Matthew Hansen Mead (born March 11, 1962) is an American attorney, businessman, and politician who served as the 32nd

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 ...

from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he previously was the

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

for the District of Wyoming from 2001 to 2007.

Early life and career

Mead, the son of Peter Bradford Mead and Mary Elisabeth Hansen Mead, was born and raised in

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, ...

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 ...

. Mead graduated in 1984 with a bachelor's degree in radio/television from Trinity University in

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

where he was a member of the Bengal Lancer fraternity among other pursuits. He earned a J.D. degree from the

University of Wyoming College of Law A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

at Laramie. After law school, he served as a county and federal prosecutor and also practiced in a private law firm.

U.S. Attorney

In 2001, Mead was appointed

for the District of Wyoming by President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

. He served until June 2007, when he resigned to seek the Senate seat vacated by the death of fellow Republican

Craig L. Thomas Craig Lyle Thomas (February 17, 1933 – June 4, 2007) was an American politician who served as United States Senator from Wyoming from 1995 until his death in 2007. He was a member of the Republican Party. In the Senate, Thomas was considered ...

. His resignation was required under the

Hatch Act of 1939 The Hatch Act of 1939, An Act to Prevent Pernicious Political Activities, is a United States federal law that prohibits civil service employees in the executive branch of the federal government, except the president and vice president, from ...

. In accordance with Wyoming state law, the Republican Party selected the three candidates from which Democratic governor Dave Freudenthal could make his selection. On the third ballot, the Republican State Central Committee, by fourteen votes, eliminated Mead from consideration. Freudenthal chose

State Senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

John Barrasso John Anthony Barrasso III ( ; born July 21, 1952) is an American physician and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Wyoming, a seat he has held since 2007. A mem ...

; the others he considered were former State Treasurer

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 ...

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. The Cheyenne comprise two Native American tribes, the Só'taeo'o or Só'taétaneo'o (more commonly spelled as Suhtai or Sutaio) and the (also spelled Tsitsistas, The term for th ...

and former Republican State Chairman and

lobbyist Lobbying is a form of advocacy, which lawfully attempts to directly influence legislators or government officials, such as regulatory agencies or judiciary. Lobbying involves direct, face-to-face contact and is carried out by various entities, in ...

Tom Sansonetti, who had been an aide to Thomas.

Governor

2010 election

In 2010, Mead won the Republican gubernatorial primary with 30,272 votes, defeating State Auditor Rita Meyer, who polled 29,558 votes, despite Meyer's endorsement by former Alaska governor

Sarah Palin Sarah Louise Palin (; Heath; born February 11, 1964) is an American politician, commentator, and author who served as the ninth governor of Alaska from 2006 until her resignation in 2009. She was the 2008 Republican vice presidential nomi ...

Fort Bridger Fort Bridger was originally a 19th-century fur trading outpost established in 1842, on Blacks Fork of the Green River, in what is now Uinta County, Wyoming, United States and was then part of Mexico. It became a vital resupply point for wagon ...

rancher Ron Micheli finished third (27,592 votes) and

State House State House or statehouse may refer to: Buildings *Aso Villa or State House, the official residence of the President of Nigeria *Government House, Dominica or The State House, the official residence of the President of Dominica * State House, Bar ...

Speaker Colin M. Simpson was fourth (16,673 votes). With Freudenthal not running for a third term, because of term limits, Mead was a heavy favorite in the

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

; Wyoming is heavily Republican. Mead's campaign emphasized his support for gun rights. He opposed

gay marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 billion people (20% ...

and abortion, but stated that there should be exceptions to allow an abortion when the woman's health or life is at stake and in cases of rape and incest. On November 2, 2010, Mead easily defeated Leslie Petersen, the former chairwoman of the

Wyoming Democratic Party The Wyoming Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in Wyoming, headquartered in Cheyenne. The party was strong during Wyoming's territorial days, but suffered a decline in its early statehood. It rose to prominence again from ...

, receiving 72% of the vote to Petersen's 25%.

2014 election

In late January 2013, Wyoming Superintendent of Public Instruction Cindy Hill, a Republican, announced that she would be a candidate in Wyoming's 2014 governor's race. A

Tea Party A tea party is a social gathering event, typically held in the afternoon, featuring the consumption of tea and light refreshments. Social tea drinking rituals are observed in many cultures worldwide, both historically and in the present day. A ...

favorite, Hill would face Mead in the Republican primary on August 19, 2014. Earlier in January, Mead had signed legislation sharply reducing the responsibilities of Hill's office, making the position largely ceremonial. Mead handily won re-nomination in the 2014 Republican primary, with 53,626 votes (55 percent), compared to Dr. Taylor Haynes' 31,490 (32 percent), and Hill's 12,443 (13 percent). In the November 4

, Mead handily defeated Pete Gosar, the former Democratic Party state chairman and the brother of a Republican U.S. representative from Arizona,

Paul Gosar Paul Anthony Gosar ( ; born November 27, 1958) is an American politician and dentist who has represented in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2023 and represented from 2013 to 2023. A Republican, he was elected in 2010 to represent the ...

. In the same election, Republican

Jillian Balow Jillian Balow is an American politician who was appointed as the Virginia superintendent of public instruction in January 2022. She resigned from the position in March 2023. From 2014 to January 2022, she was the Wyoming superintendent of publi ...

, backed by Mead, won election to succeed Hill as the education superintendent.

Administration

On October 26, 2012, Mead named

Buffalo, Wyoming Buffalo is a city in and the county seat of Johnson County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 4,415 at the 2020 census, down from 4,585 at the 2010 census. The city had experienced an economic boom due to methane production from the C ...

, businessman and rancher

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 ...

as the

state treasurer In the state and territorial governments of the United States, 54 of the 56 states and territories have the executive position of treasurer. New York abolished the office of New York State Treasurer in 1926, in which the duties were transfer ...

, to succeed Joseph B. Meyer, who died in office. On February 17, 2015, Mead vetoed legislation intended to prevent the state from permanently confiscating an individual's property through civil forfeiture until after a felony conviction had been attained. The legislation, Senate File 14, gained strong popular support and passed through the Wyoming Legislature, with majorities in excess of 2/3 in both houses. An attempt to override the veto failed.

Personal life

Mead has an older brother, Bradford Scott "Brad" Mead, a Jackson attorney, and an older sister, Muffy Mead-Ferro of

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

, the author of '' Confessions of a Slacker Mom''. Mead's mother, Mary Mead, was the

GOP The Republican Party, also known as the Grand Old Party (GOP), is a right-wing political party in the United States. One of the two major parties, it emerged as the main rival of the then-dominant Democratic Party in the 1850s, and the tw ...

gubernatorial nominee in

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

. Considered an expert horsewoman, she died in 1996, on her 61st birthday, in a horseback accident while working cattle in

Grand Teton National Park Grand Teton National Park is a national park of the United States in northwestern Wyoming. At approximately , the park includes the major peaks of the Teton Range as well as most of the northern sections of the valley known as Jackson Hole. G ...

. In 2003, Mead and his brother and sister put their family ranch in the park up for sale; the price was said to be $110 million. Mead's paternal aunt,

Andrea Mead Lawrence Andrea Mead Lawrence (April 19, 1932 – March 30, 2009) was an American alpine ski racer and environmentalist. She competed in three Winter Olympics and one additional World Championship (Olympic competitions also counted as the Worlds during t ...

, was an alpine ski racer who competed in three

Winter Olympic Games The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held in ...

and won two gold medals for the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Mead and his wife Carol have two children.

Electoral history

References

External links

Governor Matt Mead
official Wyoming government site
Matt Mead for Governor
* , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Mead, Matt 1962 births 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century Wyoming politicians 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century Wyoming politicians American prosecutors City and town attorneys in the United States Republican Party governors of Wyoming Living people Politicians from Cheyenne, Wyoming People from Jackson, Wyoming Trinity University (Texas) alumni United States attorneys for the District of Wyoming University of Wyoming College of Law alumni Wyoming lawyers