Montana down ballot state executive elections, 2012

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2012 State Executive Official Elections

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News • Calendar

Five down ballot state executive positions were up for election in the state of Montana in 2012. The primary took place on June 5, 2012, with the general election on November 6, 2012.

• Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance, State Auditor - Monica Lindeen (D)
• Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction - Denise Juneau (D)
• Montana Public Service Commission (3 officers) - Kirk Bushman (R), Roger Koopman (R), and Bob Lake (R)

State Auditor

Incumbent Monica Lindeen (D) won re-election as Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance, State Auditor in 2012. She was first elected in 2008.

General

November 6 General election candidates:

Monica Lindeen Incumbent

Derek Skees

Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance, State Auditor General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Monica Lindeen Incumbent	53.5%	248,447
	Republican	Derek Skees	46.5%	215,743
Total Votes				464,190
Election results via Montana Secretary of State

Polls

Montana State Auditor
Poll	Monica Lindeen	Derek Skees	Undecided	Margin of error	Sample size
Mason-Dixon Polling & Research (dead link) (October 29-31, 2012)	49%	38%	13%	+/-4.0	625
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.

Primary

The primary took place on June 5, 2012. Candidates for each party were unopposed.

Montana Auditor Democratic Primary, 2012
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Monica Lindeen	100%	83,570
Total Votes		83,570
Election results via Montana Secretary of State.

Montana Auditor Republican Primary, 2012
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Derek Skees	100%	105,110
Total Votes		105,110
Election results via Montana Secretary of State.

Superintendent

General

November 6 General election candidates:

Denise Juneau Incumbent

Sandy Welch

Note: With all unofficial results reported, Juneau declared victory, while Welch did not concede and requested a recount on December 3. However, after it was ordered by a judge, Welch abandoned the recount due to the cost.

Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Denise Juneau Incumbent	50.2%	235,397
	Republican	Sandy Welch	49.8%	233,166
Total Votes				468,563
Election results via Montana Secretary of State

Polls

Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction
Poll	Denise Juneau	Sandy Welch	Undecided	Margin of error	Sample size
Mason-Dixon Polling & Research (dead link) (October 29-31, 2012)	49%	44%	7%	+/-4.0	625
Public Policy Polling (October 8-10, 2012)	41%	40%	19%	+/-3.6	737
AVERAGES	45%	42%	13%	+/-3.8	681
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.

Primary

The primary election for Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction took place on June 5, 2012. Incumbent Denise Juneau (D) sought re-election. She was first elected in 2008.

Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction Democratic Primary, 2012
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Denise Juneau	100%	82,788
Total Votes		82,788
Election results via Montana Secretary of State.

Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction Republican Primary, 2012
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Sandy Welch	100%	105,442
Total Votes		105,442
Election results via Montana Secretary of State.

Additional reading

• Stateline, "Should State Education Chiefs Be Elected?" October 23, 2012

PSC (District 2)

Incumbent Brad Molnar (R) could not seek re-election to Montana Public Service Commission District 2 in 2012 due to term limits.

General

November 6 General election candidates:

Chuck Tooley

Kirk Bushman

Montana Public Service Commission District 2 General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Kirk Bushman	52.7%	47,385
	Democratic	Chuck Tooley	47.3%	42,587
Total Votes				89,972
Election results via Montana Secretary of State

Primary

The primary election took place on June 5, 2012. Chuck Tooley defeated state Sen. Lynda Moss for the Democratic nomination and Kirk Bushman defeated Al Garver to get the Republican nomination.

Montana Public Service Commissioner District 2 Democratic Primary, 2012
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Chuck Tooley	56.4%	9,549
Lynda Moss	43.6%	7,374
Total Votes		16,923
Election results via The Montana Secretary of State.

Montana Public Service Commissioner District 2 Republican Primary, 2012
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Kirk Bushman	63.3%	14,066
Al Garver	36.7%	8,156
Total Votes		22,222
Election results via The Montana Secretary of State.

Note: In early May 2012, Garver announced he was suspending his campaign. His name remained on the ballot.

PSC (District 3)

Incumbent John Vincent (D) lost his bid for re-election for Montana Public Service Commission District 3. He was first elected in 2008.

General

November 6 General election candidates:

John Vincent Incumbent

Roger Koopman

Montana Public Service Commission District 3 General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Roger Koopman	50.9%	52,330
	Democratic	John Vincent Incumbent	49.1%	50,513
Total Votes				102,843
Election results via Montana Secretary of State

Primary

The primary election took place on June 5, 2012. The Democratic race was initially too close to call but went to incumbent John Vincent. Roger Koopman won a four-way race for the Republican nomination.

Montana Public Service Commissioner District 3 Democratic Primary, 2012
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
John Vincent	50.8%	9,917
Mark Sweeney	49.2%	9,592
Total Votes		19,509
Election results via The Montana Secretary of State.

Montana Public Service Commissioner District 3 Republican Primary, 2012
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Roger Koopman	39.6%	9,431
James Brown	31.5%	7,519
Michael More	18.9%	4,504
Edward McCrone	10%	2,383
Total Votes		23,837
Election results via The Montana Secretary of State.

PSC (District 4)

Gail Gutsche (D) lost her bid for re-election for Montana Public Service Commission District 4. She was first elected in 2008.

General

November 6 General election candidates:

Gail Gutsche Incumbent

Bob Lake

Montana Public Service Commission District 4 General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Bob Lake	51.4%	49,140
	Democratic	Gail Gutsche Incumbent	48.6%	46,462
Total Votes				95,602
Election results via Montana Secretary of State

Primary

The primary election took place on June 5, 2012. Gail Gutsche was unopposed for the Democratic nomination while state Sen. Bob Lake won the Republican nomination.

Montana Public Service Commission District 4 Republican Primary, 2012
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Bob Lake	44.6%	9,734
Jim Pearson	34.3%	7,482
Chris Greil	21.1%	4,610
Total Votes		21,826
Election results via The Montana Secretary of State.

Montana Public Service Commission, District 4, Democratic Primary, 2012
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Gail Gutsche	100%	16,407
Total Votes		16,407
Election results via Montana Secretary of State.

Key deadlines

Deadline	Event
Jan 12	First day for candidates to file for office
March 5	Deadline for independent, minor party, indigent and new political party petitions to be submitted
March 12	Deadline for candidates to file for office/withdraw primary election candidacy
April 20	Deadline for election administrators to send absentee ballots to military and overseas electors for primary
April 27	Deadline for write-in candidates for primary
May 7	Close of regular voter registration
June 5	Primary election
Aug 13	Deadline for candidates to withdraw general election candidacy
Sept 21	Deadline for election administrators to send absentee ballots to military and overseas electors for general
Sept 28	Deadline for write-in candidates for general election
Oct 9	Close of regular voter registration
Nov 6	General election

See also

• Statewide elections, 2012
• State executive official elections, 2012
• Montana state executive official elections, 2012
• Montana gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2012

External links

Suggest a link

• Montana Secretary of State - elections

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