Election Name: | 1976 United States Senate election in Wyoming |
Country: | Wyoming |
Type: | presidential |
Ongoing: | no |
Previous Election: | 1970 United States Senate election in Wyoming |
Previous Year: | 1970 |
Next Election: | 1982 United States Senate election in Wyoming |
Next Year: | 1982 |
Election Date: | November 2, 1976 |
Image1: | File:malcolmwallop.JPG |
Nominee1: | Malcolm Wallop |
Party1: | Republican Party (United States) |
Popular Vote1: | 84,810 |
Percentage1: | 54.59% |
Nominee2: | Gale W. McGee |
Party2: | Democratic Party (United States) |
Popular Vote2: | 70,558 |
Percentage2: | 45.41% |
Map Size: | 255px |
U.S. Senator | |
Before Election: | Gale W. McGee |
Before Party: | Democratic Party (United States) |
After Election: | Malcolm Wallop |
After Party: | Republican Party (United States) |
The 1976 United States Senate election in Wyoming took place on November 2, 1976. Incumbent Democratic Senator Gale W. McGee ran for re-election to his fourth term. Following a close win in his first race in 1958, McGee won wider victories in 1964 and 1970, even as the state's electorate grew more conservative. In 1976, McGee faced a strong challenge from Republican State Senator Malcolm Wallop.
Despite McGee's past victories in the state, he faced considerable headwinds as President Gerald Ford won the state over Jimmy Carter convincingly, even as Ford was losing nationwide. In the end, despite McGee's ability to significantly outperform other Democratic candidates, he lost to Wallop, winning just 45% of the vote to Wallop's 55%. Wallop's swearing-in marked the first time since 1954 that Republicans held both U.S. Senate seats from Wyoming.
This is the last time that a Senator from Wyoming lost re-election.