1954 United States Senate elections in Wyoming

1954 United States Senate elections in Wyoming

← 1948 November 2, 1954 1960 →
 
Nominee Joseph C. O'Mahoney William Henry Harrison III
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 57,845 54,407
Percentage 51.53% 48.47%

County results
O'Mahoney:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
Harrison:      50–60%      60–70%

U.S. senator before election

Edward D. Crippa
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

Joseph C. O'Mahoney
Democratic

The 1954 United States Senate elections in Wyoming took place on November 2, 1954. Incumbent Democratic Senator Lester C. Hunt, who decided not to be a candidate for re-election, committed suicide by firearm on June 19, 1954, and Republican Governor Clifford J. Rogers appointed former state highway commissioner Edward D. Crippa to replace him. Two elections for the Senate seat were held on the same day; one as a special election to fill the remainder of Hunt's original six-year term, and another to select a Senator to serve the next six-year term. Senator Crippa did not run for re-election.

Crippa did not run for re-election; instead, Congressman William Henry Harrison III won a contested Republican primary and advanced to the general election, where he faced former Senator Joseph C. O'Mahoney, the Democratic nominee. In the midst of a largely neutral political environment—Democrats gained a handful of seats in Congress nationwide, which enabled them to flip the Senate, while Republican Milward Simpson narrowly won the gubernatorial election—O'Mahoney narrowly defeated Harrison to return to the Senate.

As of 2023, this is the last time Democrats won Wyoming's Class 2 Senate seat.


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