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United States Senate election in Wyoming, 2020 (August 18 Republican primary)

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U.S. Senate, Wyoming
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Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: May 29, 2020
Primary: August 18, 2020
General: November 3, 2020
Pre-election incumbent:
Mike Enzi (Republican)
How to vote
Poll times: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Voting in Wyoming
Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid Republican
Inside Elections: Solid Republican
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Republican
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds
U.S. House battlegrounds
Federal and state primary competitiveness
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2020
See also
U.S. Senate, Wyoming
U.S. Senate • At-large
Wyoming elections, 2020
U.S. Congress elections, 2020
U.S. Senate elections, 2020
U.S. House elections, 2020

Cynthia Lummis won the Republican Party primary on August 18, 2020, in Wyoming to determine which Republican candidate would run in the state's general election on November 3, 2020. Lummis led the field of nine candidates with 60% of the vote, followed by Robert Short with 13%.

Cynthia Lummis advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. Senate Wyoming.

Candidate filing deadline Primary election General election
May 29, 2020
August 18, 2020
November 3, 2020


Heading into the election, the incumbent was Mike Enzi (Republican), who was first elected in 1996.

A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Wyoming utilizes a closed primary process.[1][2]

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

This page focuses on Wyoming's United States Senate Republican primary. For more in-depth information on the state's Democratic primary and the general election, see the following pages:

Election procedure changes in 2020

See also: Changes to election dates, procedures, and administration in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020

Ballotpedia provided comprehensive coverage of how election dates and procedures changed in 2020. While the majority of changes occurred as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some changes occurred for other reasons.

Political party events in Wyoming were modified as follows:

For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.


Election updates

Candidates and election results

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. Senate Wyoming

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Cynthia Lummis
Cynthia Lummis
 
59.7
 
63,511
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Robert Short
 
12.7
 
13,473
Image of Bryan Miller
Bryan Miller
 
10.3
 
10,946
Image of Donna Rice
Donna Rice
 
5.5
 
5,881
Image of R. Mark Armstrong
R. Mark Armstrong Candidate Connection
 
3.7
 
3,904
Image of Joshua Wheeler
Joshua Wheeler
 
3.5
 
3,763
Image of John Holtz
John Holtz Candidate Connection
 
1.7
 
1,820
Image of Devon Cade
Devon Cade
 
1.0
 
1,027
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Michael Kemler
 
0.9
 
985
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Star Roselli
 
0.6
 
627
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.5
 
501

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 106,438
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles created in one of two ways. Either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey or Ballotpedia staff created a profile after identifying the candidate as noteworthy.[5] Ballotpedia staff compiled profiles based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements.

R. Mark Armstrong

Image of R. Mark Armstrong

WebsiteFacebook

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography:  "The Honorable Mr. Armstrong is the Great Grandson of Coach Corbett, was born in Laramie, Wyoming, and has deep roots here in Wyoming. Mr. Armstrong is the gggg Nephew of Abraham Lincoln and has always registered as a Republican. As a Geologist Mr. Armstrong worked for Halliburton, Earth Metric (SHP) as Senior Engineering Geologist, and then started his own company Earth Engineers. Mr. Armstrong has worked to prevent adverse health affects from toxins. Mr Armstrong has worked oil and gas from throwing chain to developing prospects, and has never been out of zone when directing drilling. He has also work for Wyoming DEQ. Mr. Armstrong is a Geologist / Engineer and has worked the extraction industry, oil and gas, and environmental compliance. He knows the governmental bureaucracy from the inside and from the outside. He has fought for government accountability for years. Mr. Armstrong served as a city councilman and kept a private prison from being built 500ft from the front door of an elementary school. He also authored city legislation to hold employees accountable for the work they do. Mr. Armstrong has volunteered as a coach, librarian, Boy Scout assistant Scout Master, fire fighter, and at his church. He has a history of service and has sacrificed personal well being for the benefit of our society. Mr. Armstrong knows he is not perfect and must rely on his lord and savior Jesus Christ. "

Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

Lets get big money and coruption out of politics and the Federal Goverment back inside the Constitution where it belongs.

Support our Rural Economy: MCOOL, Diversity in Packing, Stability in Rig Count, Free market for Coal, Climate variaance is bad science.

The Constitution is NOT a living Document.

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. Senate Wyoming in 2020.

John Holtz

Image of John Holtz

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography:  "I am an Eagle Scout and a member of the Christian Legal Society since law school. I obtained the first double-digit firm fixed-price contract in the history of the Hughes Aircraft Company; and I was the head of the team to redesign the fire control system; consisting of the laser range finder, ballistic computer and thermal imaging system of the Army's main battle tank, the M60A3. I was in the Electro Optical and Space Division of the Hughes Aircraft Company. When I was at Hughes, they would tease me about the horse on my Wyoming license plates. My grandmother met my grandfather in Gillette in 1919 and her brothers had the livery stable. I was one of the youngest judges in Wyoming history and helped establish the Circuit Court system of today. I was president of my college fraternity and the president of the Alumni Association of the Delta Gamma chapter of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity at the University of Wyoming from 1988 to 1992. I was instrumental in placing the carrying of concealed weapon without a permit for Wyoming residents on the Wyoming Republican platform in 2010. I am a life member of the NRA. I still drive the car I had as a judge in 1992, it has over 600,000 miles on the original engine and transmission. I was class president at Clark Air Base in the Philippines, where the Japanese first developed kamikaze tactics as a mass weapon of war. I was on the Bataan Death March 20th anniversary march with three of the original survivors."

Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

Government is best that governs least. I will strengthen America's defense and reduce the deficit. I would make Social Security non-taxable once again.

I will strengthen America's defense and reduce the deficit and uphold the Constitution of the United States of America.

More of the same will result in less and less.

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. Senate Wyoming in 2020.


Endorsements

This section lists endorsements issued in this election. If you are aware of endorsements that should be included, please email us.

Republican primary endorsements
Endorsement Armstrong Dotson Lummis Short Wheeler
Elected officials
U.S. Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.)[4] ✔
U.S. Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.)[4] ✔

Campaign finance

This section contains campaign finance figures from the Federal Election Commission covering all candidate fundraising and spending in this election.[6] It does not include information on fundraising before the current campaign cycle or on spending by satellite groups. The numbers in this section are updated as candidates file new campaign finance reports. Candidates for Congress are required to file financial reports on a quarterly basis, as well as two weeks before any primary, runoff, or general election in which they will be on the ballot and upon the termination of any campaign committees.[7] The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
R. Mark Armstrong Republican Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Devon Cade Republican Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
John Holtz Republican Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Michael Kemler Republican Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Cynthia Lummis Republican Party $3,003,788 $3,037,813 $114,450 As of December 31, 2020
Bryan Miller Republican Party $52,127 $52,127 $0 As of December 31, 2020
Donna Rice Republican Party $212,603 $212,603 $0 As of September 30, 2020
Star Roselli Republican Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Robert Short Republican Party $374,859 $375,568 $-710 As of December 31, 2020
Joshua Wheeler Republican Party $13,320 $10,113 $1,219 As of July 29, 2020

Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2020. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee."
** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.
*** Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.


General election race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

  • Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
  • Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
  • Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.[8]
  • Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.[9][10][11]

Race ratings: U.S. Senate election in Wyoming, 2020
Race trackerRace ratings
November 3, 2020October 27, 2020October 20, 2020October 13, 2020
The Cook Political ReportSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid Republican
Inside Elections with Nathan L. GonzalesSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid Republican
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal BallSafe RepublicanSafe RepublicanSafe RepublicanSafe Republican
Note: Ballotpedia updates external race ratings every week throughout the election season.

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "State Primary Election Types," accessed October 7, 2024
  2. ↑ Wyoming Secretary of State, "Welcome to the FAQs," accessed June 2, 2025
  3. ↑ Casper Star Tribune, "Foster Friess says he will not run for Enzi's U.S. Senate seat," March 2, 2020
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Casper Star Tribune, "Sens. Mike Enzi, John Barrasso endorse Cynthia Lummis for Senate," February 18, 2020
  5. ↑ Candidate Connection surveys completed before September 26, 2019, were not used to generate candidate profiles. In battleground primaries, Ballotpedia based its selection of noteworthy candidates on polling, fundraising, and noteworthy endorsements. In battleground general elections, all major party candidates and any other candidates with the potential to impact the outcome of the race were included.
  6. ↑ Fundraising by primary candidates can be found on the race's respective primary election page. Fundraising by general election candidates can be found on the race's general election page.
  7. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "2022 Quarterly Reports," accessed March 2, 2022
  8. ↑ Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
  9. ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
  10. ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
  11. ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018


Wyoming's current delegation to the United States Congress
Senators
John Barrasso (R)
Cynthia Lummis (R)
Representatives
Republican Party (3)


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