1938 Wyoming state elections

A general election was held in the U.S. state of Wyoming on Tuesday, November 8, 1938. All of the state's executive officers—the Governor, Secretary of State, Auditor, Treasurer, and Superintendent of Public Instruction—were up for election. After losing all of the statewide executive offices in 1934, Republicans made up some ground; they won elections for Governor, Treasurer, and Superintendent, while Secretary of State Lester C. Hunt and Auditor William M. Jack won decisive re-elections.

Elections in Wyoming

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Other cities

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## Governor

[edit]

Main article: 1938 Wyoming gubernatorial election

1938 Wyoming gubernatorial election[1] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Republican | Nels H. Smith | 57,288  | 59.81%  | +18.44%
| Democratic | Leslie A. Miller (inc.)  | 38,501  | 40.19%  | −17.71%
Majority | 18,787  | 19.61%  | +3.07%
Turnout | 95,789  | 100.00%  |
| Republican gain from Democratic

## Secretary of State

[edit]

Incumbent Secretary of State Lester C. Hunt ran for re-election to a second term. He was initially challenged by Doc Rogers, the former Deputy Secretary of State, but after the deadline, Rogers attempted to switch places on the ballot with W. K. Mylar, who was initially running for State Auditor. Hunt's office refused to allow Rogers to withdraw and be replaced by Mylar,[2] but the state supreme court ordered the office to accept the filings.[3] Accordingly, Hunt was challenged by Mylar, a physician. Despite the success of the Republican Party elsewhere in the state, Hunt had little difficulty defeating Mylar by a solid margin, winning his second term.

### Democratic primary

[edit]

#### Candidates

[edit]

* Lester C. Hunt, incumbent Secretary of State

#### Results

[edit]

Democratic Party primary results[1] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %

|
|
|

| Democratic | Lester C. Hunt (inc.)  | 31,086  | 100.00%
Total votes | 31,086  | 100.00%

### Republican primary

[edit]

#### Candidates

[edit]

* W. K. Mylar, physician, 1926 Republican candidate for Secretary of State

#### Results

[edit]

Republican Primary results[1] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %

|
|
|

| Republican | W. K. Mylar  | 27,443  | 100.00%
Total votes | 27,443  | 100.00%

### General election

[edit]

#### Results

[edit]

1938 Wyoming Secretary of State election[1] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Democratic | Lester C. Hunt (inc.)  | 50,227  | 54.61%  | −1.13%
| Republican | W. K. Mylar  | 41,741  | 45.39%  | +1.89%
Majority | 8,486  | 9.23%  | −3.02%
Turnout | 91,968  |  |
| Democratic hold

## Auditor

[edit]

Incumbent Democratic Auditor William M. Jack ran for re-election to a second term. He was initially challenged by physician W. K. Mylar, but the Republican Party successfully substituted Doc Rogers for Mylar after filing closed following a successful court challenge.[3]

### Democratic primary

[edit]

#### Candidates

[edit]

* William M. Jack, incumbent State Auditor

#### Results

[edit]

Democratic Party primary results[1] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %

|
|
|

| Democratic | William M. Jack (inc.)  | 30,470  | 100.00%
Total votes | 30,470  | 100.00%

### Republican primary

[edit]

#### Candidates

[edit]

* Doc Rogers, former Deputy Secretary of State[4]

#### Results

[edit]

Republican Primary results[1] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %

|
|
|

| Republican | Doc Rogers  | 26,975  | 100.00%
Total votes | 26,975  | 100.00%

### General election

[edit]

#### Results

[edit]

1934 Wyoming Auditor election[1] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Democratic | William M. Jack (inc.)  | 49,869  | 54.31%  | −3.37%
| Republican | Doc Rogers | 41,948  | 45.69%  | +3.37%
Majority | 7,921  | 8.63%  | −6.75%
Turnout | 91,817  |  |
| Democratic hold

## Treasurer

[edit]

Incumbent Democratic State Treasurer J. Kirk Baldwin was barred from seeking a second term due to term limits. Pat Flannery, the Chairman of the Wyoming Democratic Party, won a close primary to succeed Baldwin and advanced to the general election, where he faced Republican Matt Christensen, the former Deputy Assessor of Carbon County. Ultimately, Christensen defeated Flannery by a slim margin, flipping the Treasurer's office back to the Republican Party.

### Democratic primary

[edit]

#### Candidates

[edit]

* Pat Flannery, Chairman of the Wyoming Democratic Party, former State Representative, 1934 Democratic candidate for Secretary of State[5]
* Frank Clark, Cheyenne businessman[6]
* Perry Williams, rancher[7]

#### Results

[edit]

Democratic Party primary results[1] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %

|
|
|

| Democratic | Pat Flannery  | 15,042  | 45.59%
| Democratic | Frank Clark  | 14,085  | 42.69%
| Democratic | Perry Williams  | 3,870  | 11.73%
Total votes | 32,997  | 100.00%

### Republican primary

[edit]

#### Candidates

[edit]

* Matt Christensen, former Carbon County Deputy Assessor[8]

#### Results

[edit]

Republican Primary results[1] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %

|
|
|

| Republican | Matt Christensen  | 27,287  | 100.00%
Total votes | 27,287  | 100.00%

### General election

[edit]

#### Results

[edit]

1938 Wyoming Treasurer election[1] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Republican | Matt Christensen  | 47,334  | 52.02%  | +11.27%
| Democratic | Pat Flannery  | 43,661  | 47.98%  | −11.05
Majority | 3,673  | 4.04%  | −14.24%
Turnout | 90,995  |  |
| Republican gain from Democratic

## Superintendent of Public Instruction

[edit]

Incumbent Democratic Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack R. Gage ran for re-election to a second term. Following his narrow victory in the 1934 Democratic primary, he faced an intraparty challenge from one of his 1934 opponents, Maude Sholty.[4] However, he defeated Sholty by a wide margin and advanced to the general election, where he was opposed by Republican nominee Esther L. Anderson, a junior high school teacher. Despite Gage's large victory four years earlier, he fell victim to the strong Republican performance in Wyoming and narrowly lost re-election to Anderson.

### Democratic primary

[edit]

#### Candidates

[edit]

* Jack R. Gage, Sheridan teacher[9]
* Maude Sholty, former State Director of Special Education, 1934 Democratic candidate for Superintendent[4]

#### Results

[edit]

Democratic Party primary results[1] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %

|
|
|

| Democratic | Jack R. Gage (inc.)  | 21,606  | 65.45%
| Democratic | Maude Sholty  | 11,406  | 34.55%
Total votes | 33,012  | 100.00%

### Republican primary

[edit]

#### Candidates

[edit]

* Esther L. Anderson, junior high school teacher[10]

#### Results

[edit]

Republican Party primary results[1] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %

|
|
|

| Republican | Esther L. Anderson  | 26,908  | 100.00%
Total votes | 26,908  | 100.00%

### General election

[edit]

#### Results

[edit]

1938 Wyoming Superintendent of Public Instruction election[1] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Republican | Esther L. Anderson  | 48,449  | 52.63%  | +13.57%
| Democratic | Jack R. Gage (inc.)  | 43,606  | 47.37%  | −13.57%
Majority | 4,843  | 5.26%  | −16.62%
Turnout | 92,055  |  |
| Republican gain from Democratic

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Hunt, Lester C. (1939). 1939 Official Directory of Wyoming and Election Returns for 1934. pp. 60–65.
2. ^ "Republicans Blocked in Move to Complete Slate: Withdrawal is Turned Down". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. July 19, 1938. p. 1. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
3. ^ a b "G.O.P. Chairman Raps Hunt for 'Cooperative' Allusion: Supreme Court Test of Petition Filing Was Expensive Proceeding, Griffith Says". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. July 28, 1938. pp. 1, 4. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
4. ^ a b c "Rock Springs Woman Contests Renomination of Jack Gage". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. June 21, 1938. p. 2. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
5. ^ "Pat Flannery May Run for Treasurer". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. January 2, 1938. p. 11. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
6. ^ "Clark in Race for Treasurer". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. June 1, 1938. p. 2. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
7. ^ "Perry Williams is Candidate". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. June 1, 1938. p. 2. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
8. ^ "Christensen Is Candidate". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. May 12, 1938. p. 10. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
9. ^ "Educator from Sheridan Seeks Office in State". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. June 3, 1934. p. 5. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
10. ^ "Esther Anderson Becomes Candidate for State Office". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. July 18, 1938. p. 1. Retrieved June 3, 2021.

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