The1996 Montana gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 1996. IncumbentGovernor of MontanaMarc Racicot, who was first elected in1992, ran for re-election. After winning theRepublican primary against a conservative activist, he moved on to the general election, where he was set to faceChet Blaylock, a formerstate senator and theDemocratic nominee. However, on October 23, 1996, Blaylock died of a heart attack, and theMontana Democratic Party selected his running mate,State SenatorJudy Jacobson, to replace him, and she therefore became both the gubernatorial nominee and the lieutenant gubernatorial nominee.[2] Ultimately, Racicot won re-election to his second and final term, winning more than 79% of votes and outperforming Republican nominee Bob Dole's victory margin in the concurrent presidential race by 55.6%.
As of 2026, this is the last time that the winning gubernatorial nominee carried all counties in Montana. This election was the first time since1956 and the last until2024 that an incumbent Republican governor of Montana was re-elected.
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