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Mark Gordon

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Mark Gordon
Gordon in November 2023
Gordon in 2023
33rd Governor of Wyoming
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 7, 2019
Preceded byMatt Mead
29th Treasurer of Wyoming
In office
November 1, 2012 – January 7, 2019
GovernorMatt Mead
Preceded byJoseph Meyer
Succeeded byCurt Meier
Personal details
Born (1957-03-14) March 14, 1957 (age 67)
New York City, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouses
Sarah Hildreth Gilmore
​
​
(m. 1981; died 1993)​
Jennie Muir
​
(m. 2000)​
Children4
ResidenceGovernor's Mansion
EducationMiddlebury College (BA)

Mark Gordon (born March 14, 1957) is an American politician serving as the 33rd governor of Wyoming since January 7, 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as state treasurer; then-governor Matt Mead appointed him to that position on October 26, 2012, to fill the vacancy created by the death of Joseph Meyer.

Early life and education

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Gordon was born in New York City, 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.[1]

Gordon’s paternal grandmother was the philanthropist Louise Ayer Hatheway. His paternal great-grandfather was the industrialist and mill magnate Frederick Ayer, founder of the American Woolen Company, and younger brother of the patent medicine tycoon James Cook Ayer, both of Lowell, Massachusetts.

He is a nephew of the socialite Jean Gordon. Gordon is also a great-nephew by marriage of General George S. Patton, and a first cousin once removed of General George Patton IV.[2][3] He was raised on his family's ranch in Johnson County, Wyoming. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Middlebury College in 1979.[4]

Career

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2008 congressional run

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Main article: 2008 United States House of Representatives election in Wyoming

In 2008, Gordon was an unsuccessful candidate in the Republican primary for the United States House of Representatives for Wyoming's at-large congressional district seat held by Barbara Cubin, who was retiring. His main opponent was Cynthia Lummis, also a former state treasurer and the wife of a Democratic former state representative, Alvin Wiederspahn.[5] Former U.S. senator Alan K. Simpson of Cody, considered a moderate Republican, defended Gordon's candidacy but stopped short of an outright endorsement because he was also friendly with Lummis. Former U.S. senator Malcolm Wallop endorsed Gordon, as did the late Joseph B. Meyer, who was serving as state treasurer at the time.[6]

In the primary, Gordon garnered the endorsements of Wyoming's two most prominent statewide newspapers, The Casper Star-Tribune[7] and the Wyoming Tribune Eagle.[8] Though polls and the financial advantage rested with Gordon in the primary campaign, he lost the nomination to Lummis.[9]

Treasurer of Wyoming

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Gordon was Treasurer of Wyoming from 2012 to 2019. He was sworn in as treasurer on November 1, 2012, by Wyoming Supreme Court Justice William Hill,[10][11] after being selected by Governor Matt Mead.[5][10]

Gordon was elected to a full term as treasurer in 2014.[10]

Governor of Wyoming

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Main article: Governorship of Mark Gordon

2018 election

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Main article: 2018 Wyoming gubernatorial election

Gordon declined to run for Cynthia Lummis's seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2016, the one he ran for in 2008, and instead ran for governor of Wyoming in 2018. He won the Republican primary on August 21 and the general election on November 6, defeating Democratic state representative Mary Throne.[12] Gordon was inaugurated on January 7, 2019.

2022 election

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Main article: 2022 Wyoming gubernatorial election

Gordon was reelected to a second term against Democratic nominee Theresa Livingston in the general election.[13]

Tenure

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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.[14] Gordon and his wife, Jennie Gordon, contracted COVID-19 later in the month.[15] In December 2020, Gordon imposed a statewide mask mandate.[16] In February 2021, he extended that order until the end of the month.[17] On March 8, 2021, he announced that he would lift the mask mandate on March 16.[18] On March 16, the mask mandate was lifted.[19] As of March 30, Gordon has no plans to reinstate the mask mandate.[20]

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.[21] On April 2, 2021, he signed a budget passed by the Wyoming legislature that cut $430 million instead of the $500 million Gordon proposed,[22] due to improved budget forecasts for the year of 2021 and supplemental money from the American Rescue Plan Act[23] signed by President Biden. The budget Gordon signed decreases the amount cut to 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 fortune. Gore funded secret operatives who targeted Gordon.[24] Part of this is due to Gordon's investment in renewable energy and policy on climate change, which led to a vote of no confidence by the state party.[25] Gordon has embraced wind energy as a part of Wyoming's economic exports, such as the developing Chokecherry and Sierra Madre Wind Energy Project. [26]

As of 2022, Gordon often polls as one of the nation's most popular governors.[27][28]

On March 7, 2024, Gordon banned Delta 8 hemp in Wyoming.[29]

Political positions

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Abortion

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On March 18, 2023, Gordon signed SF0109 into law, which banned abortion pills in Wyoming.[30]

Personal life

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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.[31] 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.[32]

On November 25, 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, 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.[33]

Electoral history

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Gordon in 2019
2008 United States House of Representatives election in Wyoming - Republican primary[34]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Cynthia Lummis 33,149 44.0
Republican Mark Gordon 26,827 35.7
Republican Bill Winney 8,537 11.4
Republican Michael Holland 3,171 4.2
n/a Under Votes 2,838 3.8
n/a Over Votes 509 0.7
Republican Write-ins 139 0.2
Total votes 75,170 100.0
2014 Wyoming Treasurer - Republican primary[35]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Mark Gordon (incumbent) 72,095 72.6
n/a Under Votes 17,060 17.2
Republican Ron Redo 9,945 10.0
Republican Write-ins 206 0.2
n/a Over Votes 6 0.0
Total votes 99,312 100.0
2014 Wyoming Treasurer - General Election[36]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Mark Gordon (incumbent) 138,831 81.1
n/a Under Votes 31,044 18.1
Republican Write-ins 1,262 0.7
n/a Over Votes 16 0.0
Total votes 171,153 100.0
2018 Wyoming gubernatorial election - Republican primary[37]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Mark Gordon 38,951 33.0
Republican Foster Friess 29,842 25.3
Republican Harriet Hageman 25,052 21.2
Republican Sam Galeotos 14,554 12.3
Republican Taylor Haynes 6,511 5.5
Republican Bill Dahlin 1,763 1.5
n/a Under Votes 1,269 1.1
Republican Write-ins 113 0.1
n/a Over Votes 46 0.0
Total votes 118,101 100.0
2018 Wyoming gubernatorial election - General election[38]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Mark Gordon 136,412 66.5
Democratic Mary Throne 55,965 27.3
Constitution Rex Rammell 6,751 3.3
Libertarian Lawrence Struempf 3,010 1.5
n/a Under Votes 1,966 1.0
n/a Write-ins 1,100 0.5
n/a Over Votes 71 0.0
Total votes 205,275 100.0
2022 Wyoming gubernatorial election - Republican primary[39]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Mark Gordon (incumbent) 101,140 58.8
Republican Brent Bien 48,572 28.2
Republican Rex Rammell 9,378 5.5
n/a Under Votes 7,626 4.4
Republican James Scott Quick 4,728 2.7
Republican Write-ins 533 0.3
n/a Over Votes 70
Total votes 172,047 100.0
2022 Wyoming gubernatorial election - General election[40]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Mark Gordon (incumbent) 143,696 72.5
Democratic Theresa Livingston 30,686 15.5
n/a Write-ins 11,461 5.8
Libertarian Jared Baldes 8,157 4.1
n/a Under Votes 4,107 2.1
n/a Over Votes 91 0.0
Total votes 198,198 100.0

References

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  1. ^ "Crawford Gordon Obituary". Legacy.com. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  2. ^ "Harvard Alumni Bulletin". December 8, 1945. Retrieved December 8, 2020 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ "Mark Gordon". National Governors Association. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
  4. ^ "Meet Mark – Mark Gordon for Wyoming Governor". Retrieved May 29, 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Trevor Brown, "Mead selects treasurer"". Wyoming Tribune Eagle. October 27, 2012. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  6. ^ "Sen. Wallop endorses Mark Gordon". Wyomingpublicmedia.org. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  7. ^ "Gordon has Edge in Republican Primary". Casper Star Tribune. August 17, 2008. Retrieved January 1, 2013.
  8. ^ "US House (GOP) Recommendation". Wyoming Tribune Eagle. August 11, 2008. Archived from the original on February 9, 2013. Retrieved January 1, 2013.
  9. ^ "Marguerite Herman, "Gordon's run for Congress draws criticism", May 2008". Wyoming Tribune Eagle. Retrieved December 7, 2012.
  10. ^ a b c "Mark Gordon takes oath as Wyoming treasurer". Gillette, Wyoming, News Record. Archived from the original on January 24, 2013. Retrieved December 7, 2012.
  11. ^ "Doug Randall, "Gordon sworn in as treasurer"". kgab.com. November 2012. Retrieved December 7, 2012.
  12. ^ Reynolds, Nick (November 7, 2018). "Wyoming governor-elect Gordon outlines vision for his first year in office". Casper Star-Tribune. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
  13. ^ "Wyoming Governor Election Results". New York Times. November 11, 2022. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
  14. ^ "Wyoming governor sets gathering rules, forgoes mask mandate". AP NEWS. November 20, 2020. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  15. ^ Freiman, Jordan (November 25, 2020). "Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon Tests Positive for Coronavirus". CBS News. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
  16. ^ "Wyoming governor announces statewide mask order, other restrictions". KTVQ. December 7, 2020. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  17. ^ Hughes, Morgan (February 11, 2021). "Wyoming extends mask order, will loosen restrictions on restaurants, gatherings". Casper Star Tribune. Archived from the original on February 27, 2021. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  18. ^ "Wyoming will lift mask mandate next week". Casper Star Tribune. March 8, 2021. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  19. ^ Kudelska, Kamila (March 15, 2021). "Most Health Restrictions Lifted Tuesday, Including Mask Mandate". Wyoming Public Media. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  20. ^ "Wyoming governor: No plans to reimpose COVID-19 mask mandate". Associated Press. March 30, 2021. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  21. ^ "Wyoming governor announces additional $500M in budget cuts". Casper Star Tribune. November 16, 2020. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  22. ^ Erickson, Camille (April 2021). "Wyoming governor signs supplemental budget passed by Legislature". Casper Star Tribune. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  23. ^ Reynolds, Nick (March 29, 2021). "With help of federal relief, legislature finds budget consensus". Wyofile. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  24. ^ Mazzetti, Mark; Goldman, Adam (June 25, 2021). "They Seemed Like Democratic Activists. They Were Secretly Conservative Spies". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  25. ^ Wolfson, Leo (November 10, 2023). "Wyoming GOP Passes No Confidence Vote Against Gov. Gordon". Cowboy State Daily. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  26. ^ Whitaker, Bill; Chasan, Aliza (December 10, 2023). "Wyoming innovates to combat climate change as part of Gov. Mark Gordon's "all-of-the-above" energy policy". CBS News. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  27. ^ "The 10 Most Popular and Unpopular Governors". morningconsult.com. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  28. ^ Landwehr, Abigail (July 24, 2022). "As Gordon campaigns for second term, poll shows him nation's most popular governor". Casper Star-Tribune. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  29. ^ "Wyoming will ban marijuana substitute delta-8; burgeoning industry's future uncertain". March 15, 2024.
  30. ^ Gruver, Mead (March 18, 2023). "Wyoming governor signs measure prohibiting abortion pills". Associated Press.
  31. ^ "Sarah Hildreth Gordon". geni_family_tree. May 23, 2018. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  32. ^ "Merlin Ranch sponsors Wyoming Women's Antelope Hunt - Wyoming Women's Antelope Hunt". Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  33. ^ Powell, Tori B. (November 25, 2020). "Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon Tests Positive for COVID-19 After Refusing to Implement Mask Mandate". The Daily Beast. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  34. ^ "R-Statewide_Candidates_Summary.xls" (PDF). Wyoming Secretary of State. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  35. ^ "2014_Statewide_Candidates_Summary.pdf" (PDF). Wyoming Secretary of State. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  36. ^ "2014_Statewide_Candidates_Summary.pdf" (PDF). Wyoming Secretary of State. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  37. ^ "2018_Statewide_Candidates_Summary.pdf" (PDF). Wyoming Secretary of State. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  38. ^ "2018_Statewide_Candidates_Summary.pdf" (PDF). Wyoming Secretary of State. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  39. ^ "2022_Statewide_Candidates_Summary.pdf" (PDF). Wyoming Secretary of State. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  40. ^ "2022_Statewide_Candidates_Summary.pdf" (PDF). Wyoming Secretary of State. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mark Gordon (politician).
Political offices
Preceded by Treasurer of Wyoming
2012–2019 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Governor of Wyoming
2019–present 		Incumbent
Party political offices
Preceded by Republican nominee for Governor of Wyoming
2018, 2022 		Most recent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded byas Vice President Order of precedence of the United States
Within Wyoming 		Succeeded by
Mayor of city
in which event is held
Succeeded by
Otherwise Mike Johnson
as Speaker of the House
Preceded byas Governor of Idaho Order of precedence of the United States
Outside Wyoming 		Succeeded byas Governor of Utah
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