Incumbent Republican Governor Arthur G. Crane, who ascended to the governorship when Lester C. Hunt was elected to the Senate in 1948, declined to seek re-election.

Congressman Frank A. Barrett won the Republican primary to succeed Crane and faced former State Auditor John J. McIntyre, the Democratic nominee, in the general election.

[12] On February 1, 1950, C. D. Williamson, the Chairman of the Wyoming Commerce and Industry Commission and a former state legislator, announced that he would join Barrett in the primary.

He cast himself as an outsider, noting in his announcement that he "make[s] no claim to professional political experience, but feel that my 40 years in the banking, insurance, timber and livestock business along with my active participation in public affairs in Wyoming justify the belief that I may merit support in this undertaking.

[13] Grieve, meanwhile, condemned Republican leaders for ceding power to federal regulators[14] and argued that the party needed "strong men in government.