1970 United States Senate election in Wyoming

none March 2026 December 2024 1970 United States Senate election in Wyoming Wyoming presidential no 1964 United States Senate election in Wyoming 1964 1976 United States Senate election in Wyoming 1976 November 3, 1970 x150px GaleWMcGeePortrait.jpg Gale W. McGee Democratic Party (United States) 67,207 55.78% John S. Wold.jpg John S. Wold Republican Party (United States) 53,279 44.22% 1970 United States Senate election in Wyoming results map by county.svg 255px County resultsMcGee: #7996e2 50–60% #6674de 60–70%Wold: #e27f7f 50–60% #d75d5d 60–70% U.S. Senator Gale W. McGee Democratic Party (United States) Gale W. McGee Democratic Party (United States) The 1970 United States Senate election in Wyoming took place on November 3, 1970. Incumbent Democratic Senator Gale W. McGee ran for re-election to his third term. In a rematch of the 1964 election, he once again faced Republican John S. Wold, who at this time represented Wyoming in the U.S. House of Representatives. 1970 proved to be a fairly strong year for Wyoming Republicans; Governor Stanley Hathaway was re-elected in a landslide and the party won all of the other statewide offices. However, McGee proved popular, and managed to increase his margin from 1964, beating Wold by a solid 56% to 44% margin. As of the 2024 Senate election, this remains the last time that a Democratic candidate has won a United States Senate election in Wyoming; the state is tied with Utah for the second-longest Senate Republican winning streak, after Kansas.https://smartpolitics.lib.umn.edu/2021/03/11/democrats-and-republicans-have-record-us-senate-winning-streaks-in-two-dozen-states/ Democrats and Republicans Have Record US Senate Winning Streaks in Two-Dozen States Ostermeier Eric March 11, 2021 Smart POlitics University of Minnesota June 1, 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210311185118/https://smartpolitics.lib.umn.edu/2021/03/11/democrats-and-republicans-have-record-us-senate-winning-streaks-in-two-dozen-states/ March 11, 2021 live Democratic primary Candidates Gale W. McGee, incumbent U.S. Senator Mike Svilar, State SenatorJune 8, 1970 Svilar Will Challenge McGee for Nomination Casper Star-Tribune Casper, Wyo. 1 Campaign As Senator Gale W. McGee faced a fierce challenge for re-election from Republican Congressman John S. Wold, he faced discontent in the Democratic Party over his continued support for the Vietnam War. In the spring of 1970, State Senator Mike Svilar announced that he could not support McGee for re-election, and noted that he was in conversation with several other anti-war Wyoming Democrats, including attorney John Mackey and mountaineer Paul Petzoldt, about challenging McGee in the Democratic primary.May 21, 1970 Svilar Says McGee Can Be Beaten on War Issue Casper Star-Tribune Casper, Wyo. 1 Ernest Wilkerson, a Casper attorney and the 1966 Democratic nominee for Governor, ruled out a challenge to McGee himself, but indicated his support for an anti-war primary challenger and held open the possibility that he could run as an independent candidate.June 5, 1970 Svilar, Roncalio May Seek Dem Nominations Casper Star-Tribune Casper, Wyo. 1 In June, Svilar announced his candidacy, framing the contest as "a choice between war and peace," as he and McGee agreed on virtually all other issues. To support Svilar, a coalition of left-leaning Democrats in the mold of George McGovern, Eugene McCarthy, and Ted Kennedy, formed the New Democratic Coalition.August 6, 1970 Svilar Launches First Anti-War Campaign Casper Star-Tribune Casper, Wyo. 10 The campaign between McGee and Svilar quickly turned negative, with Svilar repeating his earlier pledge to not support McGee if he won the nomination.May 21, 1970 Svilar Says He Refuses to Play 'Political Games' Casper Star-Tribune Casper, Wyo. 22 McGee threatened legal action against Svilar for claiming that McGee supported staying in Vietnam indefinitely, and Svilar refused to retract his allegation.August 9, 1970 Svilar Says He Won't Retract His Statement Casper Star-Tribune Casper, Wyo. 2 As the campaign closed out, the state affiliate of the AFL–CIO sent a letter to its members claiming that "Svilar's purpose is not to win, but to stir up anti-McGee feeling that can be used in the general election ... to spoil the McGee chances,"August 13, 1970 Union Secretary Says Svilar Is Decoy Casper Star-Tribune Casper, Wyo. 1 a charge that Svilar called "completely false and a desperate last-ditch, grasping at straws by Gale McGee's political machine as it sees itself about to collapse."August 13, 1970 Svilar Calls It 'False, Desperate' Casper Star-Tribune Casper, Wyo. 1 Despite the tenacity of the campaign, however, polling close to the primary election showed the race largely uncompetitive; a Wyoming Stockman Farmer poll taken in early August showed McGee leading Svilar, 39-4%.August 7, 1970 Rural Voters Are Strong for Wold In Stockman Poll Casper Star-Tribune Casper, Wyo. 5 Ultimately, McGee defeated Svilar in a landslide, winning 80% of the vote to Svilar's 20%. Attorney Ernest Wilkerson, who had said that he would evaluate the possibility of an independent campaign against McGee depending on Svilar's performance,August 21, 1970 Wilkerson to Decide Soon Casper Star-Tribune Casper, Wyo. 1 ultimately declined to do so.August 29, 1970 The Wilkerson Withdrawal Casper Star-Tribune Casper, Wyo. 4 However, in the general election, Svilar refused to support McGee over Wold, though he did support the rest of the state Democratic ticket,September 17, 1970 Anselmi Avers State Payroll Is 'Padded' Casper Star-Tribune Casper, Wyo. 8 and Paul Petzoldt, an anti-war opponent of McGee's in the Democratic Party, endorsed Wold over him.September 12, 1970 Petzoldt Joins Wold's Forces Casper Star-Tribune Casper, Wyo. 1 Results thumb|Results by county: #6674DE McGee #6674DE 60–70% #584CDE 70–80% #3933E5 80–90% Democratic primaryThomson Thyra 1971 Wyoming Official Directory and 1970 Election Returns 87–90 1971 Gale McGee (incumbent) Democratic Party (United States) 32,956 79.60% Mike Svilar Democratic Party (United States) 8,448 20.40% 41,404 100.00% Republican primary Candidates John S. Wold, U.S. Representative from Wyoming's at-large congressional district Arthur E. Linde, perennial candidateMay 21, 1970 Roberts First to File Formally Casper Star-Tribune Casper, Wyo. 1 Results Republican primary John S. Wold Republican Party (United States) 40,276 88.03% Arthur E. Linde Republican Party (United States) 5,479 11.97% 45,755 100.00% General election Campaign The general election campaign between McGee and Wold was fierce, with national Republicans targeting McGee for defeat. A small controversy developed over whether McGee falsely claimed the endorsement of the National Rifle Association of America, which prompted a member of the NRA Board of Directors to accuse McGee of "deceiving" voters.October 10, 1970 Stone Says McGee 'Deceives' Public on NRA Endorsement Casper Star-Tribune Casper, Wyo. 5 However, the Casper Star-Tribune issued a correction to its original reporting, noting that McGee did not claim the endorsement, but instead aloud read a complimentary letter from the NRA at a sportsmen meeting in Rock Springs, which some of the attendees took as an endorsement.October 11, 1970 Rifle Association Commended McGee On .22 Ammo Stand Casper Star-Tribune Casper, Wyo. 22 Polling of the race in October suggested a McGee victory, though depending on the source, they disagreed about how sizable; Wold's internal polling put McGee up just 51% to 48% on October 4,October 4, 1970 Democrats Dispute Wold Poll Results McCall Richard L. Jr. Casper Star-Tribune Casper, Wyo. 1 while independent polling from Casper television station KTWO put McGee up 56% to 44%, projecting an overall turnout of 140,000 votes.October 6, 1970 Poll Shows McGee Leading Casper Star-Tribune Casper, Wyo. 1 By late October, KTWO polling showed McGee widening his lead, beating Wold 57-43%.October 27, 2020 McGee Widens Gap in Later Postcard Poll Casper Star-Tribune Casper, Wyo. 1 In the end, McGee ended up defeating Wold by a wide margin, winning 56% of the vote to Wold's 44%, an increase from the 1964 campaign. McGee won by racking up large margins in the central and southern ancestrally Democratic counties of the state, through which the Union Pacific line ran, while Wold performed better in the more reliably Republican regions in the far north, east, and west. Results 1964 United States Senate election in Wyoming Democratic Party (United States) Gale W. McGee (incumbent) 67,207 55.78% +1.79% Republican Party (United States) John S. Wold 53,279 44.22% -1.79% 13,928 11.56% +3.58% 120,486 Democratic Party (US) Republican Party (US) References Category:United States Senate elections in Wyoming Wyoming United States Senate