# 1988 United States Senate election in Wyoming

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The 1988 United States Senate election in Wyoming was held on November 8, 1988. Incumbent Republican Senator Malcolm Wallop ran for re-election to a third term. He was opposed by Democratic State Senator John Vinich in the general election. Despite Wallop's past strong performances in 1976 and 1982, and the overwhelming Republican majority in Wyoming in the presidential election, Wallop faced a surprisingly competitive race. He ended up defeating Vinich by less than 1%, by a margin of just 1,322 votes. To date, this remains the strongest performance by a Democratic U.S. Senate nominee in Wyoming since 1970, the last time a Democrat won a Senate election in the state. This is also the closest U.S. Senate race in Wyoming history.

## Democratic primary
### Candidates

* John Vinich, State Senator
* Pete Maxfield, former Dean of the University of Wyoming School of Law
* Lynn Simons, Wyoming Superintendent of Instruction

### Results

Democratic primary :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | John Vinich | 23,214 | 47.20% |
| | Democratic | Pete Maxfield | 14,613 | 29.72% |
| | Democratic | Lynn Simons | 11,350 | 23.08% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 49,177 | 100.00% |

## Republican primary
### Candidates

* Malcolm Wallop, incumbent U.S. Senator
* Nora Marie Lewis, farmer
* Bud Kinney, perennial candidate
* Michael J. Dee, perennial candidate, marijuana legalization advocate
* Russ Hanrahan, retired air traffic controller

### Results

Republican primary :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Malcolm Wallop (inc.) | 55,752 | 83.21% |
| | Republican | Nora Marie Lewis | 3,933 | 5.87% |
| | Republican | Bud Kinney | 3,716 | 5.55% |
| | Republican | Michael J. Dee | 1,898 | 2.83% |
| | Republican | Russ Hanrahan | 1,702 | 2.54% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 67,001 | 100.00% |

## General election
### Results

1988 United States Senate election in Wyoming :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Republican | Malcolm Wallop (inc.) | 91,143 | 50.37% | −6.29% |
| | Democratic | John Vinich | 89,821 | 49.63% | +6.29% |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,322 | 0.73% | −12.58% |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 180,964 | | |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |