1978 Wyoming state elections

Incumbent Democratic Governor Edgar Herschler ran for re-election to a second term, and faced former State Senator John Ostlund, the Republican nominee, in the general election. Herschler's margin of victory narrowed considerably from 1974, but he narrowly won re-election over Ostlund.

Incumbent Republican Secretary of State Thyra Thomson ran for re-election to a fifth term. She faced Ed Sencabaugh, an executive with the Union Pacific Railroad and a former State Representative, in the Republican primary. She handily defeated him, and advanced to the general election. No Democratic candidates filed to oppose Thomson, though Robert Warburton, a college student, received 54 write-in votes and was offered the nomination. He ultimately declined it,[2] leaving the Democrats with no candidate and Thomson with no opponent, enabling her to win re-election unopposed.

Incumbent Republican State Auditor Jim Griffith ran for re-election to a second term. He faced no opposition in the Republican primary and no Democratic candidate initially filed against him. But Jim Polis, a bank examiner in the State Examiner's office, received enough write-in votes to receive his party's nomination,[4] which he accepted.[5] However, Polis did not present significant challenge to Griffith, who won re-election by a lopsided margin.

Incumbent Republican State Treasurer Ed Witzenburger was unable to seek re-election due to term limits and instead opted to run for Congress, ultimately losing to Dick Cheney in the Republican primary.[6] In the Republican primary, Deputy Treasurer Shirley Wittler won a narrow victory over Craig L. Thomas. In the general election, she faced former State Representative Bob Adams, a perennial candidate for statewide office. She defeated Adams in a landslide, becoming only the second woman, after Minnie A. Mitchell, to serve as State Treasurer.

Incumbent Republican Superintendent of Public Instruction Robert G. Schrader ran for re-election to a third term. He faced a strong challenge in the Republican primary from Converse County Superintendent of Schools Millard I. Meredith. Though Schrader defeated Meredith, he did so by a relatively close margin. In the Democratic primary, meanwhile, Lynn Simons, the former Chairwoman of the Wyoming Board of Education, defeated Sydney Spiegel, a history teacher who ran as the 1974 Democratic nominee for Superintendent. Simons ultimately defeated Schrader by a slim margin, receiving the highest percentage of vote of any statewide Democratic candidate.