| |||||||||||||||||||||
Montana's at-large congressional district | |||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Gianforte: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Quist: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Tie: 40–50% No votes | |||||||||||||||||||||
|
Elections in Montana |
---|
In Montana, an at-large congressional district special election was held on May 25, 2017, to determine the member of the United States House of Representatives for Montana's at-large congressional district. The election was necessitated by incumbent Republican Representative Ryan Zinke's appointment as United States Secretary of the Interior. Zinke resigned on March 1, 2017, upon his confirmation. [1]
Montana's state law required the Governor of Montana to call for a special election to be held no less than 85 and no more than 100 days after the vacancy. [2] Governor Steve Bullock declared a special election to take place on May 25, the earliest possible day he was legally allowed to choose. [1]
The Democratic, Republican, Libertarian, and Green Parties held nominating conventions to decide their nominee. [3] The day before the election, Gianforte assaulted a reporter and was charged with misdemeanor assault. [4] [5] At around 10:30pm MST, the election was called for Gianforte after 77% of the votes were counted. [6] [7]
The Republican Party nominated a candidate at a convention on March 6. [8]
Republican Convention | ||
---|---|---|
Candidate | First ballot | Pct. |
Greg Gianforte | 150.5 | 61% |
Others | 94.5 | 39% |
The Democratic Party selected a nominee at a convention on March 5. [28]
The Bozeman Daily Chronicle from February 4 to 8 conducted a straw poll of Democratic delegates. [29] Of 89 delegates that responded, Rob Quist was selected by 37, Amanda Curtis by 30, Kelly McCarthy by 13, 9 were undecided, and zero delegates selected John Meyer or other. [29]
Democratic Convention | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Candidate | First ballot | Pct. | Second ballot | Pct. | Third ballot | Pct. | Fourth ballot | Pct. |
Rob Quist | 57 | 36% | 62 | 39% | 72 | 45% | 90 | 57% |
Amanda Curtis | 39 | 25% | 48 | 30% | 57 | 36% | 69 | 43% |
Kelly McCarthy | 38 | 24% | 42 | 26% | 31 | 19% | Eliminated | |
Dan West | 17 | 11% | 8 | 5% | Eliminated | Eliminated | ||
Others | 7 | 4% | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated |
The Libertarian Party Convention on March 11, 2017, was held at Eagle's Lodge in Helena, Montana. [46]
The following county affiliate parties were represented at the convention:
Officers of the Montana Libertarian Party and delegates from the assembled counties had voting rights.
Libertarian Convention [49] | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Candidate | First ballot | Pct. | Second ballot | Pct. | Third ballot | Pct. |
Mark Wicks | 3 | 19% | 5 | 29% | 9 | 56% |
Joe Paschal | 5 | 31% | 6 | 35% | 7 | 44% |
Evan Gardner | 3 | 19% | 3 | 18% | Eliminated | |
Rufus Peace | 3 | 19% | 3 | 18% | Eliminated | |
Dan Nelson | 1 | 6% | Eliminated | |||
Chris Colvin | 0 | 0% | Eliminated | |||
Nathan McKenty | 0 | 0% | Eliminated | |||
James White | 0 | 0% | Eliminated | |||
None of the Above | 1 | 6% | Eliminated |
The Green Party Convention on March 4, 2017, was held at the University of Montana's Payne Family Native American Center. [50]
Breck, along with two independent candidates, won a lawsuit in U.S. District Court against the Montana Secretary of State, ruling Montana's ballot access laws to be unconstitutional in the case of special elections. The District Court Judge ruled to change the original requirement to submit 14,268 ballot petition signatures, reducing that requirement to 400 signatures. The US Court decision failed to provide further remedy and Breck's name was not placed on the ballot despite injunctive appeals to the Ninth Circuit Court and U.S. Supreme Court. Breck subsequently endorsed Independent write-in candidate Doug Campbell who was a co-plaintiff in the suit. [51] [52] [53]
During his 2017 Congressional special election campaign, Gianforte relaxed his past pledges to refuse all PAC money, and began to turn away only corporate PAC funding. His campaign began accepting contributions from political party and leadership PACs. [54]
The night before the election, Gianforte physically assaulted Ben Jacobs, a reporter from The Guardian , in front of multiple witnesses, knocking him down, punching him, and breaking his glasses. [55] Gianforte was subsequently charged with misdemeanor assault. [56] [57] The editorial boards of the Billings Gazette , the Independent Record , and the Missoulian rescinded their endorsements of Gianforte. [58]
The Gianforte campaign released a statement following the incident alleging the incident was caused by, "this aggressive behavior from a liberal journalist", a claim contradictory to the eyewitness account of the Fox News team present in the room at the time. Alicia Acuna, one of two Fox news reporters present, and the only eyewitnesses to the incident, stated that Jacobs had walked into the room, put a voice recorder up to Gianforte's face and began asking questions. She stated that Jacobs, however, showed no sign of physical aggression and did not physically engage Gianforte before being attacked by the Republican candidate. [59] [60]
On June 12, following the election, Gianforte was sentenced to community service and fined $385 after admitting the charge. [61]
Source | Ranking | As of |
---|---|---|
The Cook Political Report [62] | Lean R | May 12, 2017 |
Inside Elections [63] | Lean R | May 25, 2017 |
Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Greg Gianforte (R) | Rob Quist (D) | Mark Wicks (L) | Thomas Breck (G) | Undecided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Change Research | May 20–23, 2017 | 1,888 | ± 2.0% | 49% | 44% | 7% | – | – |
Gravis Marketing | May 22, 2017 | 818 | ± 3.4% | 49% | 35% | 8% | – | 9% |
Gravis Marketing | May 2–4, 2017 | 462 | ± 4.6% | 45% | 37% | 5% | 3% | 10% |
Gravis Marketing | April 27, 2017 | 836 | ± 3.4% | 52% | 39% | 6% | – | 2% |
Garin-Hart-Yang (D) | April 25–27, 2017 | 601 | ± 4.0% | 49% | 43% | – | – | 8% |
Emerson College | April 20–21, 2017 | 648 | ± 3.8% | 52% | 37% | 5% | – | 7% |
Gravis Marketing | April 6, 2017 | 1,222 | ± 2.9% | 50% | 38% | 3% | 2% | 7% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Greg Gianforte | 190,520 | 49.95% | -6.24% | |
Democratic | Rob Quist | 169,214 | 44.37% | +3.82% | |
Libertarian | Mark Wicks | 21,682 | 5.68% | +2.42% | |
Total votes | 381,416 | 100.00% | N/A | ||
Republican hold | |||||
County results [107]
Greg Gianforte Republican | Rob Quist Democratic | Mark Wicks Libertarian | Margin | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
County | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | Turnout |
Beaverhead | 2,239 | 62.28% | 1,144 | 31.82% | 212 | 5.90% | 1,095 | 30.46% | 3,621 | 53.92% |
Big Horn | 1,193 | 43.70% | 1,394 | 51.06% | 143 | 5.24% | 201 | 7.36% | 2,743 | 34.30% |
Blaine | 821 | 41.82% | 974 | 49.62% | 168 | 8.56% | 153 | 7.79% | 1,969 | 49.56% |
Broadwater | 1,481 | 65.39% | 638 | 28.17% | 146 | 6.45% | 843 | 37.22% | 2,282 | 53.52% |
Carbon | 2,572 | 53.25% | 1,975 | 40.89% | 283 | 5.86% | 597 | 12.36% | 4,845 | 63.79% |
Carter | 441 | 84.32% | 59 | 11.28% | 23 | 4.40% | 382 | 73.04% | 532 | 54.68% |
Cascade | 13,427 | 49.80% | 11,546 | 42.83% | 1,987 | 7.37% | 1,881 | 6.98% | 27,143 | 50.19% |
Chouteau | 1,234 | 57.85% | 717 | 33.61% | 182 | 8.53% | 517 | 24.24% | 2,149 | 61.29% |
Custer | 2,206 | 60.99% | 1,175 | 32.49% | 236 | 6.52% | 1,031 | 28.50% | 3,629 | 50.55% |
Daniels | 495 | 72.79% | 151 | 22.21% | 34 | 5.00% | 344 | 50.59% | 680 | 55.69% |
Dawson | 2,019 | 66.74% | 827 | 27.34% | 179 | 5.92% | 1,192 | 39.40% | 3,035 | 51.26% |
Deer Lodge | 955 | 28.99% | 2,063 | 62.63% | 276 | 8.38% | 1,108 | 33.64% | 3,313 | 60.64% |
Fallon | 702 | 81.25% | 136 | 15.74% | 26 | 3.01% | 566 | 65.51% | 868 | 43.95% |
Fergus | 3,005 | 66.22% | 1,196 | 26.36% | 337 | 7.43% | 1,809 | 39.86% | 4,557 | 58.74% |
Flathead | 20,302 | 57.38% | 13,630 | 38.52% | 1,450 | 4.10% | 6,672 | 18.86% | 35,462 | 51.85% |
Gallatin | 17,074 | 40.88% | 22,902 | 54.84% | 1,787 | 4.28% | 5,828 | 13.95% | 41,909 | 54.69% |
Garfield | 487 | 90.19% | 29 | 5.37% | 24 | 4.44% | 458 | 84.81% | 540 | 58.76% |
Glacier | 929 | 30.20% | 1,972 | 64.11% | 175 | 5.69% | 1,043 | 33.91% | 3,085 | 39.15% |
Golden Valley | 282 | 71.03% | 88 | 22.17% | 27 | 6.80% | 194 | 48.87% | 397 | 65.30% |
Granite | 838 | 60.07% | 470 | 33.69% | 87 | 6.24% | 368 | 26.38% | 1,399 | 59.58% |
Hill | 2,061 | 43.62% | 2,091 | 44.25% | 573 | 12.13% | 30 | 0.63% | 4,782 | 50.25% |
Jefferson | 2,997 | 56.71% | 1,996 | 37.77% | 292 | 5.53% | 1,001 | 18.94% | 5,322 | 62.49% |
Judith Basin | 636 | 65.43% | 255 | 26.23% | 81 | 8.33% | 381 | 39.20% | 975 | 67.66% |
Lake | 5,193 | 51.37% | 4,469 | 44.21% | 447 | 4.42% | 724 | 7.16% | 10,133 | 53.10% |
Lewis and Clark | 11,880 | 42.75% | 14,487 | 52.13% | 1,423 | 5.12% | 2,607 | 9.38% | 27,957 | 60.96% |
Liberty | 489 | 58.49% | 208 | 24.88% | 139 | 16.63% | 281 | 33.61% | 842 | 71.17% |
Lincoln | 4,471 | 65.41% | 2,104 | 30.78% | 260 | 3.80% | 2,367 | 34.63% | 6,855 | 50.03% |
Madison | 2,247 | 60.53% | 1,235 | 33.27% | 230 | 6.20% | 1,012 | 27.26% | 3,741 | 59.60% |
McCone | 632 | 76.70% | 155 | 18.81% | 37 | 4.49% | 477 | 57.89% | 830 | 67.04% |
Meagher | 516 | 66.58% | 196 | 25.29% | 63 | 8.13% | 320 | 41.29% | 780 | 59.68% |
Mineral | 911 | 58.85% | 538 | 34.75% | 99 | 6.40% | 373 | 24.10% | 1,548 | 49.41% |
Missoula | 15,137 | 32.10% | 30,054 | 63.73% | 1,968 | 4.17% | 14,917 | 31.63% | 47,356 | 56.14% |
Musselshell | 1,307 | 73.72% | 324 | 18.27% | 142 | 8.01% | 983 | 55.44% | 1,779 | 58.58% |
Park | 3,329 | 45.12% | 3,678 | 49.85% | 371 | 5.03% | 349 | 4.73% | 7,401 | 57.81% |
Petroleum | 203 | 79.61% | 38 | 14.90% | 14 | 5.49% | 165 | 64.71% | 256 | 60.24% |
Phillips | 1,374 | 75.70% | 304 | 16.75% | 137 | 7.55% | 1,070 | 58.95% | 1,824 | 66.45% |
Pondera | 1,267 | 58.28% | 733 | 33.72% | 174 | 8.00% | 534 | 24.56% | 2,182 | 61.99% |
Powder River | 570 | 77.87% | 121 | 16.53% | 41 | 5.60% | 449 | 61.34% | 732 | 56.92% |
Powell | 1,344 | 63.34% | 622 | 29.31% | 156 | 7.35% | 722 | 34.02% | 2,138 | 60.24% |
Prairie | 405 | 74.18% | 104 | 19.05% | 37 | 6.78% | 301 | 55.13% | 546 | 62.69% |
Ravalli | 10,480 | 59.76% | 6,224 | 35.49% | 833 | 4.75% | 4,256 | 24.27% | 17,660 | 57.95% |
Richland | 1,958 | 73.78% | 601 | 22.65% | 95 | 3.58% | 1,357 | 51.13% | 2,662 | 37.02% |
Roosevelt | 916 | 44.02% | 1,030 | 49.50% | 135 | 6.49% | 114 | 5.48% | 2,087 | 35.46% |
Rosebud | 1,400 | 57.64% | 888 | 36.56% | 141 | 5.80% | 512 | 21.08% | 2,435 | 48.40% |
Sanders | 2,903 | 63.79% | 1,353 | 29.73% | 295 | 6.48% | 1,550 | 34.06% | 4,572 | 54.38% |
Sheridan | 691 | 54.45% | 483 | 38.06% | 95 | 7.49% | 208 | 16.39% | 1,276 | 52.45% |
Silver Bow | 3,635 | 29.33% | 7,872 | 63.52% | 886 | 7.15% | 4,237 | 34.19% | 12,490 | 56.61% |
Stillwater | 2,429 | 67.45% | 914 | 25.38% | 258 | 7.16% | 1,515 | 42.07% | 3,617 | 58.92% |
Sweet Grass | 1,076 | 69.29% | 403 | 25.95% | 74 | 4.76% | 673 | 43.34% | 1,553 | 58.74% |
Teton | 1,536 | 58.47% | 887 | 33.76% | 204 | 7.77% | 649 | 24.70% | 2,646 | 65.19% |
Toole | 989 | 61.89% | 443 | 27.72% | 166 | 10.39% | 546 | 34.17% | 1,613 | 60.50% |
Treasure | 213 | 64.35% | 79 | 23.87% | 39 | 11.78% | 134 | 40.48% | 332 | 59.18% |
Valley | 1,904 | 62.78% | 859 | 28.32% | 270 | 8.90% | 1,045 | 34.45% | 3,035 | 67.79% |
Wheatland | 466 | 62.63% | 198 | 26.61% | 80 | 10.75% | 268 | 36.02% | 745 | 55.89% |
Wibaux | 273 | 78.90% | 62 | 17.92% | 11 | 3.18% | 211 | 60.98% | 348 | 46.96% |
Yellowstone | 29,980 | 55.79% | 20,120 | 37.44% | 3,634 | 6.76% | 9,860 | 18.35% | 54,066 | 55.70% |
Monica Joan Tranel is an American rower, lawyer, and political candidate. She competed at the 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympics. A member of the Democratic Party, Tranel ran unsuccessfully for Montana's 1st congressional district in the 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Montana. She announced a bid for the same congressional seat in anticipation of the 2024 elections. Before running for Congress, she was twice a candidate for the Montana Public Service Commission and sought election to the Helena City Commission.
The 2012 congressional election in Montana was held on November 6, 2012, to determine who would represent the state of Montana in the United States House of Representatives. At the time, Montana had one seat in the House. Incumbent Denny Rehberg did not run for reelection, choosing instead to run for the seat in the U.S. Senate. A primary election was held on June 5, 2012. Republican businessman Steve Daines won the open seat.
Francis "Ed" Edward Buttrey is a Republican member of the Montana Legislature. He served in the Montana Senate from 2011 to 2019 and then served in the Montana House of Representatives. He was elected to Senate District 13, representing Great Falls, Montana, in 2011.
Robert Ernest Quist is an American musician and politician, known for his work in bluegrass and country music. Originally a founding member of the Mission Mountain Wood Band, he plays guitar and banjo in addition to singing and songwriting. His songs have also been recorded by artists Michael Martin Murphey and Loretta Lynn, among others.
Gregory Richard Gianforte is an American businessman, politician, software engineer, and writer serving as the 25th governor of Montana since 2021. A member of the Republican Party, Gianforte served as the U.S. representative for Montana's at-large congressional district from 2017 to 2021.
The 2014 United States Senate election in Montana took place on November 4, 2014, to elect a member of the United States Senate from Montana, concurrently with other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
Matthew Martin Rosendale Sr. is an American politician. A Republican, Rosendale represents Montana's 2nd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. Rosendale served in the Montana House of Representatives from 2011 to 2013, and in the Montana Senate from 2013 to 2017. From 2015 to 2017, he served as Senate majority leader. Rosendale was elected Montana state auditor in 2016 and held that position from 2017 to 2020. Rosendale ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2014 and for the U.S. Senate in 2018. He was elected to represent Montana's at-large congressional district in 2020. After Montana regained its second House seat in the 2020 census, Rosendale was elected to represent the new 2nd congressional district in 2022.
John Edward Walsh is an American real estate agent, former politician and former military officer who served as a United States Senator from Montana from 2014 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a colonel in the Army National Guard, the adjutant general of the Montana National Guard with a state commission as a brigadier general from 2008 to 2012 and the 34th Lieutenant Governor of Montana from 2013 to 2014 under Governor Steve Bullock.
Amanda Gayle Curtis is an American politician who serves as the president of the Montana Federation of Public Employees (MFPE), Montana's largest labor union.
The Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF) is a Super PAC dedicated to electing Republicans to the U.S. House of Representatives. The Super PAC, which was closely linked to former House Speaker John Boehner and House GOP leadership, was founded in 2011 and spent nearly $10 million in the 2012 cycle electing Republican candidates. Following Boehner's resignation from the U.S. Congress and the election of Paul D. Ryan as Speaker of the House, Congressional Leadership Fund became closely linked to Ryan.
The 2014 congressional election in Montana was held on November 4, 2014, to elect the U.S. representative from Montana's at-large congressional district. Between 1993 and 2023, Montana had one at-large seat in the House.
The 2016 Montana gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 2016, to elect the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Montana, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as elections to the United States Senate and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
Michael Charles Fellows was an American political activist and Army reservist. He was also a state coordinator for the Montana Fully Informed Jury Association. In the 1990s he issued a press release calling for the impeachment of Bill Clinton. Fellows made political history in 2012 by becoming the first Libertarian candidate ever to gather more than 40% of the vote in a partisan statewide race.
The 2018 United States Senate election in Montana was held on November 6, 2018, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Montana, concurrently with other elections to the United States Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
The 2020 United States Senate election in Montana was held on November 3, 2020, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Montana. It was held concurrently with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states, elections to the United States House of Representatives, and various state and local elections. The primaries for both the Democratic and Republican nominations took place on June 2, 2020. Incumbent senator Steve Daines won the Republican primary, while Montana Gov. Steve Bullock won the Democratic primary.
The 2020 Montana gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 2020, to elect the next governor of Montana, concurrently with the U.S. presidential election, as well as elections to the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives and various state and local elections. It resulted in voters selecting Greg Gianforte over Mike Cooney. Incumbent Democratic governor Steve Bullock was term-limited and could not seek a third consecutive term in office, and he ran unsuccessfully for Montana's Class II Senate seat.
The 2018 United States House of Representatives election in Montana was held on November 6, 2018, to elect the U.S. representative from Montana's at-large congressional district. The election coincided with other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate, and various state and local elections.
The 2020 United States House of Representatives election in Montana was held on November 3, 2020, to elect the U.S. representative from Montana's at-large congressional district. The election coincided with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate and various state and local elections.
The 2024 United States Senate election in Montana will be held on November 5, 2024, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of Montana. Incumbent Senator Jon Tester is seeking a fourth term in office. This race is one of three Democratic-held U.S. Senate seats up for election in 2024 in states Donald Trump won in both the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections, alongside Ohio and West Virginia. Tester's re-election is considered essential for Democrats' chances to retain the Senate majority in 2024. Primary elections will take place on June 4, 2024. The last time Republicans won this seat was in 2000.
The 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Montana were held on November 8, 2022, to elect two U.S. Representatives from Montana, one from each of its congressional districts. Prior to this election cycle, Montana had one at-large district, represented by Republican Matt Rosendale. However, during the 2020 redistricting cycle, Montana regained the 2nd district that it lost in 1993. As a result, Montana became the first state relegated from multi-district to at-large status that reclaimed a 2nd representative in the House of Representatives, in which Rosendale ran for re-election.