United States Senate election in Montana, 2020 (June 2 Democratic primary)
- Primary date: June 2
- Primary type: Open
- Registration deadline(s): May 4 (postmarked); May 7 (post received)
- Online registration: No
- Same-day registration: Yes
- Early voting starts: May 11
- Absentee/mail voting deadline(s): June 2 (received)
- Voter ID: Non-photo ID
- Poll times: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
2026 →
← 2014
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| U.S. Senate, Montana |
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 |
| Democratic primary Republican primary General election |
| Election details |
| Filing deadline: March 9, 2020 |
| Primary: June 2, 2020 General: November 3, 2020 Pre-election incumbent: Steve Daines (Republican) |
| How to vote |
| Poll times: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voting in Montana |
| Race ratings |
Inside Elections: Toss-up Sabato's Crystal Ball: Lean Republican |
| Ballotpedia analysis |
| U.S. Senate battlegrounds U.S. House battlegrounds Federal and state primary competitiveness Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2020 |
| See also |
U.S. Senate • At-large Montana elections, 2020 U.S. Congress elections, 2020 U.S. Senate elections, 2020 U.S. House elections, 2020 |
A Democratic Party primary took place on June 2, 2020, in Montana to determine which Democratic candidate would run in the state's general election on November 3, 2020.
Steve Bullock advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Montana.
| Candidate filing deadline | Primary election | General election |
|---|---|---|
Heading into the election, the incumbent was Steve Daines (Republican), who was first elected in 2014.
A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to 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]
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.
This page focuses on Montana's United States Senate Democratic primary. For more in-depth information on the state's Republican primary and the general election, see the following pages:
- United States Senate election in Montana, 2020 (June 2 Republican primary)
- United States Senate election in Montana, 2020
Election procedure changes in 2020
Ballotpedia provided comprehensive coverage of how election dates and procedures changed in 2020. While the majority of changes occurred as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some changes occurred for other reasons.
Montana modified its primary election process as follows:
- Voting procedures: Counties were authorized to conduct the primary election entirely by mail.
For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.
Candidates and election results
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Montana
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Steve Bullock | 95.5 | 144,949 |
| John Mues | 2.5 | 3,740 | ||
 | Mike Knoles (Unofficially withdrew)  | 2.1 | 3,165 | |
| Total votes: 151,854 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Jack Ballard (D)
- Josh Seckinger (D)
- Wilmot Collins (D)
- Cora Neumann (D)
Campaign finance
This section contains campaign finance figures from the Federal Election Commission covering all candidate fundraising and spending in this election.[3] It does not include information on fundraising before the current campaign cycle or on spending by satellite groups. The numbers in this section are updated as candidates file new campaign finance reports. Candidates for Congress are required to file financial reports on a quarterly basis, as well as two weeks before any primary, runoff, or general election in which they will be on the ballot and upon the termination of any campaign committees.[4] The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.
| Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steve Bullock | Democratic Party | $49,522,120 | $48,572,770 | $949,350 | As of December 31, 2020 |
| Mike Knoles | Democratic Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| John Mues | Democratic Party | $187,923 | $187,923 | $0 | As of July 15, 2020 |
|
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2020. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." |
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General election race ratings
- See also: Race rating definitions and methods
Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:
- Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
- Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
- Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.[5]
- Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.
Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.[6][7][8]
| Race ratings: U.S. Senate election in Montana, 2020 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race tracker | Race ratings | ||||||||
| November 3, 2020 | October 27, 2020 | October 20, 2020 | October 13, 2020 | ||||||
| The Cook Political Report | Toss-up | Toss-up | Toss-up | Toss-up | |||||
| Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales | Toss-up | Toss-up | Toss-up | Toss-up | |||||
| Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball | Lean Republican | Lean Republican | Lean Republican | Lean Republican | |||||
| Note: Ballotpedia updates external race ratings every week throughout the election season. | |||||||||
See also
- United States Senate election in Montana, 2020 (June 2 Republican primary)
- United States Senate election in Montana, 2020
- United States Senate Democratic Party primaries, 2020
- United States Senate Republican Party primaries, 2020
- United States Senate elections, 2020
- U.S. Senate battlegrounds, 2020
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "State Primary Election Types," accessed April 19, 2023
- ↑ Christi Jacobsen Montana Secretary of State,"Frequently Asked Questions," accessed April 19, 2023
- ↑ Fundraising by primary candidates can be found on the race's respective primary election page. Fundraising by general election candidates can be found on the race's general election page.
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "2022 Quarterly Reports," accessed March 2, 2022
- ↑ Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
