1990 Wyoming state elections

A general election was held in the U.S. state of Wyoming on Tuesday, November 6, 1990. All of the state's executive officers—the Governor, Secretary of State, Auditor, Treasurer, and Superintendent of Public Instruction—were up for election. Democrats Mike Sullivan and Kathy Karpan were re-elected as Governor and Secretary of State by landslide margins, while Democrat Lynn Simons was defeated for re-election by Republican Diana Ohman. Republicans also continued their winning streak in the elections for State Auditor and State Treasurer.

Governor

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Incumbent Democratic Governor Mike Sullivan ran for re-election to a second term. He faced Republican nominee Mary Mead, the daughter of former Governor Clifford Hansen, in the general election. Sullivan proved popular, despite being a Democrat in a conservative state, and he defeated Mead in a landslide.

1990 Wyoming gubernatorial election[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Mike Sullivan (inc.) 104,638 65.35% +11.40%
Republican Mary Mead 55,471 34.65% −11.40%
Majority 49,167 30.71% +22.79%
Turnout 160,109
Democratic hold

Secretary of State

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Incumbent Democratic Secretary of State Kathy Karpan ran for re-election to a second term. Unopposed in the Democratic primary, she faced Sweetwater County County Attorney Tom Zollinger in the general election. Aided in part by Governor Sullivan's landslide re-election, Karpan defeated Zollinger by a large margin.

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 Kathy Karpan (inc.) 40,450 100.00%
Total votes 40,450 100.00%

Republican primary

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Candidates

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Results

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Republican Primary results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Tom Zollinger 65,665 100.00%
Total votes 65,665 100.00%

General election

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Results

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1990 Wyoming Secretary of State election[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Kathy Karpan (inc.) 100,729 64.29% +10.71%
Republican Tom Zollinger 55,948 35.71% −10.71%
Majority 44,781 28.58% +21.41%
Turnout 156,677 100.00%
Democratic hold

Auditor

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After considering a bid for Governor or running for re-election, incumbent Republican State Auditor Jack Sidi declined to run for re-election.[3] He endorsed his Deputy State Auditor, Tom Jones, who ran to succeed Sidi in the Republican primary. Jones faced former Deputy State Auditor Dave Ferrari in the primary, and ended up narrowly losing the nomination to him. No Democratic candidates initially filed to run for Auditor, but Charles Carroll announced, prior to the primary election, that he would run as a write-in candidate for Auditor. Carroll was the Democratic nominee for Secretary of State in 1974 and then served as a Deputy Attorney General in the 1970s.[4] After winning 522 votes as a write-in candidate in the Democratic primary, Carroll received the nomination.[5]

Democratic primary

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No Democratic candidate filed to run for State Auditor, but former Deputy Attorney General Charles Carroll received enough votes as a write-in candidate to receive the nomination, which he accepted.[5]

Republican primary

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Candidates

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  • Dave Ferrari, former Deputy State Auditor[6]
  • Tom Jones, Deputy State Auditor[3]

Results

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Republican primary results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Dave Ferrari 38,567 51.68%
Republican Tom Jones 36,062 48.32%
Total votes 74,629 100.00%

General election

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Results

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1990 Wyoming Auditor election[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Dave Ferrari 91,811 61.02% +5.72%
Democratic Charles Carroll 58,655 38.98% −5.72%
Majority 33,156 22.04% +11.43%
Turnout 150,466
Republican hold

Treasurer

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Incumbent Republican State Treasurer Stan Smith ran for re-election to a third term. He won the Republican nomination unopposed and faced Democratic nominee Ron Redo, a former employee in the State Auditor's office, in the general election. Smith, drawing on his strong electoral record from previous campaigns, easily defeated Redo to win his third term in office.

Democratic primary

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Candidates

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  • Ron Redo, former auditor in the Wyoming Workers' Compensation Division[7]

Results

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Democratic Party primary results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Ron Redo 32,691 100.00%
Total votes 32,691 100.00%

Republican primary

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Candidates

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  • Stan Smith, incumbent State Treasurer

Results

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Republican Primary results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Stan Smith (inc.) 71,241 100.00%
Total votes 71,241 100.00%

General election

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Results

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1990 Wyoming Treasurer election[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Stan Smith (inc.) 101,194 66.67% +4.86%
Democratic Ron Redo 50,587 33.33% −4.86%
Majority 50,607 33.34% +9.73%
Turnout 151,781 100.00%
Republican hold

Superintendent of Public Instruction

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Incumbent Democratic Superintendent of Public Instruction Lynn Simons ran for re-election to a fourth term. She faced a strong challenge in the Democratic primary from former teacher Beth Evans, who attacked Simons for delegating too many of the office's responsibilities to others in her office,[8] including her longtime Deputy Superintendent, Audrey Cotherman,[9] and for "abandon[ing]" the Department of Education's "basic mission of making Wyoming schools better" in favor of "merely counting numbers and issuing press relations gimmicks."[10] Simons only narrowly defeated Evans in the Democratic primary and advanced to the general election, where she faced elementary school principal Diana Ohman, the Republican nominee.

In the general election, Ohman attacked Simon for the poor relationships that her office fostered with teachers, state legislators, and Department of Education employees[11] and argued that Wyoming's highly ranked schools were "not because of" Simons.[12] Simons, meanwhile, argued that Ohman would be a "political puppet whose strings are pulled by a few ultraconservatives"[13] and for routinely missing work during her employment as a principal.[14] Ultimately, Ohman defeated Simons by a decisive margin, winning 58% of the vote to Simons's 42%.

Democratic primary

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Candidates

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  • Lynn Simons, incumbent Superintendent of Public Instruction
  • Beth Evans, education consultant, former Cheyenne public school teacher[15]

Results

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Democratic Party primary results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Lynn Simons (inc.) 21,977 51.57%
Democratic Beth Evans 20,642 48.43%
Total votes 42,619 100.00%

Republican primary

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Candidates

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Results

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Republican Party primary results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Diana Ohman 25,334 33.84%
Republican Ann Tollefson 17,713 23.66%
Republican Don Erickson 16,957 22.65%
Republican Alan Stauffer 14,870 19.86%
Total votes 74,874 100.00%

General election

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Results

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1990 Wyoming Superintendent of Public Instruction election[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Diana Ohman 91,223 57.90% +14.79%
Democratic Lynn Simons (inc.) 66,319 42.10% −14.79%
Majority 24,904 15.81% +2.04%
Turnout 157,542 100.00%
Republican gain from Democratic

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Karpan, Kathy (1991). 1991 Wyoming Official Directory and 1990 Election Returns. pp. 184, 263.
  2. ^ "Zollinger says support makes race 'winnable'". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. May 8, 1990. p. B1. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  3. ^ a b Barron, Joan (March 20, 1990). "Sidi withdraws from gubernatorial race". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. p. B1. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  4. ^ Barron, Joan (July 28, 1990). "Write-in candidacy for auditor announced". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. p. B1. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  5. ^ a b Tea, Tom (August 23, 1990). "Ferrari unofficially nips Jones at the wire". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. p. A1, A14. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  6. ^ Barron, Joan (June 9, 1990). "Last-day election filing: Ferrari runs for auditor". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. p. A1, A16. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  7. ^ Pelkey, Charles (June 28, 1990). "Candidate for state treasurer focuses on Workers' Comp". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. p. A1, A14. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  8. ^ "Candidates blast Simons for delegation of power". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. June 16, 1990. p. B1. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  9. ^ Barron, Joan (May 15, 1990). "Cotherman resigns to take UW job". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. p. A1, A12. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  10. ^ "Evans sees numbers, not enough change in Education Department". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. August 12, 1990. p. B1. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  11. ^ "Ohman blasts Simons for lack of good communication skills". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. February 4, 1990. p. B1. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  12. ^ Jackson, Hugh (August 31, 1990). "Ohman: Wyo's top school rankings despite, 'not because of' Simons". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. p. B1. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  13. ^ Rea, Tom (September 12, 1990). "Simons: Ohman would be 'political puppet': Republican's friends in the legislature 'frightening prospect'". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. p. B1. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  14. ^ Rea, Tom (October 7, 1990). "Simons needles Ohman on attendance record". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. p. B1. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  15. ^ Quarterman, Emily (February 4, 1990). "Democrat Evans joins race for schools superintendent". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. p. A1, A12. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  16. ^ a b c d Rea, Tom (August 14, 1990). "Simons defends agency against challengers". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. p. A1. Retrieved June 6, 2021.