2008 Montana gubernatorial election

For related races, see 2008 United States gubernatorial elections.

2008 Montana gubernatorial election

←  2004 November 4, 2008 2012  →
Turnout	74.5%3.1 [1]
Nominee Brian Schweitzer Roy Brown Party Democratic Republican Running mate John Bohlinger Steve Daines Popular vote 318,670 158,268 Percentage 65.47% 32.52%
County results Schweitzer:      40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90% Brown:      40–50%     50–60%     60–70%
Governor before election Brian Schweitzer Democratic Elected Governor Brian Schweitzer Democratic

The 2008 Montana gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 2008, to elect the governor and lieutenant governor of the U.S. state of Montana. Incumbent governor Brian Schweitzer, a Democrat who was elected to his first four-year term in 2004, was elected to a second term with 65.5% of the vote, despite John McCain narrowly carrying the state during the concurrent presidential election. Incumbent lieutenant governor John Bohlinger, a Republican who was once again Schweitzer's running mate, was reelected to a second term. The Republican nominee was Roy Brown, a member of the Montana Senate. Brown's running mate was businessman Steve Daines, a future U.S. Representative and a future U.S. Senator.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Brian Schweitzer, incumbent governor of Montana, 2000 U.S. Senate nominee and rancher
  • John Bohlinger, incumbent lieutenant governor of Montana and former Republican member of the Montana House of Representatives and Montana Senate
• William Fischer, small businessman involved in the logging industry in Lakeside, Montana
  • Steve White, small business owner in the telecommunications industry in Kalispell, Montana
• Don Pogreba, Shelby native, English and debate teacher at Helena High School
  • Jason Neiffer, Great Falls native, history teacher at Capital High School

Results

Democratic primary results ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Brian Schweitzer (incumbent)	159,820	91.30
	Democratic	William Fischer	9,865	5.64
	Democratic	Donald Pogreba	5,358	3.06
Total votes			175,043	100.00

Republican primary

Candidates

• Roy Brown, businessman, member of the Montana Senate and former Majority Leader of the Montana House of Representatives
  • Steve Daines, businessman
• Larry H. Steele, 2007 candidate for Mayor of Great Falls and 2006 candidate for the Montana House of Representatives
  • Harold Luce

Primary results

Republican primary results ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Roy Brown	65,883	80.81
	Republican	Larry Steele	15,643	19.19
Total votes			81,526	100.00

Libertarian primary

Candidates

• Stan Jones, business consultant and United States Air Force veteran
  • Michael Baker

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report [3]	Safe D	October 16, 2008
Rothenberg Political Report [4]	Safe D	November 2, 2008
Sabato's Crystal Ball [5]	Safe D	November 3, 2008
Real Clear Politics [6]	Safe D	November 4, 2008

Polling

Poll source	Dates administered	Brian Schweitzer (D)	Roy Brown (R)	Stan Jones (L)
Public Policy Polling [7]	November 2, 2008	62%	36%	–
Rasmussen Reports [8]	October 1, 2008	56%	41%	–
The Mellman Group (D) [9]	September 16–18, 2008	63%	24%	–
Rasmussen Reports [10]	July 29, 2008	56%	32%	3%
Rasmussen Reports [11]	June 30, 2008	61%	32%	3%
Mason Dixon/Lee Newspapers [12]	May 19–21, 2008	55%	30%	–
Mason Dixon/Lee Newspapers [13]	December 17–19, 2007	55%	30%	–

Results

2008 Montana gubernatorial election ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Brian Schweitzer (incumbent)	318,670	65.47%	+15.04%
	Republican	Roy Brown	158,268	32.52%	−13.50%
	Libertarian	Stan Jones	9,796	2.01%	+0.35%
Total votes			486,734	100.00%	N/A
	Democratic hold

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

• Beaverhead (largest city: Dillon)
• Broadwater (largest city: Townsend)
• Custer (largest city: Miles City)
• Daniels (largest city: Scobey)
• Fallon (largest city: Baker)
• Fergus (largest city: Lewistown)
• Flathead (largest city: Kalispell)
• Golden Valley (largest city: Ryegate)
• Granite (largest city: Philipsburg)
• Jefferson (largest city: Clancy)
• Judith Basin (largest city: Stanford)
• Liberty (largest city: Chester)
• Lincoln (largest city: Libby)
• Madison (largest city: Ennis)
• McCone (largest city: Circle)
• Phillips (largest city: Malta)
• Pondera (largest city: Conrad)
• Powell (largest city: Deer Lodge)
• Prairie (largest city: Terry)
• Ravalli (largest city: Hamilton)
• Richland (largest city: Sidney)
• Rosebud (largest city: Colstrip)
• Dawson (Largest city: Glendive)
• Mineral (Largest city: Superior)
• Gallatin (largest city: Bozeman)
• Chouteau (largest municipality: Fort Benton)
• Sanders (largest city: Thompson Falls)
• Stillwater (largest city: Columbus)
• Teton (largest city: Choteau)
• Toole (largest city: Shelby)
• Wheatland (largest city: Harlowton)
• Wibaux (largest city: Wibaux)

References

1. "Montana Voter Turnout". Montana Secretary of State. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
2. "2008 Statewide Primary Canvass - June 3rd, 2008" (PDF). Montana Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 8, 2013. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
3. "2008 Governor Race ratings". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
4. "2008 Gubernatorial Ratings". Gubernatorial Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
5. "THE LAST LAST WORD The Crystal Ball's Final Projections for the 2008 Election". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
6. "2008 Montana Governor Race". RealClearPolitics. November 4, 2008. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
7. Public Policy Polling
8. Rasmussen Reports
9. The Mellman Group (D)
10. Rasmussen Reports
11. Rasmussen Reports
12. Mason Dixon/Lee Newspapers
13. Mason Dixon/Lee Newspapers
14. "2008 Statewide General Canvass - November 4th, 2008" (PDF). Montana Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved July 2, 2014.

External links

• Campaign contributions from Follow the Money
• Brown (R) vs Schweitzer (D-i) graph of collected poll results from Pollster.com
• Roy Brown for Governor
• Brian Schweitzer for Governor