The 2020 United States Senate election in Wyoming was held on November 3, 2020, to elect a member of the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...
to represent the
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 ...
, concurrently with the
2020 U.S. presidential election
Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 3, 2020. The Democratic ticket of former vice president Joe Biden and California junior senator Kamala Harris defeated the incumbent Republican president Donald Trump and vi ...
, as well as
other elections to the United States Senate in other states and
elections
An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office.
Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated ...
to the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
and various
state and local elections.
Cynthia Lummis
Cynthia Marie Lummis Wiederspahn ( ; born September 10, 1954) is an American attorney and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from Wyoming since 2021. A member of t ...
defeated
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY)
**Democratic Part ...
Merav Ben-David
Merav Ben-David (; born 17 January 1959) is an Israeli-American ecologist, zoologist, and politician who is the chair of the Department of Zoology and Physiology at the University of Wyoming. She was the Democratic nominee in the 2020 United Stat ...
by more than 46 percentage points, becoming the first female U.S. Senator from Wyoming and succeeding fellow Republican
Mike Enzi
Michael Bradley Enzi ( ; February 1, 1944 – July 26, 2021) was an American politician who served in the United States Senate from Wyoming as a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party from 1997 to 2021. Prior to his te ...
, who did not run for reelection. This was the first open Senate seat since
1996
1996 was designated as:
* International Year for the Eradication of Poverty
Events January
* January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...
, when Enzi was first elected. The Democratic and Republican party primary elections were held on August 18, 2020. This was the first time since 1996 that Democrats won any county for this seat. Enzi died aged 77 on July 26, 2021, from injuries in a bicycle accident, less than seven months after his retirement from the Senate.
Cynthia Lummis
Cynthia Marie Lummis Wiederspahn ( ; born September 10, 1954) is an American attorney and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from Wyoming since 2021. A member of t ...
won the election with 72.85% of the popular vote, winning 2.91% more than President
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
had won in the
concurrent presidential election in the state.
Republican primary
Candidates
Nominee
*
Cynthia Lummis
Cynthia Marie Lummis Wiederspahn ( ; born September 10, 1954) is an American attorney and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from Wyoming since 2021. A member of t ...
, former U.S. representative for
Wyoming's at-large congressional district
Wyoming's at-large congressional district is the sole congressional district for the US state of Wyoming. It is the third largest congressional district in the United States in terms of land size. The district is currently represented by Harriet ...
and former Treasurer of Wyoming
[
]
Eliminated in primary
*R. Mark Armstrong, geologist
*Devon Cade, businessman
*John Holtz, attorney and U.S. Air Force veteran
*Michael Kemler[
*Bryan Miller, candidate for U.S. Senate in ]2014
The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...
*Donna Rice, estate lawyer
*Star Roselli, conspiracy theorist
*Robert Short, Converse County
Converse County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wyoming. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 13,751. Its county seat is Douglas.
History
Converse County was created in 1888 by the legislature of the Wyoming Territ ...
commissioner and businessman
*Joshua Wheeler, Wyoming Army National Guard
The Wyoming Army National Guard is the Army National Guard of Wyoming. It includes army aviation, construction engineers, field artillery and medical asset units. It was reorganized in 1996, consolidating its two field artillery battalions into ...
veteran
Withdrawn
*Patrick Dotson, retiree
*Rolland Holthus
Declined
*Liz Cheney
Elizabeth Lynne Cheney (; born July 28, 1966) is an American attorney and politician. She represented in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2017 to 2023, and served as chair of the House Republican Conference from 2019 to 2021. Cheney i ...
, incumbent U.S. representative for Wyoming's at-large congressional district
Wyoming's at-large congressional district is the sole congressional district for the US state of Wyoming. It is the third largest congressional district in the United States in terms of land size. The district is currently represented by Harriet ...
, Chair of House Republican Conference
The House Republican Conference is the party caucus for Republicans in the United States House of Representatives. It hosts meetings, and is the primary forum for communicating the party's message to members. The conference produces a daily pu ...
, and daughter of the 46th 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 ...
Dick Cheney
Richard Bruce Cheney ( ; born January 30, 1941) is an American former politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. He has been called vice presidency o ...
( running for re-election)
*Mike Enzi
Michael Bradley Enzi ( ; February 1, 1944 – July 26, 2021) was an American politician who served in the United States Senate from Wyoming as a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party from 1997 to 2021. Prior to his te ...
, incumbent U.S. senator (endorsed Cynthia Lummis)
*Foster Friess
Foster Stephen Friess (April 2, 1940 – May 27, 2021) was an American investment manager and prominent donor to the Republican Party and to Christian right causes. He unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for governor of Wyoming in t ...
, businessman and former governor candidate
*Mark Gordon
Mark Gordon (born March 14, 1957) is an American politician serving as the 33rd governor of Wyoming since January 7, 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as state treasurer; then-governor Matt Mead appointed him to th ...
, governor of Wyoming
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...
* Robert Grady, policy adviser to former president George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...
*Matt Mead
Matthew Hansen Mead (born March 11, 1962) is an American attorney, businessman, and politician who served as the 32nd List of governors of Wyoming, governor of Wyoming from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
, former governor of Wyoming
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...
*Donald Trump Jr.
Donald John Trump Jr. (born December 31, 1977), often nicknamed Don Jr., is an American businessman and political activist. He is the eldest child of U.S. president Donald Trump and his first wife Ivana.
Trump serves as a trustee and exec ...
, businessman and son of President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
Endorsements
Polling
Results
Democratic primary
Candidates
Nominee
*Merav Ben-David
Merav Ben-David (; born 17 January 1959) is an Israeli-American ecologist, zoologist, and politician who is the chair of the Department of Zoology and Physiology at the University of Wyoming. She was the Democratic nominee in the 2020 United Stat ...
, Chair of the Department of Zoology and Physiology at the University of Wyoming
The University of Wyoming (UW) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming, United States. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, ...
and wildlife ecologist
Eliminated in primary
*Kenneth R. Casner, Democratic candidate for the 2018 Wyoming gubernatorial election
The 2018 Wyoming gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the governor of Wyoming. Incumbent Republican Party (United States), Republican governor Matt Mead was term-limited and could not seek a third consecutive term ...
and Democratic nominee for District 47 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 ...
in 2016
*James DeBrine, progressive activist[
*Yana Ludwig, ]democratic socialist
Democratic socialism is a left-wing economic and political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-mana ...
activist and community organizer
*Nathan Wendt, think tank executive, management consultant, businessman, entrepreneur[
*Rex Wilde, veteran, service technician, Democratic candidate for the ]2018 Wyoming gubernatorial election
The 2018 Wyoming gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the governor of Wyoming. Incumbent Republican Party (United States), Republican governor Matt Mead was term-limited and could not seek a third consecutive term ...
and Democratic candidate for the 2014 United States Senate election in Wyoming[
]
Withdrawn
*Chuck Jagoda, teacher
Endorsements
Results
General election
Predictions
Post-primary endorsements
Polling
Results
Lummis outperformed fellow Republican Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
in the concurrent presidential election by 2.9%, or 4,541 votes. She also won Albany County by 1%, or 182 raw votes, while Trump lost it by 2.7%, or 513 votes. She performed significantly better in the Democratic stronghold of Teton County, receiving 37.3% of the total vote, compared to Trump's 29.6%.
By county
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
* Teton (largest municipality: Jackson
Jackson may refer to:
Places Australia
* Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region
* Jackson North, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region
* Jackson South, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region
* Jackson oil field in Durham, ...
)
Notes
Partisan clients
Voter samples and additional candidates
References
External links
*
*
* (state affiliate of the U.S. League of Women Voters
The League of Women Voters (LWV) is a nonpartisan American nonprofit political organization. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include Voter registration, registering voters, providing voter information, boosting voter turnout and adv ...
)
*
Official campaign websites
Merav Ben-David (D) for Senate
Cynthia Lummis (R) for Senate
{{2020 United States elections
2020
The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...
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 ...
United States Senate
The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...
Open seats in the 2020 United States Senate elections