Wyoming gubernatorial election was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2010 to elect the Governor of Wyoming, who will serve a four-year term to begin in January 2011. Party primaries were held on August 17. While it was initially thought that term limits would prevent incumbent Democratic Governor Dave Freudenthal from running for re-election, the constitutionality of the term limit law has been questioned, leaving the possibility that if Freudenthal had successfully challenged the law, he might have been able to run for a third term. On March 4, 2010, Freudenthal announced he would not run for a third term. Republican candidate Matt Mead defeated Democratic candidate Leslie Petersen, in the general election.
Even before Freudenthal announced that he would not seek reelection, Democratic state Senator Mike Massie began touring the state informally in preparation for a campaign run. Eventually, Massie announced that he would run for state superintendent of public instruction rather than governor.Paul Hickey, an attorney and the runner-up to Freudenthal in the 2002 Democratic primary, and Larry Clapp, also an attorney and former Mayor of Casper, also stated their interests in possibly running for Governor after Freudenthal’s announcement, but neither ran.
The candidates for the elections were: Leslie Petersen, former Teton County Commissioner and state party chair. Pete Gosar, teacher, commercial pilot, state employee and small business owner, Al Hamburg, retired painter and perennial candidate, Rex Wilde, cabinet maker, Chris Zachary, and former psychiatrist.
People have many duties on election divisions. In addition to many legislative duties, one of the Election Division’s most important tasks is to ensure compliance with state election law and also with federal election laws such as the Help America Vote Act and the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act. The Secretary of State’s Office is responsible for overseeing the administration of all federal and state elections in Wyoming to make certain those elections are conducted accurately and fairly by assisting the county election officials. This Division also maintains the state’s election records, provides comprehensive election information to the public, including information about registering to vote, voting, candidates, election statistics and information about past elections.
The Election Division administers Lobbyist Registration and Disclosure and also maintains state elected officials’ Ethics Disclosure reports. The Election Division played a central role in establishing Wyoming’s uniform statewide voter registration system (WyoReg) and continues to help oversee training on the state’s electronic voting systems.
John Anthony Barrasso is the junior U.S. Senator from Wyoming and a member of the Republican Party. He was appointed to the Senate following Craig L. Thomas’s death and won a special election in 2008 to fill the remaining four years of Thomas’s term. Barrasso is considered a conservative, though in 1996 he ran for the Wyoming Senate as a pro-choice, social moderate. During his career in the Wyoming Legislature, he moved to the right on abortion issues and sponsored legislation designed to provide restrictions on receiving the procedure. He has received an “A” rating from the National Rifle Association. According to a Washington Post survey, he has voted with Republicans 94 percent of the time.