Gordon wins reelection bid

CASPER – Gov. Mark Gordon won a second term Tuesday, defeating Democrat Theresa Livingston and Libertarian Jared Baldes. 
The Associated Press called the race in Gordon’s favor two minutes after the polls closed in Wyoming. 
“Both Jennie and I feel honored and I guess also very humbled by the promptness of the call,” Gordon told the Star-Tribune. “We feel like that’s an endorsement of the last four years and the vision that we have for the future.” 
Despite the challenges of leading the state through the COVID-19 pandemic, which hurt the energy industry and brought with it restrictions that were unpopular with many Republicans, Gordon didn’t face a serious challenge to a second term in office. 
A poll this summer found he and his counterpart in Vermont were the nation’s two most popular governors. 
In August, he defeated three GOP hopefuls, Brent Bien, Rex Rammell and James Scott Quick, to secure the Republican nomination for governor with more than 60% of the vote. 
His success in the general election was no different. 
A University of Wyoming poll conducted at the end of October found that 76% of respondents, including 89% of Republicans and 73% of independents, supported Gordon, while 54% of Democrats preferred Livingston. 
Livingston, who lives in Worland, is an Air Force veteran and former Bureau of Land Management employee, her website says. Economic diversification also ranks among her top priorities, along with expanding women’s rights, Medicaid and mental health care. She ran in 2020 as the sole Democratic candidate for Senate District 20, losing to Republican Sen. Ed Cooper, before defeating Rex Wilde in the Democratic gubernatorial primary this year. 
One of Gordon’s major takeaways from running against Livingston and Baldes was that “people are concerned about Wyoming,” he said. 
“They are not wrapped up completely in national politics and the national scene. There are some, but I think what we saw tonight — what I think we saw out of the general election — was a real commitment to Wyoming issues, local leadership and a real faith in local government closest to the people.” 
Former president Donald Trump did not publicly back a candidate for governor in Wyoming, though he did give endorsements in several other races. Gordon did not attend Trump’s political rally in Casper in May, saying he wasn’t going to take sides in the GOP House primary. 
Republican officials in other states were quick to applaud Gordon’s win. 
“Under Governor Gordon, Wyoming is in a stronger position and voters were enthusiastic to continue his leadership for four more years,” governors Doug Ducey and Pete Ricketts, co-chairs of the Republican Governors Association, said in a statement. “Mark delivered on his promises by cutting taxes and taking on the Biden administration to defend Wyoming’s oil and gas industry. With Governor Gordon, Wyoming is destined for success.” 
Gordon, the former state treasurer, “is committed to making government more transparent, accessible, productive and efficient,” according to his website. 
He believes in limited government, supports gun rights and opposes abortion and Medicaid expansion. Facing primary challengers from the right, he emphasized during a gubernatorial debate in July that he is “a Republican, and a conservative Republican at that.” 
Gordon told the Star-Tribune in August, after winning his primary, that economic diversification, education and health care are key issues his administration plans to address in the future. 
As for his immediate plans, Gordon told the Star-Tribune on Tuesday night, this week is packed with legislative and regulatory meetings. 
“I do hope this weekend I get a chance to go up and go hunting,” he added. “I missed that this fall.” 
Rep. Chuck Gray of Casper won his unopposed bid for Secretary of State. Incumbents Curt Meier, the state treasurer, and Kristi Racines, the state auditor, also ran unopposed in the general election. All three are Republicans.
 
This story was published on Nov. 9, 2022.