November 8, 2016 (2016-11-08) 2020 → 3 0 55,973 13,287 Date 8 November 2016 | Turnout 107% 174,419 55,973 68.2% 21.9% | |
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The 2016 United States presidential election in Wyoming was held on November 8, 2016, as part of the 2016 General Election in which all 50 states plus The District of Columbia participated. Wyoming voters chose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote pitting the Republican Party's nominee, businessman Donald Trump, and running mate Indiana Governor Mike Pence against Democratic Party nominee, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her running mate, Virginia Senator Tim Kaine.
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On March 1 and April 9, 2016, in the presidential primaries, Wyoming voters expressed their preferences for the Democratic, Republican, Libertarian, and Constitution parties' respective nominees for President. Registered members of each party only voted in their party's primary, while voters who were unaffiliated chose any one primary in which to vote.
Donald Trump won the election in Wyoming with 68% of the vote. Hillary Clinton received 22% of the vote. Gary Johnson of the Libertarian Party received 5%. Wyoming, a solidly Republican state, has not voted for a Democrat in a presidential election since it went for Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964. Trump carried every county with the exception of Teton County. His 46.3-point margin over Clinton in the state not only made it the most Republican in the 2016 presidential election, but it is also the largest margin of victory by any presidential candidate in the state's history, besting Ronald Reagan's 42.3-point margin in 1984.
National situation
The incumbent President of the United States, Barack Obama, a Democrat and former U.S. Senator of Illinois, was first elected president in the 2008 election, running with former Senator Joe Biden of Delaware. Defeating the Republican nominee, Senator John McCain of Arizona, with 52.9% of the popular vote and 68% of the electoral vote, Obama succeeded two-term Republican President George W. Bush, the former Governor of Texas. Obama and Biden were reelected in the 2012 presidential election, defeating former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney with 51.1% of the popular vote and 61.7% of electoral votes. Since the end of 2009, polling companies such as Gallup have found Obama's approval ratings to be between 40 and 50 percent.
Following his second term, Barack Obama is not eligible for another reelection. In October 2015, Obama's running-mate and two-term Vice President Joe Biden decided not to enter the race for the Democratic Presidential nomination either. With their term expiring on January 20, 2017, the electorate is asked to elect a new president, the 45th President and 48th Vice President of the United States, respectively.
Political landscape in Wyoming
Wyoming is the least populous of all 50 U.S. states. With almost 60% of the population identifying with or leaning towards the Republican Party, compared to less than 30% identifying with or leaning towards the Democrats, it is also the most solid Republican state, ahead of Idaho and Utah. In the 2012 presidential election, incumbent President Barack Obama received less than 28% of the votes, trailing Mitt Romney by more than 40 points.