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Montana state executive official elections, 2016

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Montana Executive Official Elections
Top Ballot
Governor and Lt. Governor
Attorney General • Secretary of State
Down Ballot
Commissioner of Securities and Insurance, Auditor • Public Service Commission
Superintendent of Schools

The Treasure State
Key election dates
Filing deadline:
March 14, 2016
Petition deadline (third parties and independents):
May 31, 2016
Filing deadline (third parties and independents):
June 6, 2016
Primary date:
June 7, 2016
General election date:
November 8, 2016
Recount request deadline:
TBD
Inauguration:
January 2, 2017

Seven state executive offices in Montana were up for election in 2016:

Context of the 2016 election

Primary elections

A primary election is an election in which voters select the candidate they believe should represent a political party in a general election. Primaries usually take place several months before a general election. Montana utilizes an open primary system, in which registered voters do not have to be members of a party to vote in that party's primary.[1][2][3]

Montana's primary elections took place on June 7, 2016.

Party control in Montana

The state has gone to Republican presidential contenders for the last ten presidential elections with the exception of 1992, when Montana's electoral votes went to Bill Clinton.[4] However, Montana tends to elect both Democratic and Republican candidates to the U.S. Congress.

Montana has had a divided government since 2005, which was preceded by a nine-year Republican trifecta. Republicans control the state legislature while a Democrat holds the governorship. Control of the state's executive offices was nearly equally distributed among the two parties.

2016 elections

Races we watched

Governor and lieutenant governor

Montana had one of the most-watched gubernatorial contests in 2016. Incumbent Governor Steve Bullock (D) won re-election.

HIGHLIGHTS
  • Incumbent Governor Steve Bullock (D) defeated former state Rep. Bill McChesney in the Democratic primary.
  • Businessman Greg Gianforte won the Republican primary and competed with Bullock in the general election. Bullock narrowly defeated Gianforte on November 8, 2016.
  • The race was rated Lean Democrat.

    • Secretary of State

    Montana held an election for secretary of state on November 8, 2016. Republican Corey Stapleton won the seat, which had previously been controlled by Democrats.

    HIGHLIGHTS
  • Incumbent Linda McCulloch (D) was prevented from running for re-election by term limits.
  • State Auditor Monica Lindeen (D), former state Senator Corey Stapleton (R), and professor Roger Roots (Lib.) were all unopposed in their parties' primaries and competed in the November 8 general election.
  • Stapleton won the general election on November 8, 2016.

    • Public Service Commission

    Montana held an election for three seats on the Public Service Commission on November 8, 2016. Districts 3 and 4 incumbents Roger Koopman (R) and Bob Lake (R) both won re-election. Republican Tony O'Donnell unseated incumbent Kirk Bushman (R) in the primary elections and went on to win the general election in District 2.

    HIGHLIGHTS
  • Districts 3 and 4 incumbents Roger Koopman (R) and Bob Lake (R) were both unopposed for their parties' nominations.
  • Former Commissioner Gail Gutsche (D) won the Democratic primary to challenge Lake, who unseated her in 2012, in the general election.
  • District 2 incumbent Kirk Bushman (R) was defeated by Tony O'Donnell (R) in the Republican primary. No Democrats filed for this race, making O'Donnell the presumptive winner of the November election.
  • Koopman and Lake both won re-election; Republicans maintained unanimous control of the commission after the general election.


    • Elections by office

    Governor and lieutenant governor

    Attorney general

    Secretary of state

    State auditor

    Public Service Commission

    Superintendent of public instruction

    Voter registration

    For full information about voting in Montana, contact the state election agency.

    Registration

    To vote in Montana, you must meet the following requirements:[6]

    “

    ☐ Be registered as required by law.
    ☐ Be 18 years old or older on or before the next election.
    ☐ Be a citizen of the United States.
    ☐ Have lived in Montana for at least 30 days.

    In addition, you cannot vote if:

    Red x.svg You're a convicted felon serving a sentence in a penal institution.
    Red x.svg You've been judged in a court of law to be of unsound mind.[7]

    		”
    —Montana Secretary of State

    Online registration

    See also: Online voter registration

    Montana does not permit online voter registration.


    Past elections

    2015

    There were no state executive elections in Montana in 2015.

    2014

    Two seats on the Montana Public Service Commission were the only state executive offices on the ballot in 2014.

    2013

    There were no elections in Montana in 2013.

    2012

    Nine seats were up for election in Montana in 2012: governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, commissioner of insurance, superintendent of public instruction and three seats on the Montana Public Service Commission.

    State profile

    Demographic data for Montana
     MontanaU.S.
    Total population:1,032,073316,515,021
    Land area (sq mi):145,5463,531,905
    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.[8]

    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

    See also

    Montana State Executive Elections News and Analysis
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    Montana State Executive Offices
    Montana State Legislature
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    Party control of state government
    State government trifectas
    State of the state addresses
    Partisan composition of governors

    External links

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures Website, "State Primary Election Types," accessed January 6, 2014
    2. ↑ Fair Vote, "Congressional and Presidential Primaries: Open, Closed, Semi-Closed, and 'Top Two,'" accessed January 6, 2014
    3. ↑ Ballotpedia research conducted December 26, 2013, through January 3, 2014, researching and analyzing various state websites and codes.
    4. ↑ 270 to win, "Montana," accessed May 30, 2016
    5. ↑ Bozeman Daily Chronicle, "AG Tim Fox files paperwork for re-election in 2016," accessed August 28, 2015
    6. ↑ Montana Secretary of State, "Montana Voter Information," accessed June 9, 2014
    7. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
    8. ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
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