1938 Wyoming state elections

A general election was held in the U.S. state of Wyoming on Tuesday, November 8, 1938. All of the state's executive officers—the Governor, Secretary of State, Auditor, Treasurer, and Superintendent of Public Instruction—were up for election. After losing all of the statewide executive offices in 1934, Republicans made up some ground; they won elections for Governor, Treasurer, and Superintendent, while Secretary of State Lester C. Hunt and Auditor William M. Jack won decisive re-elections.

Governor

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1938 Wyoming gubernatorial election[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Nels H. Smith 57,288 59.81% +18.44%
Democratic Leslie A. Miller (inc.) 38,501 40.19% −17.71%
Majority 18,787 19.61% +3.07%
Turnout 95,789 100.00%
Republican gain from Democratic

Secretary of State

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Incumbent Secretary of State Lester C. Hunt ran for re-election to a second term. He was initially challenged by Doc Rogers, the former Deputy Secretary of State, but after the deadline, Rogers attempted to switch places on the ballot with W. K. Mylar, who was initially running for State Auditor. Hunt's office refused to allow Rogers to withdraw and be replaced by Mylar,[2] but the state supreme court ordered the office to accept the filings.[3] Accordingly, Hunt was challenged by Mylar, a physician. Despite the success of the Republican Party elsewhere in the state, Hunt had little difficulty defeating Mylar by a solid margin, winning his second term.

Democratic primary

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Candidates

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Results

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Democratic Party primary results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Lester C. Hunt (inc.) 31,086 100.00%
Total votes 31,086 100.00%

Republican primary

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Candidates

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  • W. K. Mylar, physician, 1926 Republican candidate for Secretary of State

Results

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Republican Primary results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican W. K. Mylar 27,443 100.00%
Total votes 27,443 100.00%

General election

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Results

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1938 Wyoming Secretary of State election[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Lester C. Hunt (inc.) 50,227 54.61% −1.13%
Republican W. K. Mylar 41,741 45.39% +1.89%
Majority 8,486 9.23% −3.02%
Turnout 91,968
Democratic hold

Auditor

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Incumbent Democratic Auditor William M. Jack ran for re-election to a second term. He was initially challenged by physician W. K. Mylar, but the Republican Party successfully substituted Doc Rogers for Mylar after filing closed following a successful court challenge.[3]

Democratic primary

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Candidates

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Results

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Democratic Party primary results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic William M. Jack (inc.) 30,470 100.00%
Total votes 30,470 100.00%

Republican primary

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Candidates

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Results

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Republican Primary results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Doc Rogers 26,975 100.00%
Total votes 26,975 100.00%

General election

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Results

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1934 Wyoming Auditor election[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic William M. Jack (inc.) 49,869 54.31% −3.37%
Republican Doc Rogers 41,948 45.69% +3.37%
Majority 7,921 8.63% −6.75%
Turnout 91,817
Democratic hold

Treasurer

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Incumbent Democratic State Treasurer J. Kirk Baldwin was barred from seeking a second term due to term limits. Pat Flannery, the Chairman of the Wyoming Democratic Party, won a close primary to succeed Baldwin and advanced to the general election, where he faced Republican Matt Christensen, the former Deputy Assessor of Carbon County. Ultimately, Christensen defeated Flannery by a slim margin, flipping the Treasurer's office back to the Republican Party.

Democratic primary

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Candidates

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Results

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Democratic Party primary results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Pat Flannery 15,042 45.59%
Democratic Frank Clark 14,085 42.69%
Democratic Perry Williams 3,870 11.73%
Total votes 32,997 100.00%

Republican primary

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Candidates

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Results

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Republican Primary results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Matt Christensen 27,287 100.00%
Total votes 27,287 100.00%

General election

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Results

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1938 Wyoming Treasurer election[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Matt Christensen 47,334 52.02% +11.27%
Democratic Pat Flannery 43,661 47.98% −11.05
Majority 3,673 4.04% −14.24%
Turnout 90,995
Republican gain from Democratic

Superintendent of Public Instruction

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Incumbent Democratic Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack R. Gage ran for re-election to a second term. Following his narrow victory in the 1934 Democratic primary, he faced an intraparty challenge from one of his 1934 opponents, Maude Sholty.[4] However, he defeated Sholty by a wide margin and advanced to the general election, where he was opposed by Republican nominee Esther L. Anderson, a junior high school teacher. Despite Gage's large victory four years earlier, he fell victim to the strong Republican performance in Wyoming and narrowly lost re-election to Anderson.

Democratic primary

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Candidates

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Results

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Democratic Party primary results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Jack R. Gage (inc.) 21,606 65.45%
Democratic Maude Sholty 11,406 34.55%
Total votes 33,012 100.00%

Republican primary

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Candidates

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  • Esther L. Anderson, junior high school teacher[10]

Results

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Republican Party primary results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Esther L. Anderson 26,908 100.00%
Total votes 26,908 100.00%

General election

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Results

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1938 Wyoming Superintendent of Public Instruction election[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Esther L. Anderson 48,449 52.63% +13.57%
Democratic Jack R. Gage (inc.) 43,606 47.37% −13.57%
Majority 4,843 5.26% −16.62%
Turnout 92,055
Republican gain from Democratic

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Hunt, Lester C. (1939). 1939 Official Directory of Wyoming and Election Returns for 1934. pp. 60–65.
  2. ^ "Republicans Blocked in Move to Complete Slate: Withdrawal is Turned Down". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. July 19, 1938. p. 1. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  3. ^ a b "G.O.P. Chairman Raps Hunt for 'Cooperative' Allusion: Supreme Court Test of Petition Filing Was Expensive Proceeding, Griffith Says". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. July 28, 1938. pp. 1, 4. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  4. ^ a b c "Rock Springs Woman Contests Renomination of Jack Gage". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. June 21, 1938. p. 2. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  5. ^ "Pat Flannery May Run for Treasurer". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. January 2, 1938. p. 11. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  6. ^ "Clark in Race for Treasurer". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. June 1, 1938. p. 2. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  7. ^ "Perry Williams is Candidate". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. June 1, 1938. p. 2. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  8. ^ "Christensen Is Candidate". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. May 12, 1938. p. 10. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  9. ^ "Educator from Sheridan Seeks Office in State". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. June 3, 1934. p. 5. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  10. ^ "Esther Anderson Becomes Candidate for State Office". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. July 18, 1938. p. 1. Retrieved June 3, 2021.