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Montana secretary of state election, 2012
 Montana's 2012 elections: • U.S. Senate • U.S. House • Governor • Lt. Gov • Attorney General • Secretary of State • Other executive offices • State Senate • State House • Ballot measures |
The Montana secretary of state election took place on November 6, 2012. The primary election took place on June 5, 2012.
Incumbent Democrat Linda McCulloch was first elected in 2008 as Montana's first female secretary of state. She filed for re-election to a second term on March 1, 2012, after which she reminded the press about her favorable spending record, and pledged to continue her efforts to simplify the voting process. Even against a swelling tide of conservatives targeting illegal immigrant voters, she stated, “Onerous ID requirements, arcane restrictions on voter registration and limited access to absentee ballots are nothing more than deliberate efforts to disenfranchise voters.”[1]
McCulloch was unopposed in her party's primary, but faced a serious general election challenger in her predecessor, Republican candidate Brad Johnson, whom she narrowly defeated for the seat in 2008.
Johnson served one term as secretary, before McCulloch, the former Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction, took office in 2009. He since ran unsuccessfully for Public Service Commission in 2010, worked as a consultant, and on an alternative-energy development venture.[2] Upon announcing his candidacy last October, Johnson said his campaign would not be concentrating heavily on criticizing McCulloch's administration, but instead "it's going to be about the successes we had in the first term and continuing to realize the vision I had for the future of the office."[2]
Johnson overcame Helena-based engineer Scott Aspenlieder, Drew Turiano, a real estate investor and science fiction author, and Missoula accountant Patty Lovaas in the Republican primary to get a rematch with McCulloch.[3]
There was one Libertarian candidate in the race: criminologist and civil liberties activist Roger Roots. Roots filed to run just in time to make the March 12 deadline.[4]
General Election
| Montana Secretary of State General Election, 2012 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Linda McCulloch Incumbent |
51.4% | 245,024 | |
| Republican | Brad Johnson | 45.1% | 214,976 | |
| Libertarian | Roger Roots | 3.5% | 16,622 | |
| Total Votes | 476,622 | |||
| Election Results via Montana Secretary of State. | ||||
Primary
| Montana Secretary of State Republican Primary, 2012 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Brad Johnson |
55.1% | 66,148 |
| Scott Aspenlieder | 22.7% | 27,204 |
| Patty Lovaas | 15.5% | 18,652 |
| Drew Turiano | 6.7% | 8,074 |
| Total Votes | 120,078 | |
| Election Results Via: Montana Secretary of State | ||
General Election
Linda McCulloch (incumbent)
Brad Johnson
Roger Roots
Primary Election
Democratic primary candidates
- Linda McCulloch, the incumbent Secretary of State
Republican primary candidates
- Drew Turiano, a real estate investor and former science fiction author
- Scott Aspenlieder, an engineer from Helena
- Brad Johnson, the former Montana Secretary of State who lost to McCulloch in 2008
- Patty Lovaas, Missoula-based accountant and 2010 general election candidate for Montana State Senate
Libertarian candidates
- Roger Roots, a Livingston criminologist, professor and civil liberties activist.
General election
| Montana Secretary of State | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Response | Public Policy Polling (October 8-10, 2012) | Mason-Dixon Polling & Research (October 29-31, 2012) | Average | |||||||||||
| Linda McCulloch | 42% | 46% | 44% | |||||||||||
| Brad Johnson | 41% | 44% | 42.5% | |||||||||||
| Roger Roots | 8% | 2% | 5% | |||||||||||
| Undecided | 9% | 8% | 8.5% | |||||||||||
| Number polled | 737 | 625 | 681 | |||||||||||
| Margin of error | +/-3.6 | +/-4.0% | 3.8% | |||||||||||
| Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org | ||||||||||||||
Campaign sites
Democrats
Republicans
Ads & Misc. Media
Brad Johnson
| Contents |
|---|
| 1 Due dates for reports |
| 2 Candidates |
Candidates
Linda McCulloch
| Linda McCulloch Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| Primary First | April 10 2012 | $43,500.47 | $4,410.00 | $(1,248.88) | $46,661.59 | ||||
| Pre-Primary | May 21 2012 | $46,661.59 | $1,845.00 | $(544.85) | $47,961.23 | ||||
| Pre-Primary #2 | May 31 2012 | $47,961.74 | $1,070.00 | $(944.51) | $48,087.23 | ||||
| Post-Primary | June 25 2012 | $48,087.23 | $75.00 | $(48,162.23) | $0.00 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $7,400 | $(50,900.47) | ||||||||
Scott Aspenlieder
| Scott Aspenlieder Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| Primary First | April 10 2012 | $37,340.81 | $8,705.00 | $(25,678.38) | $40,358.43 | ||||
| Pre-Primary | May 19 2012 | $40,388.43 | $13,545.00 | $(48,601.71) | $5,331.72 | ||||
| Pre-Primary #2 | May 31 2012 | $5,366.72 | $6,120.00 | $(6,208.30) | $5,278.42 | ||||
| Post-Primary | June 25 2012 | $5,278.42 | $1,875.00 | $(6,996.42) | $157.00 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $30,245 | $(87,484.81) | ||||||||
Brad Johnson
| Brad Johnson Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| Primary First | April 10 2012 | $1,596.07 | $1,375.00 | $(2,476.41) | $494.66 | ||||
| Pre-Primary #2 | May 31 2012 | $719.48 | $435.20 | $(700.00) | $494.66 | ||||
| Post-Primary | June 25 2012 | $454.48 | $620.00 | $(21.69) | $1,052.79 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $2,430.2 | $(3,198.1) | ||||||||
Drew Turiano
| Drew Turiano Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| Primary First | April 10 2012 | $11,141.51 | $0.00 | $(2,086.81) | $9,054.70 | ||||
| Pre-Primary | May 21 2012 | $9,054.70 | $3,240.56 | $(11,116.70) | $1,178.56 | ||||
| Pre-Primary #2 | May 31 2012 | $1,178.56 | $3,240.56 | $(0.00) | $1,178.56 | ||||
| Post-Primary | June 25 2012 | $1,178.56 | $0.00 | $(1,178.56) | $0.00 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $6,481.12 | $(14,382.07) | ||||||||
Patty Lovaas
Lovaas received minimal contributions during the first two reporting periods. Her campaign's treasurer signed a statement of waver to certify the candidate's forgoing report of campaign finances, in accordance with Title 13, chapter 37 of the Montana Code.[5]
| Patty Lovaas Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| Pre-Primary #2 | May 29 | $62.00 | $1,050.00 | $(886.19) | $225.81 | ||||
| Post-Primary | June 25 2012 | $225.81 | $50.00 | $(275.81) | $0.00 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $1,100 | $(1,162) | ||||||||
Roger Roots
Roots received $0.00 in contributions during the first four reporting periods.[6]
Key dates
- Administrative deadlines are at close of business (5:00) unless otherwise noted.
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| Jan. 12 - Mar. 12 | Candidate filing period |
| May 7 | Voter registration for primary election |
| June 4, Noon | Requests received for absentee ballot for primary election |
| June 5 | Primary election |
| Aug. 13 | Deadline for candidates to withdrawal general election candidacy |
| Aug. 23 | Secretary of State certifies candidates on ballot |
| Nov. 5 | Requests received for absentee ballot for general election |
| Nov. 6 | General election |
| Dec. 3 | Official results certified |
See also
Articles
- Election preview: No challengers for Montana's incumbent state executive officials March 13
- Election preview: No primary challengers for Montana's incumbent state executives June 4
- Election aftermath: Two state executive races in Montana still too close to call June 6
External links
References
- ↑ The Missoulian, "McCulloch files for re-election as secretary of state," March 1, 2012
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Missoulian, "Brad Johnson announces bid to regain secretary of state's office," October 13, 2011
- ↑ Office of the Secretary of State, "2012 candidate listing," accessed March 2, 2012
- ↑ Montana Secretary of State "Candidate filing," accessed March 13, 2012
- ↑ Montana Commissioner of Political Practices, "Campaign Finance Report- Waver," April 10, 2012
- ↑ Montana Commission of Political Practices, "Roger Roots Campaign Finance Reports-5/24/12.pdf, accessed May 22, 2012
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