Matt Mead
Matt Mead (born March 11, 1962, in Jackson, Wyoming) was the 32nd governor of Wyoming from 2011 to 2019. A Republican, Mead first won election in 2010 and re-election in 2014.[1]
Mead was a U.S. attorney for six years before stepping down to run for the U.S. Senate in 2007. He lost the race to John Barrasso (R).
An analysis of Republican governors by Nate Silver of the New York Times in April 2013 ranked Mead as the 11th most conservative governor in the country.[2]
Biography
Mead was a rancher in Albany/Goshen County. He previously served as U.S. attorney for the state of Wyoming from 2001 to 2007 and was a partner in a private law practice from 1995 to 2001. Mead was also a prosecutor in Campbell County, a special assistant to the Wyoming attorney general, and an assistant U.S. attorney.[3]
Education
- Bachelor's, Trinity University, San Antonio, 1984
- J.D., University of Wyoming College of Law, 1987[3]
Elections
2018
- See also: Wyoming gubernatorial election, 2018
Matt Mead was not able to file for re-election due to term limits.
2014
- See also: Wyoming gubernatorial election, 2014
Mead ran for re-election to the office of Governor of Wyoming. Mead won the Republican nomination in the primary on August 19.[1] He faced one challenger, Democrat Pete Gosar, in the general election on November 4, 2014.
Results
General election
| Governor of Wyoming, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Matt Mead Incumbent |
59.4% | 99,700 | |
| Democratic | Pete Gosar | 27.3% | 45,752 | |
| Independent | Don Wills | 5.9% | 9,895 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 5.1% | 8,490 | |
| Libertarian | Dee Cozzens | 2.4% | 4,040 | |
| Total Votes | 167,877 | |||
| Election results via Wyoming Secretary of State | ||||
Primary election
| Wyoming Gubernatorial Republican Primary, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
| Matt Mead |
54.8% | 53,673 | ||
| Taylor Haynes | 32.2% | 31,532 | ||
| Cindy Hill | 12.7% | 12,464 | ||
| Write-in votes | 0.2% | 215 | ||
| Total Votes | 97,884 | |||
| Election results via Wyoming Secretary of State. | ||||
2010
Mead won the August 17 primary with 28.60 percent of the vote, defeating six other candidates.
He defeated Leslie Petersen (D) and Mike Wheeler (L) in the general election on November 2, 2010.
| Governor of Wyoming, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Matt Mead |
65.7% | 123,780 | |
| Democratic | Leslie Petersen | 22.9% | 43,240 | |
| Libertarian | Mike Wheeler | 2.8% | 5,362 | |
| Write-Ins | Various | 8.5% | 16,081 | |
| Total Votes | 188,463 | |||
| Election results via Wyoming Secretary of State | ||||
Presidential preference
2012
Matt Mead endorsed Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election.[4]
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Noteworthy events
Response to Syria policy
- Main article: U.S. governors and their responses to Syrian refugees
After the attacks in Paris, France, on November 13, 2015, many U.S. governors declared their support or opposition to Syrian refugee resettlement in their states. Mead expressed conditional opposition to the resettlement of Syrian refugees in the state of Wyoming. He said:
| “ | No state should have to endure the threat of terrorists entering our borders. In light of the horrific terrorist attacks in Paris, I have joined other governors in demanding the refugee process be halted until it is guaranteed to provide the security demanded by Wyoming and United States citizens.[5] | ” |
| —Gov. Matt Mead[6] | ||
2014 support for Medicaid expansion
Gov. Mead, Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam, and Utah Gov. Gary Herbert each announced support for a federal proposal to expand Medicaid following the 2014 elections. All three governors sought to receive additional Medicaid funding proposed by President Barack Obama (D) while crafting state-level alternatives to requirements in the Affordable Care Act. At that time, the three governors joined nine other Republican governors in seeking Medicaid expansion.[7] At the end of Pres. Barack Obama's time in office, 11 Republican governors had adopted Medicaid in their state.[8] Haslam, Herbert, and Mead were not among them, since their proposals were each rejected by their state legislatures.[9]
Job creation ranking
A June 2013 analysis by The Business Journals ranked 45 governors based on the annual private sector growth rate in all 50 states using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Mead was ranked number 45. The five governors omitted from the analysis all assumed office in 2013.[10][11]
State profile
| Demographic data for Wyoming | ||
|---|---|---|
| Wyoming | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 586,555 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 97,093 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 91% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 1.1% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 0.9% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 2.2% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 2.7% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 9.6% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 92.3% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 25.7% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $58,840 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 12.7% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Wyoming. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Presidential voting pattern
- See also: Presidential voting trends in Wyoming
Wyoming voted Republican in all six presidential elections between 2000 and 2020.
More Wyoming coverage on Ballotpedia
- Elections in Wyoming
- United States congressional delegations from Wyoming
- Public policy in Wyoming
- Influencers in Wyoming
- Wyoming fact checks
- More...
See also
| Wyoming | State Executive Elections | News and Analysis |
|---|---|---|
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External links
- Biographies:
- Executive actions:
- Interest group ratings:
- Issue positions:
- Public statements:
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Washington Times, "Gov. Matt Mead announces re-election campaign," March 11, 2014
- ↑ New York Times, "In State Governments, Signs of a Healthier G.O.P.," April 16, 2013
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Project Vote Smart "Biography of Matt Mead," accessed July 27, 2015
- ↑ CNN, "Pennsylvania, Wyoming governors endorse Romney," April 17, 2012
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Office of the Governor, "News Release: Governor Mead Says No Refugees Under Flawed System," November 17, 2015
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Three Republican governors have now endorsed the Medicaid expansion since the midterms," December 15, 2014
- ↑ NPR, "Meet The Republican Governors Who Don't Want To Repeal All Of Obamacare," January 23, 2017
- ↑ Advisory Board, "Where the states stand on Medicaid expansion," May 19, 2017
- ↑ The Business Journals, "Governors and jobs: How governors rank for job creation in their states," June 27, 2013
- ↑ The Business Journals, "How state governors rank on their job-growth record," June 27, 2013
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