The 2016 Wyoming Republican presidential caucuses took place from February 16 until March 1 in the U.S. state of

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 ...

as one of the Republican Party's nomination contests ahead of the

2016 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2016 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2016 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *7 January: Kiri ...

. While Wyoming is the least populous U.S. states, it is at the same time one of the most Republican-leaning states, and is therefore represented by a total of 29 delegates. Twelve of these delegates, one for each of Wyoming's counties were directly awarded to the counties' winners at the county conventions on March 12. Starting as one of the first nomination contests, the last caucuses were held on March 1, this year's "

Super Tuesday Super Tuesday is the United States presidential primary election day in February or March when the greatest number of U.S. states hold primary elections and caucuses. Approximately one-third of all delegates to the presidential nominatin ...

." The remaining 17 delegates were chosen by the State Convention held on April 14–16. The Democratic Party was scheduled to hold their own Wyoming caucuses on April 9.

Background

Wyoming is the least populous of all 50 U.S. states. With almost 60% of the population identifying with or leaning towards the Republican Party, compared to less than 30% identifying with or leaning towards the Democrats, it is also the most solid Republican state, ahead of Idaho and Utah. In the

2012 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2012 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2012 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *3–4 January: ...

, incumbent President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

received less than 28% of the votes, trailing

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...

by more than 40 points.

Procedure

As these were closed caucuses, only residents that are

registered Registered may refer to: * Registered mail, letters, packets or other postal documents considered valuable and in need of a chain of custody * Registered trademark symbol, symbol ® that provides notice that the preceding is a trademark or service ...

as Republican Party affiliates were allowed to participate in the nomination process. Registration was possible at the county clerks' offices, and was open to 17 year old residents turning 18 by the November 8

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The p ...

. Except for the registration, the caucuses in all of Wyoming's 23 counties were fully administered by the

Wyoming Republican Party The Wyoming Republican Party is the affiliate of the Republican Party in Wyoming. It is currently the dominant party in the state, and is one of the strongest affiliates of the national Republican Party. The party currently controls Wyoming's a ...

. Starting as one of the first nomination contests, the last caucuses were held on March 1, this year's "

." The county results were however only published following the March 12 county conventions, together with the results of the

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, and

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

caucuses.

Delegates

Twelve of Wyoming's 29 delegates, were directly awarded to the county conventions' winners. All but one of Wyoming's 23 counties were grouped into pairs of two(

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 ...

was alone). Ted Cruz won 9 delegates, Marco Rubio won one, Donald Trump won one, and one was elected as uncommitted. Rubio's delegates stated that she would vote for Cruz on a second ballot if there was one. Cruz won the 14 at-large state delegates available at the state convention on April 16. Apart from these, Wyoming will be represented by the National Committeeman, the National Committeewoman, and the chairman of the Wyoming Republican Party as unpledged "

Superdelegates In American politics, a superdelegate is a delegate to a presidential nominating convention who is seated automatically. In Democratic National Conventions, superdelegates—described in formal party rules as the party leaders and electe ...

" by virtue of their position. RNC Committeewoman Marti Halverson, one of the RNC delegates, declared her support for Cruz.

Results

Analysis

Ted Cruz Rafael Edward Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz was the solicitor general of Texas from 2003 ...

was able to win the Wyoming caucus by a

landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, rockslips or rockslides, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, mudflows, shallow or deep-seated slope failures and debris flows. Landslides ...

margin, thanks in part to support from

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

voters, who broke for Cruz over Trump throughout the primary. Wyoming has the third largest Mormon population in the country after neighboring

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

and

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

References

{{2016 Republican Primaries

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...