2020 Montana gubernatorial election

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For related races, see 2020 United States gubernatorial elections.
2020 Montana gubernatorial election
← 2016 November 3, 2020 2024 →
  Greg Gianforte 115th congress (cropped).jpg Mike Cooney in 2017.jpg
Nominee Greg Gianforte Mike Cooney
Party Republican Democratic
Running mate Kristen Juras Casey Schreiner
Popular vote 328,548 250,860
Percentage 54.4% 41.6%
2020 Montana gubernatorial election results map by county.svg
County results
Gianforte:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Cooney:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%
Governor before election

Steve Bullock
Democratic

Elected Governor

Greg Gianforte
Republican

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The 2020 Montana gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 2020, to elect the next governor of Montana, concurrently with the U.S. presidential election, as well as elections to the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives and various state and local elections. It resulted in voters selecting Greg Gianforte over Mike Cooney. Incumbent Democratic Governor Steve Bullock, who was term-limited and could not seek reelection to a third consecutive term in office, was instead seeking Montana's Class II Senate seat.[1][2]

Bullock's lieutenant governor, Mike Cooney, was the Democratic nominee, while the Republican nominee was Montana's at-large congressman Greg Gianforte. Gianforte won the election, making him the first Republican governor of Montana since Judy Martz.[3]

Democratic primary[]

Candidates[]

Nominee[]

  • Mike Cooney, Lieutenant Governor of Montana and former Secretary of State of Montana[4]
    • Running mate: Casey Schreiner, Minority Leader of the Montana House of Representatives[5]

Eliminated in primary[]

  • Whitney Williams, businesswoman and daughter of former U.S. Representative Pat Williams[6]
    • Running mate: Buzz Mattelin, farmer and president of the National Barley Growers Association

Withdrawn[]

  • Reilly Neill, former state representative[7][8]
  • Casey Schreiner, Minority Leader of the Montana House of Representatives (running for Lieutenant Governor)[9][10]

Declined[]

Endorsements[]

Mike Cooney
Statewide politicians
  • Steve Bullock, incumbent Governor of Montana and former candidate for President in 2020[18]
  • Jacob Bachmeier, state representative[19]
  • Moffie Funk, state representative[19]
  • Mary Ann Dunwell, state representative[20]
Federal politicians
  • Jon Tester, U.S. Senator (MT)[21]
Organizations
  • AFL–CIO Montana[citation needed]
  • International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 190[22]
Whitney Williams
Statewide politicians
  • Brian Schweitzer, former Governor of Montana[16]
Local politicians
Organizations

Polling[]

Polls with a sample size of <100 have their sample size entries marked in red to indicate a lack of reliability.

Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size[a] 		Margin
of error 		Mike
Cooney 		Reilly
Neill 		Casey
Schreiner 		Whitney
Williams 		Other /
Undecided
Montana State University Billings October 7–16, 2019 40 (LV) – 19% 2% 6% 11% 62%

Results[]

Results by county
Cooney
  •   Cooney—70–80%
  •   Cooney—60–70%
  •   Cooney—50–60%
Tie
  •   Tie—50–60%
Williams
  •   Williams—50–60%
Democratic primary results[25]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Mike Cooney 81,527 54.86%
Democratic Whitney Williams 67,066 45.14%
Total votes 148,593 100.00%

Republican primary[]

Candidates[]

Nominee[]

  • Running mate: Kristen Juras, businesswoman and attorney[28]

Eliminated in primary[]

  • Running mate: Jon Knokey, former state representative
  • Running mate: Kenneth Bogner, state senator[32]

Withdrawn[]

Declined[]

Endorsements[]

Greg Gianforte
Individuals
  • Donald Trump Jr., businessman, son of President Donald Trump[38]
Organizations
  • Susan B. Anthony List[39]
  • Crow Tribe of Montana[40]

Polling[]

Polls with a sample size of <100 have their sample size entries marked in red to indicate a lack of reliability.

Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size[a] 		Margin
of error 		Tim
Fox 		Greg
Gianforte 		Albert
Olszewski 		Other /
Undecided
Montana State University Billings October 7–16, 2019 99 (LV) – 25% 33% 9% 32%
Gravis Marketing August 28–30, 2019 433 (RV) ± 4.7% 29% 56% 15% –
Moore Information[A] July 7–10, 2019 400 (LV) ± 5.0% 17% 56% 5% 23%

Results[]

Results by county
Gianforte
  •   Gianforte—70–80%
  •   Gianforte—60–70%
  •   Gianforte—50–60%
  •   Gianforte—40–50%
Fox
  •   Fox—40–50%
  •   Fox—50–60%
Republican primary results[25]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Greg Gianforte 119,247 53.44%
Republican Tim Fox 60,823 27.26%
Republican Albert Olszewski 43,080 19.30%
Total votes 223,150 100.00%

Other candidates[]

Libertarian Party[]

Nominee[]

  • Lyman Bishop, founder and CEO of Hoplite Armor[41]
    • Running mate: John Nesper

Withdrawn[]

  • Ron Vandevender, nominee for lieutenant governor in 2016 and nominee for governor in 2012[42][43][44]

Green Party[]

Disqualified[]

  • Robert Barb[41][45]
    • Running mate: Joshua Thomas

Results[]

Green primary results[25]
Party Candidate Votes %
Green Robert Barb 713 100.0%
Total votes 713 100.0%

General election[]

Debate[]

Host Date & Time Link(s) Participants
Mike Cooney (D) Greg Gianforte (R)
Montana PBS October 6, 2020
6:00pm MDT 		[46] Present Present

Predictions[]

Source Ranking As of
The Cook Political Report[47] Tossup October 23, 2020
Inside Elections[48] Tossup October 28, 2020
Sabato's Crystal Ball[49] Lean R (flip) November 2, 2020
Politico[50] Lean R (flip) November 2, 2020
Daily Kos[51] Lean R (flip) October 28, 2020
RCP[52] Tossup November 2, 2020
270towin[53] Tossup November 2, 2020

Endorsements[]

Mike Cooney (D)
Statewide and local politicians
  • Steve Bullock, Governor of Montana and former candidate for President in 2020[18]
  • Jacob Bachmeier, state representative[19]
  • Moffie Funk, state representative[19]
  • Mary Ann Dunwell, state representative[20]
Federal politicians
  • Jon Tester, U.S. Senator (MT)[21]
Organizations
  • AFL–CIO Montana[citation needed]
  • International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 190[22]
  • Montana Federation of Public Employees[citation needed]
Greg Gianforte (R)
U.S. Presidents
  • Donald Trump, 45th President of the United States[54]
Individuals
  • Donald Trump Jr., businessman, son of President Donald Trump[38]
Organizations
  • Susan B. Anthony List[39]
  • Crow Tribe of Montana[55]

Polling[]

Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size[a] 		Margin
of error 		Mike
Cooney (D) 		Greg
Gianforte (R) 		Other /
Undecided
Change Research October 29 – November 2, 2020 920 (LV) ± 3.5% 44% 48% 6%[b]
Montana State University Billings October 19–24, 2020 546 (LV) ± 4.2% 45% 45% 11%[c]
Siena College/NYT Upshot October 18–20, 2020 758 (LV) ± 4.4% 44% 48% 8%[d]
Strategies 360/NBCMT October 15–20, 2020 500 (LV) ± 4.4% 41% 48% 11%[e]
RMG Research/PoliticalIQ October 15–18, 2020 800 (LV) ± 3.5% 45%[f] 48% 5%[g]
47%[h] 46% 5%[i]
43%[j] 50% 5%[k]
Emerson College October 4–7, 2020 500 (LV) ± 3.7% 41% 54% 5%[l]
Montana State University Bozeman September 14 – October 2, 2020 1,605 (LV) ± 3.9% 42% 47% 11%[m]
Siena College/NYT Upshot September 14–16, 2020 625 (LV) ± 4.8% 39% 45% 16%[n]
Global Strategy Group (D) August 18–23, 2020 600 (LV) – 46% 47% –
Emerson College July 31 – August 2, 2020 584 (LV) ± 4.0% 41% 50% 10%[o]
Civiqs/Daily Kos July 11–13, 2020 873 (RV) ± 4.2% 44% 47% 9%[p]
Public Policy Polling[B] July 9–10, 2020 1,224 (V) ± 2.8% 42% 46% 12%[q]
University of Montana June 17–26, 2020 517 (RV) ± 4.3% 36% 46% 18%[r]
The Progress Campaign (D) April 14–21, 2020 1,712 (RV) ± 4.6% 41% 43% 16%[s]
Hypothetical polling
with Mike Cooney, Tim Fox, Greg Gianforte, Albert Olszewski, Ron Vandevender and Whitney Williams
Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size[a] 		Margin
of error 		Democratic
Candidates 		Republican
Candidates 		Ron
Vandevender (L)
University of Montana February 12–22, 2020 498 (LV) ± 4.4% 35.1%[t] 61.7%[u] 1.3%
with Mike Cooney, Tim Fox, Greg Gianforte, Reilly Neill, Albert Olszewski, Gary Perry, Casey Schreiner and Whitney Williams
Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size[a] 		Margin
of error 		Democratic
Candidates 		Republican
Candidates
University of Montana September 26 – October 3, 2019 303 (RV) ± 5.6% 40%[v] 60.1%[w]
with Tim Fox, Matt Rosendale, Corey Stapleton, Kathleen Williams and Whitney Williams
Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size[a] 		Margin
of error 		Democratic
Candidates 		Republican
Candidates 		Other /
Undecided
University of Montana February 21 – March 1, 2019 293 (RV) ± 5.7% 32.4%[x] 48.4%[y] 19.2%[z]

Results[]

2020 Montana gubernatorial election[56]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Greg Gianforte 328,548 54.43% +8.08%
Democratic Mike Cooney 250,860 41.56% -8.69%
Libertarian Lyman Bishop 24,179 4.01% +0.61%
Total votes 603,587 100.00%
Turnout 612,075 81.33%
Registered electors 752,538
Republican gain from Democratic

Notes[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f Key:
    A – all adults
    RV – registered voters
    LV – likely voters
    V – unclear
  2. ^ Bishop (L) with 3%; "Don't recall" with 2%; Did not vote with 1%; Would not vote with 0%; Undecided with 1%
  3. ^ Bishop (L) with 2%; Undecided with 9%
  4. ^ Bishop (L) with 4%; "Someone else" and would not vote with 0%; "Undecided/Refused" with 4%
  5. ^ Bishop (L) with 4%; Undecided with 7%
  6. ^ Standard VI response
  7. ^ "Some other candidate" with 2%; Undecided with 3%
  8. ^ Results generated with high Democratic turnout model
  9. ^ "Some other candidate" with 2%; Undecided with 3%
  10. ^ Results generated with high Republican turnout model
  11. ^ "Some other candidate" with 2%; Undecided with 3%
  12. ^ "Someone else" with 1%; Undecided with 4%
  13. ^ "Other" with 4% (including Bishop (L) with <2%); Undecided with 7%
  14. ^ Bishop (L) with 4%; Barb (G) and would not vote with 1%; "someone else" with 0%; "Undecided/Refused" with 10%
  15. ^ "Someone else" with 3%; Undecided with 7%
  16. ^ "Someone else" with 5%; Undecided with 4%
  17. ^ Undecided with 12%
  18. ^ Undecided with 18.3%
  19. ^ Undecided with 16%
  20. ^ Cooney with 21%; Williams with 14.1%
  21. ^ Gianforte with 35%; Fox with 21.6%; Olszewski with 6.9%
  22. ^ Cooney with 23%; Williams with 7.9%; Schreiner with 6%; Neill with 3.1%
  23. ^ Gianforte with 35.1%; Fox with 16.1%; Olszewski with 8.1%; Perry with 0.8%
  24. ^ Kathleen Williams with 26.6%; Cooney with 5.2%; Whitney Williams with 0.6%
  25. ^ Fox with 16.8%; Gianforte with 16.1%; Stapleton with 8%; Rosendale with 7.5%
  26. ^ "Someone else" with 15.4%; "none/do not plan to vote" with 3.8%
Partisan clients
  1. ^ Commissioned by Gianforte
  2. ^ Poll's funding was crowdsourced by Election Twitter.

References[]

  1. ^ Arkin, James (March 9, 2020). "Bullock enters Montana Senate race". POLITICO.
  2. ^ Pramuk, Jacob (March 9, 2020). "Montana Gov. Steve Bullock launches Senate bid, a boost in Democrats' push for majority". CNBC.
  3. ^ Gstalter, Morgan (January 18, 2021). "GOP Rep. Greg Gianforte wins Montana governor's race". The Hill.
  4. ^ "Montana lieutenant governor joins governor's race". Associated Press. July 3, 2019. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
  5. ^ Cates-Carney, Corin (February 28, 2020). "Cooney Names Schreiner As Running Mate In Gov Race". mtpr.org. Montana Public Radio.
  6. ^ Volz, Matt (October 3, 2019). "Williams now 4th Democrat in governor's race". Great Falls Tribune. Associated Press. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  7. ^ Press, The Associated (January 22, 2020). "Former Montana lawmaker Neill drops out of governor's race". KECI.
  8. ^ Drake, Phil (January 21, 2020). "Democrat Neill drops from Montana governor's race". Great Falls Tribune.
  9. ^ Bridge, Thom (February 3, 2020). "Casey Schreiner ends Montana gubernatorial campaign". The Missoulian. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  10. ^ Michels, Holly. "Cooney picks Schreiner as running mate in race for governor". Montana Standard. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  11. ^ Kondik, Kyle (December 6, 2018). "Governors 2019-2020: Democrats try to hold the line in red-state battles". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved December 7, 2018.[permanent dead link]
  12. ^ Hanson, Amy Beth (May 13, 2019). "Mayor who was refugee from Liberia announces run for Senate". Associated Press. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  13. ^ a b Dennison, Mike (March 20, 2019). "Montana 2020: Gianforte gubernatorial run would have 'domino effect' on statewide races". KRTV. Retrieved March 21, 2019.
  14. ^ Lippman, Daniel (May 10, 2019). "'The Revenant' author considering run for Montana Senate or governor". Politico. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  15. ^ Punke, Michael (2019-06-23). "As my friends and family know, I have been considering a run for Montana's senator or governor. I'm grateful for the encouragement I received. I have decided not to seek election this cycle. For my family &me, it's not the right time. Thx to all who offered advice &encouragement". @MPunke. Retrieved 2019-06-23.
  16. ^ a b Ambarian, Jonathon (February 27, 2020). "Democratic gubernatorial candidate Williams gets endorsement from former Gov. Schweitzer". KPAX.
  17. ^ "Williams launches new bid for Montana US House seat". KECI. Associated Press. April 5, 2019. Retrieved April 5, 2019.
  18. ^ a b Cates-Carney, Corin (October 25, 2019). "Gov. Bullock Endorses Lt. Gov. Cooney In Gubernatorial Race". mtpr.org. Montana Public Radio.
  19. ^ a b c d "Mike Cooney". ballotpedia.org.
  20. ^ a b "Rep. Dunwell endorses Cooney for governor". cooneyformontana.com. January 18, 2020. Archived from the original on September 13, 2020. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  21. ^ a b "Tester endorses Cooney in contested Democratic gov primary". ktvh.com. April 29, 2020.
  22. ^ a b "Mike Cooney's Momentum Grows with Three Big Labor Endorsements". cooneyformontana.com. April 8, 2020.
  23. ^ Engen, John (November 12, 2019). "Guest view: Missoula's mayor on why Whitney Williams should be Montana's next governor". Montana Standard.
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  26. ^ a b c "Gianforte files fundraising paperwork to run for governor in 2020". KTVH.com. 2019-06-06. Retrieved 2019-06-07.
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  29. ^ a b "Montana's 2020 governor's race: Buckle up". KTVQ.com. 2019-03-28. Retrieved 2019-03-28.
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  32. ^ Drake, Phil (October 4, 2019). "Olszewski picks Bogner to run as lieutenant governor". Great Falls Tribune. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  33. ^ Drake, Phil (June 15, 2019). "Stapleton announces run for U.S. House seat". Great Falls Tribune. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
  34. ^ a b "Fox has 212k in bank as GOP governor's race narrows". fox28spokane.com. July 5, 2019. Archived from the original on July 6, 2019. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  35. ^ Pathé, Simone (June 17, 2019). "On heels of Senate loss, Matt Rosendale running for Congress — again". Roll Call. Retrieved June 17, 2019.
  36. ^ "Zinke says he won't run for Montana governor in 2020". Great Falls Tribune. Associated Press. November 9, 2018. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  37. ^ Lefebvre, Ben (November 8, 2018). "Zinke prepares to leave Trump's Cabinet". Politico. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  38. ^ a b Trump, Donald Jr. "Montana's A-Team: Daines, Rosendale, Gianforte". missoulian.com. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  39. ^ a b "Greg Gianforte".
  40. ^ "Crow Tribal Chairman endorses Trump campaign". Indian Country Today. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  41. ^ a b Michels, Holly K. (March 10, 2020). "Filing deadline for Montana ballot sees last-minute surprises". Bozeman Daily Chronicle.
  42. ^ "Former Democratic legislator to run for Montana governor". The Missoulian. Associated Press. June 10, 2019. Retrieved June 10, 2019.
  43. ^ Drake, Phil (February 9, 2020). "So what would you do? Candidates asked about Garcia". Great Falls Tribune. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  44. ^ Maag, Brittony (March 26, 2020). "Seven candidates file to run for governor of Montana". Ballotpedia News. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  45. ^ Michels, Holly (August 7, 2020). "Helena judge again takes Green Party off the ballot". Helena Independent Record. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  46. ^ "Montana Gubernatorial Debate". C-SPAN. 2020-10-06.
  47. ^ "2020 Governor Race Ratings for October 23, 2020". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
  48. ^ "2020 Gubernatorial Ratings". insideelections.com. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
  49. ^ "2020 Gubernatorial race ratings". Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball. November 2, 2020. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
  50. ^ "We rated every gubernatorial race in 2020. Here's who we think will win". Politico. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  51. ^ "2020 Governor Race Ratings". Daily Kos. June 1, 2020. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
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  55. ^ "Crow Tribal Chairman endorses Trump campaign". Indian Country Today. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  56. ^ "Montana Statewide Election Results". Montana Secretary of State. November 3, 2020. Retrieved November 18, 2020.

External links[]

Official campaign websites
Retrieved from ""