/Matt Gonzalez1%2,5250
        Libertarian Bob Barr/Wayne Allyn Root0.6%1,5940
        N/A Write-ins0.6%1,5210
        Independent Chuck Baldwin/Darrell Castle0.5%1,1920
    Total Votes254,6583
    Election results via:U.S. Election Atlas

    Electoral votes

    See also:Electoral College

    The president of the United States is not elected by popular vote but rather by electors in theElectoral College. In fact, when Americans vote for president, they are actually voting for a slate of electors selected by members of Democratic and Republican state parties or nominated in some other fashion. Under this system, which is laid out in Article 2, Section 1, of the Constitution, each state is allocated one electoral vote for every member of their congressional delegation, meaning one for each member of theU.S. House and one for each of their twoSenators.

    Wyoming electors

    In 2016, Wyoming had three electoral votes. Wyoming's share of electoral votes represented0.5 percent of the 538 electoral votes up for grabs in the general election and1.1 percent of the 270 votes needed to be elected president.

    "Faithless electors"

    TheU.S. Constitution does not dictate how presidential electors are to cast their votes, but, in general, electors are expected to vote for the winner of the popular vote in their state or the candidates of the party that nominated them to serve as electors. Electors who choose not to vote for the winner of the popular vote or the candidates of the party that nominated them are known as"faithless electors." Faithless electors are rare. Between 1900 and 2012, there were only eight known instances of faithless electors.

    Several states have passed laws against faithless electors and require electors to vote for the winner of the popular vote in their state, for the candidate of the party that nominated them to serve as electors, or in accordance with any pledge they may have been required to make at the time of their nomination. In states with these types of laws, faithless electors can be fined or replaced, or their votes can be nullified.[3][4]

    Wyoming was one of 31 states in 2016—including the District of Columbia—with a law seeking to bind the votes of presidential electors.

    Down ballot races

    See also:Wyoming elections, 2016

    Below is a list of down ballot races in Wyoming covered by Ballotpedia in 2016.

    Caucuses

    Quick facts

    Democrats
    • 2016 Democratic winner:Bernie Sanders
    • 2012 Democratic winner:Barack Obama
    • Type:Caucus
    • Delegate allocation:Proportional
    • Pledged delegates at stake:14
    • Total delegates at stake:18
    		Republicans
    • 2016 Republican winner:Ted Cruz
    • 2012 Republican winner:Mitt Romney
    • Type:Caucus
    • Delegate allocation:Proportional
    • Pledged delegates at stake:26
    • Total delegates at stake:29

    See notes below on the Wyoming Republican caucuses.

    Democrats

    Bernie Sanders beatHillary Clinton by 12 points in Wyoming's Democratic caucuses on April 9, 2016. Fourteenpledged delegates were at stake. Sanders' win marked his seventh consecutive victory over Clinton. The former Secretary of State lost Wyoming toBarack Obama in 2008.

    Republicans

    On March 1, Republicans in Wyoming elected delegates to attend county conventions, where, on March 12, 2016, 12 of the state’s 29 Republican National Convention delegates and alternates were chosen.[5]Ted Cruz won nine delegates.Marco Rubio andDonald Trump won one delegate each. While Cruz swept most of the state, Rubio performed well in Casper and Laramie and their suburbs. Trump narrowly beat Rubio in two western counties: Teton and Sublette.[6]The rest of the state’s national convention delegation were chosen at the Wyoming Republican Party state convention on April 16, where Cruz picked up another 14 delegates.[7] In total, Cruz won 23 delegates from Wyoming. To read more about Wyoming's delegate allocation and binding rules, clickhere.

    Caucus results

    Democratic

    Wyoming Democratic Caucus, 2016
    CandidateVote %VotesDelegates
    Green check mark transparent.pngBernie Sanders55.7%1567
    Hillary Clinton44.3%1247
    Totals28014
    Source:The New York Times andCNN. Vote totals reflect the number of state convention delegates won.

    Republicans

    Wyoming Republican Caucus, 2016
    CandidateVote %VotesDelegates
    Green check mark transparent.pngTed Cruz66.3%64423
    Marco Rubio19.5%1891
    Donald Trump7.2%701
    John Kasich0%00
    Other7%681
    Totals97126
    Source:The New York Times. Vote totals are from county conventions.

    Delegates

    Delegate selection

    See also:2016 presidential nominations: calendar and delegate rules

    Democratic Party

    Democratic Party Logo.png

    Wyoming had 18 delegates at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. Of this total, 14 werepledged delegates. National party rules stipulated how Democratic delegates in all states were allocated. Pledged delegates were allocated to a candidate in proportion to the votes he or she received in a state's primary or caucus. A candidate was eligible to receive a share of the state'spledged delegates if he or she won at least 15 percent of the votes cast in the primary or caucus. There were three types of pledged Democratic delegates: congressional district delegates, at-large delegates, and party leaders and elected officials (PLEOs). Congressional district delegates were allocated proportionally based on the primary or caucus results in a given district. At-large and PLEO delegates were allocated proportionally based on statewide caucus results.[8][9]

    Four party leaders and elected officials served asunpledged delegates. These delegates were not required to adhere to the results of a state's primary or caucus.[8][10]

    Wyoming superdelegates

    See also:Superdelegates from Wyoming, 2016 andSuperdelegates and the 2016 Democratic National Convention

    Republican Party

    Logo-GOP.png

    Wyoming had 29 delegates at the 2016 Republican National Convention: 23 at-large delegates, three congressional district delegates, and three national party leaders (identified on the chart below as RNC delegates). Wyoming's RNC delegates were not bound to support the winner of the state's caucuses. All other delegates were bound to support the preferred presidential candidates listed on their intent-to-run forms unless they were elected as an uncommitted delegate. Wyoming did not use a presidential preference poll to allocate and bind delegates in 2016.

    Republican delegates

    See also:Republican delegates from Wyoming, 2016 andRNC delegate guidelines from Wyoming, 2016

    Presidential voting history

    Wyoming presidential election results (1900-2024)

    • 7Democratic wins
    • 25Republican wins
    Year19001904190819121916192019241928193219361940194419481952195619601964196819721976198019841988199219962000200420082012201620202024
    Winning PartyRRRDDRRRDDDRDRRRDRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

    State profile

    Demographic data for Wyoming
     WyomingU.S.
    Total population:586,555316,515,021
    Land area (sq mi):97,0933,531,905
    Race and ethnicity**
    White:91%73.6%
    Black/African American:1.1%12.6%
    Asian:0.9%5.1%
    Native American:2.2%0.8%
    Pacific Islander:0.1%0.2%
    Two or more:2.7%3%
    Hispanic/Latino:9.6%17.1%
    Education
    High school graduation rate:92.3%86.7%
    College graduation rate:25.7%29.8%
    Income
    Median household income:$58,840$53,889
    Persons below poverty level:12.7%11.3%
    Source:U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015)
    Clickhere for more information on the 2020 census andhere for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Wyoming.
    **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the censushere.

    Presidential voting pattern

    See also:Presidential voting trends in Wyoming

    Wyomingvoted Republican in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.


    More Wyoming coverage on Ballotpedia

    See also

    Footnotes

    1. ↑This average includes states like Arizona, New Mexico, and Oklahoma, which did not participate in all 30 presidential elections between 1900 and 2016. It does not include Washington, D.C., which cast votes for president for the first time in 1964, or Alaska and Hawaii, which cast votes for president for the first time in 1960.
    2. ↑This number refers to the number of times that the state voted for the winning presidential candidate between 2000 and 2016.
    3. ↑Archives.gov, "About the Electors," accessed July 28, 2016
    4. ↑Congressional Research Service, "The Electoral College: How it works in contemporary presidential elections," April 13, 2016
    5. ↑Wyoming GOP, "A brief civics lesson in delegate selection," accessed February 29, 2016
    6. ↑The New York Times, "Wyoming Results, Republican County Conventions," March 12, 2016
    7. ↑CNN, "Ted Cruz sweeps Wyoming Republican Convention," April 17, 2016
    8. ↑8.08.1Democratic National Committee, "2016 Democratic National Convention Delegate/Alternate Allocation," updated February 19, 2016
    9. ↑The Green Papers, "2016 Democratic Convention," accessed May 7, 2021
    10. ↑Democratic National Committee's Office of Party Affairs and Delegate Selection, "Unpledged Delegates -- By State," May 27, 2016
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