Mark Gordon (born March 14, 1957) is an American politician who has served as the 33rd

governor of Wyoming A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

since January 7, 2019. A member of the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa * Republican Party (Liberia) *Republican Party ...

, he previously served as

state treasurer In the state governments of the United States, 48 of the 50 states have the executive position of treasurer. New York abolished the position in 1926; duties were transferred to New York State Comptroller. Texas abolished the position of Texas ...

; then-governor

Matt Mead Matthew Hansen Mead (born March 11, 1962) is an American attorney, businessman, and politician who served as the 32nd Governor of Wyoming from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he previously was the United States Attorney for the D ...

appointed him to that position on October 26, 2012, to fill the vacancy created by the death of Joseph Meyer.

Early life and education

Gordon was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, the son of Catherine (née Andrews) and Crawford Gordon. Gordon’s father grew up on Drumlin Farm, in Lincoln, Massachusetts. His parents married on October 27, 1945, at the First Unitarian Church of Kennebunk, Maine, before settling at their ranch in Kaycee, Wyoming, in 1947. Gordon’s paternal grandmother was the philanthropist Louise Ayer Hatheway. His paternal great-grandfather was the industrialist and mill magnate

Frederick Ayer Frederick Ayer (December 8, 1822 – March 14, 1918) was an American businessman and the younger brother of patent medicine tycoon Dr. James Cook Ayer. Early life Ayer was born on December 8, 1822 in Ledyard, Connecticut and was the son of ...

, founder of the American Woolen Company, and younger brother of the patent medicine tycoon

James Cook Ayer James Cook Ayer (May 5, 1818 – July 3, 1878) was the wealthiest patent medicine businessman of his day. Early life James Cook Ayer was born in Groton, Connecticut on May 5, 1818, the son of Frederick Ayer (1792-1825) and Persis Herrick Coo ...

, both of Lowell, Massachusetts. He is a nephew of the socialite Jean Gordon. Gordon is also a great-nephew by marriage of

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

George S. Patton George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in France ...

, and a first cousin once removed of

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

George Patton IV George Smith Patton IV (December 24, 1923 – June 27, 2004) was a major general in the United States Army and the son of World War II General George S. Patton Jr. He served in the Korean War and the Vietnam War. Military career Patton was e ...

. He was raised on his family's ranch in

Johnson County, Wyoming Johnson County is a county in the north central part of the U.S. state of Wyoming. At the 2020 United States Census, the population was 8,447. The county seat is Buffalo. Kaycee is the only other incorporated town in the county. Johnson Count ...

. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from

Middlebury College Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalists, Middlebury was the first operating college or university in Vermont. The college currently enrolls 2,858 undergraduates from all 5 ...

in 1979.

Career

2008 congressional run

In 2008, Gordon was an unsuccessful candidate in the Republican

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Works ...

for the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

for

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 ...

seat held by

Barbara Cubin Barbara Lynn Cubin (born November 30, 1946) is an American politician who was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, Wyoming’s sole member of that body. She was the first woman elected to Congress from Wyoming. Earl ...

, who was retiring. His main opponent was

Cynthia Lummis Cynthia Marie Lummis Wiederspahn ( ; born September 10, 1954) is an American attorney and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Wyoming since 2021. A member of the Republican Party, Lummis served as the U.S representative ...

, also a former state treasurer and the wife of a Democratic former state representative,

Alvin Wiederspahn Alvin Wiederspahn (January 18, 1949 – October 24, 2014) was an American politician and attorney who served as a member of the Wyoming House of Representatives (1979–1984) and Wyoming Senate (1985–1988). Early life and education Wiederspa ...

. Former

U.S. senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and power ...

Alan K. Simpson of

Cody Cody may refer to: People *Cody (given name) *Cody (surname) * Cody (wrestler), a ring name of Cody Runnels Places Canada *Cody, British Columbia United States * Cody, Florida * Cody (Duluth), Minnesota * Cody, Missouri * Cody, Nebraska *Cody, ...

, considered a moderate Republican, defended Gordon's candidacy but stopped short of an outright endorsement because he was also friendly with Lummis. Former

Malcolm Wallop Malcolm Wallop (February 27, 1933 – September 14, 2011) was an American rancher and politician. He served as a United States Senator from Wyoming from 1977 to 1995. He was a member of the Republican Party. Early years Wallop was born in New Yo ...

endorsed Gordon, as did the late Joseph B. Meyer, who was serving as state treasurer at the time. In the primary, Gordon garnered the endorsements of Wyoming's two most prominent statewide newspapers, ''The Casper Star-Tribune'' and the ''Wyoming Tribune Eagle''. Though polls and the financial advantage rested with Gordon in the primary campaign, he lost the nomination to Lummis.

Treasurer of Wyoming

Gordon was Treasurer of Wyoming from 2012 to 2019. He was sworn in as treasurer on November 1, 2012, by

Wyoming Supreme Court The Wyoming Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Wyoming. The Court consists of a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices. Each Justice is appointed by the Governor of Wyoming from a list of three nominees submitted by the ...

Justice William Hill, after being selected by Governor Matt Mead. Gordon was elected to a full term as treasurer in 2014.

Governor of Wyoming

2018 election

Gordon declined to run for

's seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2016, the one he ran for in 2008, and instead ran for

in 2018. He won the Republican primary on August 21 and the general election on November 6, defeating Democratic state representative

Mary Throne Mary Ann Throne (born c. 1960) is a Democratic Party (United States), Democratic former member of the Wyoming House of Representatives, representing the 11th district from 2007 until 2017. In August 2017, Throne announced her candidacy for Govern ...

. Gordon was inaugurated on January 7, 2019.

2022 election

Gordon was reelected to a second term against Democratic nominee Theresa Livingston in the general election.

Tenure

Gordon was sworn in on January 7, 2019. Amid a November 2020 spike in coronavirus cases, Gordon imposed some restrictions on indoor and outdoor public gatherings. He did not implement curfews, temporarily close any businesses or initially impose a statewide mask mandate. Gordon and his wife, Jennie Gordon, contracted

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...

later in the month. In December 2020, Gordon imposed a statewide mask mandate. In February 2021, he extended that order until the end of the month. On March 8, 2021, he announced that he would lift the mask mandate on March 16. On March 16, the mask mandate was lifted. As of March 30, Gordon has no plans to reinstate the mask mandate. In November 2020, Gordon proposed $500 million in cuts to the Wyoming budget to account for declining revenue from the fossil fuel industry (particularly coal mining), which is crucial to Wyoming's economy. On April 2, 2021, he signed a budget passed by the Wyoming legislature that cut $430 million instead of the $500 million Gordon proposed, due to improved budget forecasts for the year of 2021 and supplemental money from the

American Rescue Plan Act The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, also called the COVID-19 Stimulus Package or American Rescue Plan, is a economic stimulus bill passed by the 117th United States Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 11, 2021, to sp ...

signed by President Biden. The budget Gordon signed decreases the amount cut to the

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyoming ...

and the Wyoming Department of Health. In 2021, a ''New York Times'' investigation revealed that Gordon had been targeted by hard-right conservatives, such as Susan Gore, the heiress to the

Gore-Tex Gore-Tex is a waterproof, breathable fabric membrane and registered trademark of W. L. Gore & Associates. Invented in 1969, Gore-Tex can repel liquid water while allowing water vapor to pass through and is designed to be a lightweight, waterpr ...

fortune. Gore funded secret operatives who targeted Gordon. As of 2022, Gordon often polls as one of the nation's most popular governors.

Personal life

Gordon met his first wife, the former Sarah Hildreth Gilmore, at Middlebury College. They married on March 7, 1981, in the Second Congregational Church in Greenfield, Massachusetts, where her parents resided. In 1993, she died in an automobile accident. They had two daughters. In 1998 Gordon met his current wife, the former Jennie Muir Young, and they married in 2000. Together they own the Merlin Ranch east of Buffalo in Johnson County, Wyoming. In 2009, their ranch received the Society for Range Management Wyoming Section "Excellence in Rangeland Stewardship" award. On November 25, 2020, during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, Gordon tested positive for the virus on the same day his office was to be reopened after an employee of his had tested positive earlier. Gordon's office remained closed temporarily for deep-cleaning after his diagnosis.

Electoral history

References

External links

Wyoming State Treasurer's Office
* , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Mark 1957 births 21st-century American politicians Living people Middlebury College alumni People from Buffalo, Wyoming People from Kaycee, Wyoming Politicians from Cheyenne, Wyoming Ranchers from Wyoming Republican Party governors of Wyoming School board members in Wyoming St. Paul's School (New Hampshire) alumni State treasurers of Wyoming Wyoming Republicans Candidates in the 2008 United States elections