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Presidential election in Wyoming, 2016

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Wyoming
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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
Click here for more elections in Wyoming
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Wyoming held an election for the president 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 had three electoral votes, which was 0.5 percent of the 538 electoral votes up for grabs and 1.1 percent of the 270 electoral votes needed to win the general election.
  • Between 1900 and 2016, Wyoming cast votes for the winning presidential candidate 76.67 percent of the time. In that same time frame, Wyoming supported Republican candidates more often than Democratic candidates, 76.67 to 23.33 percent. The state favored Republicans in every presidential election between 2000 and 2016.
  • Bernie Sanders won the Wyoming Democratic caucuses with 55.17 percent of the vote. Ted Cruz won the Wyoming Republican caucuses with 66.13 percent.

    • General election candidates

    See also: Ballot access for presidential candidates

    The candidate list below is based on an official 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
    Party Candidate Vote % Votes Electoral votes
         Democratic Hillary Clinton/Tim Kaine 21.9% 55,973 0
         Republican Green check mark transparent.pngDonald Trump/Mike Pence 68.2% 174,419 3
         Libertarian Gary Johnson/Bill Weld 5.2% 13,287 0
         Green Jill Stein/Ajamu Baraka 1% 2,515 0
         Constitution Darrell Lane Castle/Scott Bradley 0.8% 2,042 0
         Independent Roque De La Fuente/Michael Steinberg 0.3% 709 0
         - Write-in votes 2.7% 6,904 0
    Total Votes 255,849 3
    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 the U.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 in 30 presidential elections.
    • Wyoming voted for the winning presidential candidate 76.67 percent of the time. The average accuracy of voting for winning presidential candidates for all 50 states in this time frame was 72.31 percent.[1]
    • Wyoming voted Democratic 23.33 percent of the time and Republican 76.67 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
    Party Candidate Vote % Votes Electoral votes
         Republican Green check mark transparent.pngMitt Romney/Paul Ryan 68.6% 170,962 3
         Democratic Barack Obama/Joe Biden Incumbent 27.8% 69,286 0
         Libertarian Gary Johnson/Jim Gray 2.1% 5,326 0
         N/A Write-ins 0.8% 2,035 0
         Constitution Virgil Goode/James Clymer 0.6% 1,452 0
    Total Votes 249,061 3
    Election results via: U.S. Election Atlas

    2008

    U.S. presidential election, Wyoming, 2008
    Party Candidate Vote % Votes Electoral votes
         Republican Green check mark transparent.pngJohn McCain/Sarah Palin 64.8% 164,958 3
         Democratic Barack Obama/Joe Biden 32.5% 82,868 0
         Independent Ralph Nader/Matt Gonzalez 1% 2,525 0
         Libertarian Bob Barr/Wayne Allyn Root 0.6% 1,594 0
         N/A Write-ins 0.6% 1,521 0
         Independent Chuck Baldwin/Darrell Castle 0.5% 1,192 0
    Total Votes 254,658 3
    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 the Electoral 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 the U.S. House and one for each of their two Senators.

    Wyoming electors

    In 2016, Wyoming had three electoral votes. Wyoming's share of electoral votes represented 0.5 percent of the 538 electoral votes up for grabs in the general election and 1.1 percent of the 270 votes needed to be elected president.

    "Faithless electors"

    The U.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 beat Hillary Clinton by 12 points in Wyoming's Democratic caucuses on April 9, 2016. Fourteen pledged delegates were at stake. Sanders' win marked his seventh consecutive victory over Clinton. The former Secretary of State lost Wyoming to Barack 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 and Donald 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, click here.

    Caucus results

    Democratic

    Wyoming Democratic Caucus, 2016
    Candidate Vote % Votes Delegates
    Green check mark transparent.pngBernie Sanders 55.7% 156 7
    Hillary Clinton 44.3% 124 7
    Totals 280 14
    Source: The New York Times and CNN. Vote totals reflect the number of state convention delegates won.

    Republicans

    Wyoming Republican Caucus, 2016
    Candidate Vote % Votes Delegates
    Green check mark transparent.pngTed Cruz 66.3% 644 23
    Marco Rubio 19.5% 189 1
    Donald Trump 7.2% 70 1
    John Kasich 0% 0 0
    Other 7% 68 1
    Totals 971 26
    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 were pledged 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's pledged 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 as unpledged 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 and Superdelegates 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 and RNC delegate guidelines from Wyoming, 2016

    Presidential voting history

    Wyoming presidential election results (1900-2024)

    • 7 Democratic wins
    • 25 Republican wins
    Year 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
    Winning Party R R R D D R R R D D D R D R R R D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R

    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)
    Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here 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 census here.

    Presidential voting pattern

    See also: Presidential voting trends in Wyoming

    Wyoming voted 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. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Democratic 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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    Democratic: April 14, 2016 (CNN) • March 9, 2016 (Univision) • March 6, 2016 (CNN) • February 11, 2016 (PBS) • February 4, 2016 (MSNBC) • January 17, 2016 (NBC) • December 19, 2015 (ABC) • November 14, 2015 (CBS) • October 13, 2015 (CNN)
    Republican: March 10, 2016 (CNN) • March 3, 2016 (FNC) • February 25, 2016 (CNN) • February 13, 2016 (CBS) • February 6, 2016 (ABC) • January 28, 2016 (FNC) • January 14, 2016 (FBN) • December 15, 2015 (CNN) • November 10, 2015 (FBN) • October 28, 2015 (CNBC) • September 16, 2015 (CNN)

    Insiders Poll: First Democratic debate (October 13, 2015) • Presidential Nominating Index: Clinton remains choice of Democratic Insiders • Presidential Nominating Index: Bush remains choice of Republican Insiders • Insiders Poll: Winners and losers from the Fox News Republican Debate


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