The 1960 United States Senate election in Wyoming was held on November 8, 1960. Incumbent Democratic Senator

Joseph C. O'Mahoney Joseph Christopher O'Mahoney (November 5, 1884December 1, 1962) was an American journalist, lawyer, and politician. A Democrat, he served four complete terms as a U.S. Senator from Wyoming on two occasions, first from 1934-1953 and then again fro ...

was first appointed to the U.S. Senate from Wyoming's Class 1 Senate seat in 1934, and was re-elected in

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *January ...

, and

1946 Events January * January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held. * January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...

before losing re-election in

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

. He was then elected to the Class 2 Senate seat in

1954 Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...

. O'Mahoney, in failing health and increasingly limited in his mobility, declined to run for a fifth non-consecutive term in the Senate. The winner of this election, Keith Thomson, died before assuming his elected office. Accordingly, a competitive race for the open seat ensued. Congressman Keith Thomson won the Republican primary over former U.S. Senator and former Governor Frank A. Barrett, while

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

Democratic congressional nominee Raymond B. Whitaker, the former

Natrona County Natrona County is a county in the U.S. state of Wyoming. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 79,955, making it the second-most populous county in Wyoming. Its county seat is Casper. Natrona County comprises the Casper, WY ...

Prosecuting Attorney, beat out State Superintendent Velma Linford to win the Democratic nomination, queueing up a rematch between Thomson and Whitaker. Despite Democrats' recent history of winning competitive Senate elections in Wyoming, however, Thomson defeated Whitaker by a wide margin, closely matching

Richard M. Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was t ...

's margin over

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

in the

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pre ...

. However, Thomson died of a heart attack on December 9, prior to his assuming office. Democratic Governor

John J. Hickey John Joseph Hickey (August 22, 1911 – September 22, 1970) was an American judge and politician who served the 24th Governor of Wyoming and Senator as a Democrat before sitting on the Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. He was the first G ...

appointed himself to fill the vacancy; Hickey would serve until his defeat in the 1962 special election. A Republican gain turned into a Democratic retention of the seat following Thomson's death and Hickey's decision to have himself appointed.

Democratic primary

Candidates

* Raymond B. Whitaker, former

Prosecuting Attorney,

Democratic nominee for the U.S. House of Representatives * Velma Linford, Wyoming Superintendent of Public Instruction * Carl A. Johnson, perennial candidate * Charles B. Chittim, former State Senator

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

* Keith Thomson, U.S. Congressman from

Wyoming's at-large congressional district Wyoming's at-large congressional district is the sole congressional district for the US state of Wyoming. It is the third largest congressional district in the United States in terms of land size. The district is currently represented by Liz Che ...

* Frank A. Barrett, former U.S. Senator, former Governor of Wyoming * Miff M. Butler, mining engineer

Results

General election

Results

Senator-elect Thomson died on December 9, 1960, and with the appointment of Governor John Hickey at the beginning of what should've been Thomson's term, the Democrats retained this seat until a special election was held in 1962.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1960 United States Senate Election In Wyoming

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

United States Senate elections in Wyoming 1960 Wyoming elections