The 1964 United States presidential election in Wyoming took place on November 3, 1964, as part of the

1964 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 3, 1964, less than a year following the assassination of John F. Kennedy, who won the previous presidential election. The Democratic Party (U ...

. State voters chose three representatives, or electors, to the

Electoral College An electoral college is a body whose task is to elect a candidate to a particular office. It is mostly used in the political context for a constitutional body that appoints the head of state or government, and sometimes the upper parliament ...

, who voted for

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

and

vice president A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

was won by

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be ...

Democratic President

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...

, with 56.56% of the popular vote, against the Republican nominee,

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

Barry Goldwater Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and major general in the United States Air Force, Air Force Reserve who served as a United States senator from 1953 to 1965 and 1969 to 1987, and was the Re ...

, with 43.44% of the popular vote, representing a margin of victory of 13.2%. Johnson's victory was part of a nationwide landslide in which he captured many traditionally Republican states, and Wyoming was no exception. Johnson enjoyed bipartisan support due to sympathy over the Assassination of his predecessor John F. Kennedy in 1963, along with support for many of his programs such as the

Great Society The Great Society was a series of domestic programs enacted by President Lyndon B. Johnson in the United States between 1964 and 1968, aimed at eliminating poverty, reducing racial injustice, and expanding social welfare in the country. Johnso ...

, which aimed to eliminate poverty in America, and the

Civil Rights Act of 1964 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and United States labor law, labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on Race (human categorization), race, Person of color, color, religion, sex, and nationa ...

, which outlawed racial discrimination. Goldwater, a believer in free markets and low taxes, famously opposed both of these programs, and suggested making social security voluntary, which cost him a great deal of support among moderates – including Republicans – who viewed him as too conservative.

Nelson Rockefeller Nelson Aldrich "Rocky" Rockefeller (July 8, 1908 – January 26, 1979) was the 41st vice president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford. He was also the 49th governor of New York, serving from 1959 to 197 ...

and

George W. Romney George Wilcken Romney (July 8, 1907 – July 26, 1995) was an American businessman and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served as chairman and president of American Motors Corporation from 1954 to 1962, the 43rd gove ...

, the governors of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

respectively, refused to endorse Goldwater. He did receive some support from Nixon and former President

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

; however, the former wanted to see much of Goldwater's agenda struck down, while Eisenhower's support was limited to a single commercial, as he never fully forgave the Arizona Senator for calling many of his biggest accomplishments as president such as the

Interstate Highway System The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, or the Eisenhower Interstate System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Hi ...

dime store A variety store (also five and dime (historic), pound shop, or dollar store) is a retail store that sells general merchandise, such as apparel, auto parts, dry goods, toys, hardware, furniture, and a selection of groceries. It usually sells th ...

New Deal The New Deal was a series of wide-reaching economic, social, and political reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1938, in response to the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depressi ...

. Democrats successfully portrayed him as an extremist, most famously with the Daisy Television Ad. With Johnson's victory, Democrat

Gale W. McGee Gale William McGee (March 17, 1915April 9, 1992) was an American politician, diplomat and historian who was a United States Senate, United States senator from Wyoming from 1959 to 1977, and List of ambassadors of the United States to the Organiz ...

held his Senate seat and Democrats flipped the state's sole congressional seat. They even managed to regain control of the

Wyoming House of Representatives The Wyoming House of Representatives is the lower house of the Wyoming Legislature, Wyoming State Legislature. There are 62 Representatives in the House, representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts across the Wyoming, st ...

and got within a single seat of capturing the

State Senate In the United States, the state legislature is the legislative branch in each of the 50 U.S. states. A legislature generally performs state duties for a state in the same way that the United States Congress performs national duties at ...

, an astounding achievement in a state that political pundits had written off in the years prior as "too Republican". Despite his stunning defeat, Goldwater's campaign began a long term political realignment in American politics, with conservatives beginning to sway towards the Republican Party, ultimately culminating in the 1980 presidential victory of

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

, who had supported Goldwater in 1964, famously giving a speech on his behalf titled "

A Time For Choosing "A Time for Choosing", also known as "The Speech", was a speech presented during the 1964 U.S. presidential election campaign by future president Ronald Reagan on behalf of Republican candidate Barry Goldwater. "A Time for Choosing" launched Re ...

", which raised over $1 million for the Republican nominee's campaign,Cannon, Lou (June 6, 2004). "Actor, Governor, President, Icon". The Washington Post. p. A01. and launching Reagan into the national political spotlight. Additionally, many Northeastern liberals who had previously favored the Republicans began to move towards the Democrats, which would ultimately flip the Northeast blue in

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

. As of 2024, this remains the last presidential election in which Wyoming has voted Democratic; in fact, no Democrat since has reached even 40% of the state's vote. This is also the last occasion that

Laramie County Laramie County is a county located at the southeast corner of the U.S. state, state of Wyoming. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 100,512 or 17.4% of the state's total 2020 population, making it the List of counties in Wy ...

(home to the capital and largest city of Cheyenne), Fremont County, Sheridan County, Park County,

Uinta County Uinta County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Wyoming. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 20,450. Its county seat is Evanston. Its south and west boundary lines abut the Utah state line. Uinta County, together with ...

, Lincoln County, Goshen County, Big Horn County, Platte County, or

Hot Springs County Hot Springs County is a county in the U.S. state of Wyoming. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 4,696, making it the second-least populous county in Wyoming. Its county seat is Thermopolis. The county is named for the hot ...

have voted for a Democratic presidential nominee.Sullivan, Robert David
‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’
''America Magazine'' in ''The National Catholic Review''; June 29, 2016

Results

Results by county

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

* Albany * Big Horn * Fremont * Goshen *

Hot Springs A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a Spring (hydrology), spring produced by the emergence of Geothermal activity, geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow ...

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the 16th president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln (na ...

* Natrona *

Park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

* Platte * Sheridan * Uinta

References

{{1964 United States elections

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

1964 Wyoming elections

Results

Results by county

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

See also

References