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Montana Supreme Court elections, 2016
| 2016 State Judicial Elections |
|---|
 |
| Part 1: Overview |
| Part 2: Supreme Courts |
| Part 3: Partisanship |
| Part 4: Changes in 2016 |
Three seats on the Montana Supreme Court were up for election on November 8, 2016, with a primary election held on June 7. The seats were held by Justice Mike McGrath, Justice Patricia O'Brien Cotter, and Justice Jim Shea going into the 2016 elections. A supreme court justice serves an eight-year term.
Justice Cotter announced that she would retire at the end of her term, leaving her seat open in the 2016 elections. Three candidates filed to run for her seat. Kristen Juras and Dirk M. Sandefur were the top two finishers in the June 7 primary and advanced to the November general election. Sandefur defeated Juras in the general election.
Chief Justice McGrath and Justice Shea filed to run for re-election and were running unopposed in the 2016 elections.[1] According to Montana state law, incumbents running unopposed in judicial elections must stand for a retention election.
Kristen Juras and Dirk M. Sandefur ran for Justice Cotter's open seat. Governing described Juras as supported by Republicans and Sandefur as supported by Democrats. It stated that the retiring Justice Cotter was considered a liberal-leaning justice on a court with a balance of two conservative-leaning, two moderate, and three liberal-leaning justices. Therefore, if Juras won the seat, she would have shifted the political balance of the court, according to Governing.[2] However, Juras was defeated, and the two-two-three liberal-leaning majority Governing cited will be preserved.
Candidates
Chief Justice (McGrath's seat)
■ Mike McGrath 
(Incumbent/Unopposed)
- Because Justice McGrath was an incumbent running unopposed, Montana law treated this election as a retention election on November 8, though the candidate appeared on the June 7 primary ballot as well.
Seat 3 (Cotter's seat)
Justice Patricia O'Brien Cotter announced her intention to retire in 2016.[3]
■ Kristen Juras
■ Dirk M. Sandefur
Defeated in primary
Seat 6 (Shea's seat)
■ Jim Shea (Incumbent/Unopposed)
- Because Justice McGrath was an incumbent running unopposed, Montana law treated this election as a retention election on November 8, though the candidate appeared on the June 7 primary ballot as well.
Election results
November 8 general election
| Montana Supreme Court, Seat 3, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Dirk M. Sandefur |
56.13% | 254,811 |
| Kristen Juras | 43.87% | 199,148 |
| Total Votes (686 of 686 precincts reporting: 100%) | 453,959 | |
| Source: Montana Secretary of State | ||
| Montana Supreme Court, Chief Justice Seat, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes votes | |
| Mike McGrath | 81.76% | |
| Source: Montana Secretary of State | ||
| Montana Supreme Court, Seat 6, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes votes | |
| Jim Shea | 81.40% | |
| Source: Montana Secretary of State | ||
June 7 primary
| Montana Supreme Court Primary, Seat 3, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Kristen Juras |
44.10% | 100,846 |
| Dirk M. Sandefur |
34.48% | 78,855 |
| Eric Mills | 21.41% | 48,965 |
| Total Votes (686 of 686 precincts reporting: 100%) | 228,666 | |
| Source: Montana Secretary of State Official Results | ||
| Montana Supreme Court Primary, Chief Justice Seat, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Mike McGrath Incumbent (unopposed) |
100.00% | 237,577 |
| Total Votes (686 of 686 precincts reporting: 100%) | 237,577 | |
| Source: Montana Secretary of State Official Results | ||
| Montana Supreme Court Primary, Seat 6, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Jim Shea Incumbent (unopposed) |
100.00% | 227,153 |
| Total Votes (686 of 686 precincts reporting: 100%) | 227,153 | |
| Source: Montana Secretary of State Official Results | ||
Campaign finance
In his campaign finance report of May 23, Mike McGrath reported $59,395.58 for the primary, with expenditures of $101.75.[4]
In her campaign finance report of May 19, Kristen Juras reported $53,119 for the primary, with expenditures of $27,308.09.[4]
In his campaign finance report of May 23, Eric Mills reported $285.04 for the primary, with expenditures of $14.95.[4]
In his campaign finance report of May 23, Dirk Sandefur reported $83,994.47 for the primary, with expenditures of $11,737.71.[4]
In his campaign finance report of May 22, Jim Shea reported $37,087.50 for the primary, with no expenditures.[4]
Political composition
Justices on the Montana Supreme Court participate in nonpartisan elections. Justice James Rice was appointed by Republican Gov. Judy Martz to fill a vacancy on the court. Democratic governors appointed Justice Michael E. Wheat and Justice Jim Shea. The remaining four justices were elected to full terms.
Chief Justice Mike McGrath
Justice Patricia O'Brien Cotter
Justice James Rice
Justice Michael E. Wheat
Justice Laurie McKinnon
Justice Jim Shea
Justice Beth Baker
Selection
- See also: Judicial selection in Montana
Supreme court justices serve eight-year terms following a general election. In the case of a mid-term vacancy, the governor may appoint an interim justice. The Montana Judicial Nominating Commission must submit between three and five nominees to the governor, after which the governor has 30 days to appoint one to the vacant position. If the governor does not select a nominee in time, the chief justice must make the appointment. The appointment must be confirmed by the state senate; if the senate is not in session, the recess appointee serves until the next session. After having been appointed, the interim justice must run in the next general election to retain the seat for the remainder of the term. Thereafter, a justice serves for terms of eight years, subject to challenge by opponents. Any incumbent judge who is running unopposed in a general election will be subject to a retention election.[5][6][7]
Qualifications
A qualified candidate for the Montana Supreme Court must be a citizen of the United States, and the candidate must be a resident of the state for no less than two years. Candidates must also be admitted to practice law in the state for not less than five years and must reside in Montana during their term.[8]
Chief justice
As with other justices on the court, the chief justice runs in nonpartisan elections and serves eight-year terms. The chief justice presides over the District Court Council, which administers the state funding of the district courts.[9][10][11]
State profile
| Demographic data for Montana | ||
|---|---|---|
| Montana | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 1,032,073 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 145,546 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 89.2% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 0.5% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 0.7% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 6.5% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 2.5% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 3.3% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 92.8% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 29.5% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $47,169 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 17% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Montana. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Presidential voting pattern
- See also: Presidential voting trends in Montana
Montana voted Republican in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.
Pivot Counties (2016)
Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, three are located in Montana, accounting for 1.46 percent of the total pivot counties.[12]
Pivot Counties (2020)
In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Montana had two Retained Pivot Counties and one Boomerang Pivot County, accounting for 1.10 and 4.00 percent of all Retained and Boomerang Pivot Counties, respectively.
More Montana coverage on Ballotpedia
- Elections in Montana
- United States congressional delegations from Montana
- Public policy in Montana
- Endorsers in Montana
- Montana fact checks
- More...
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Montana court elections' OR 'Montana Supreme Court 2016' OR 'Montana Supreme Court election'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Montana Secretary of State, "2016 candidate filing list: Non-Legislative," accessed March 15, 2016
- ↑ Governing, "Judicial Races On Track to Break Spending Records," November 3, 2016
- ↑ KPAX.com Mike Dennison, "Money piles up in 2016 Montana Supreme Court race," accessed January 26, 2016
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Montana Secretary of State, "Campaign Electronic Finance Reporting System," accessed May 24, 2016
- ↑ Montana Legislature, "Montana Constitution: Article VII Section 8," accessed December 9, 2014
- ↑ Montana Courts, "Judicial Branch," accessed March 21, 2014
- ↑ Judicial selection in Montana
- ↑ Montana Legislature, "Montana Constitution: Article VII Section 9," accessed December 9, 2014
- ↑ Montana Legislature, "Montana Code Annotated 2014: 3-2-101," accessed December 9, 2014
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedabout - ↑ Montana Legislature, "Montana Code Annotated 2014: 3-1-1602," accessed April 25, 2015
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
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Federal courts:
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of Montana • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of Montana
State courts:
Montana Supreme Court • Montana District Courts • Montana Courts of Limited Jurisdiction • Montana Water Court • Montana Workers' Compensation Court
State resources:
Courts in Montana • Montana judicial elections • Judicial selection in Montana
