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| Turnout | 74.44% (of registered voters)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 County results Precinct results
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| Elections in Montana | ||||||||
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The2016 United States presidential election in Montana was held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016, as part of the2016 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus theDistrict of Columbia participated.Montana voters chose electors to represent them in theElectoral College via a popular vote, pitting theRepublican Party's nominee, businessmanDonald Trump, and running mateIndiana GovernorMike Pence againstDemocratic Party nominee, formerSecretary of StateHillary Clinton, and her running mate VirginiaSenatorTim Kaine. Montana has three electoral votes in the Electoral College.[2]
Trump carried the state by a 20.42% margin of victory, exceedingMitt Romney's 13.64% margin in2012 andJohn McCain's 2.38% margin in2008. Republicans have won Montana in every presidential election since1996, and in all but one beginning in1968. Libertarian nominee and third-party candidateGary Johnson received 5.6% of the vote.
This was Johnson's fifth strongest state, behind his nativeNew Mexico as well asNorth Dakota,Alaska, andOklahoma.
Two candidates appeared on the Democratic presidential primary ballot:
| Montana Democratic primary, June 7, 2016 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Popular vote | Estimated delegates | |||
| Count | Percentage | Pledged | Unpledged | Total | |
| Bernie Sanders | 65,156 | 51.56% | 11 | 1 | 12 |
| Hillary Clinton | 55,805 | 44.16% | 10 | 5 | 15 |
| No preference | 5,415 | 4.28% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Uncommitted | N/a | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 126,376 | 100% | 21 | 6 | 27 |
| Source:[3][4] | |||||
Five candidates appeared on the Republican presidential primary ballot:
| Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Actual delegate count | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bound | Unbound | Total | |||
| Donald Trump | 115,594 | 73.68% | 27 | 0 | 27 |
| Ted Cruz(withdrawn) | 14,682 | 9.36% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| John Kasich(withdrawn) | 10,777 | 6.87% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| No preference | 7,369 | 4.70% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Marco Rubio(withdrawn) | 5,192 | 3.31% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jeb Bush(withdrawn) | 3,274 | 2.09% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unprojected delegates: | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total: | 156,888 | 100.00% | 27 | 0 | 27 |
| Source:The Green Papers | |||||
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| CNN[5] | Safe R | November 4, 2016 |
| Cook Political Report[6] | Safe R | November 7, 2016 |
| Electoral-vote.com[7] | Safe R | November 7, 2016 |
| Rothenberg Political Report[8] | Safe R | November 7, 2016 |
| NBC[9] | Lean R | November 7, 2016 |
| RealClearPolitics[10] | Likely R | November 7, 2016 |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | 279,240 | 56.17 | |||
| Democratic | 177,709 | 35.75 | |||
| Libertarian | 28,037 | 5.64 | |||
| Green | 7,970 | 1.60 | |||
| Independent |
| 2,297 | 0.46 | ||
| American Delta | 1,570 | 0.32 | |||
| Constitution |
| 296 | 0.06 | ||
| American |
| 10 | 0.00 | ||
| Independent | 7 | 0.00 | |||
| Independent | 3 | 0.00 | |||
| Independent | Robert Buchanan (write-in) | 2 | 0.00 | ||
| Independent |
| 1 | 0.00 | ||
| Independent | 1 | 0.00 | |||
| Socialist | 1 | 0.00 | |||
| Libertarian | Darryl Perry (write-in) | 1 | 0.00 | ||
| Independent | Joe Schriner (write-in) | 1 | 0.00 | ||
| Independent | Laio Morris (write-in) | 1 | 0.00 | ||
| Total votes | 497,147 | 100% | |||
| Republicanwin | |||||
| County | Donald Trump Republican | Hillary Clinton Democratic | Various candidates Other parties | Margin | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Beaverhead | 3,353 | 69.15% | 1,143 | 23.57% | 353 | 7.28% | 2,210 | 45.58% | 4,849 |
| Big Horn | 1,853 | 43.73% | 2,094 | 49.42% | 290 | 6.85% | -241 | -5.69% | 4,237 |
| Blaine | 1,268 | 47.24% | 1,202 | 44.78% | 214 | 7.98% | 66 | 2.46% | 2,684 |
| Broadwater | 2,348 | 74.94% | 573 | 18.29% | 212 | 6.77% | 1,775 | 56.65% | 3,133 |
| Carbon | 3,748 | 62.56% | 1,828 | 30.51% | 415 | 6.93% | 1,920 | 32.05% | 5,991 |
| Carter | 678 | 86.26% | 70 | 8.91% | 38 | 4.83% | 608 | 77.35% | 786 |
| Cascade | 19,632 | 56.79% | 12,175 | 35.22% | 2,764 | 7.99% | 7,457 | 21.57% | 34,571 |
| Chouteau | 1,679 | 64.50% | 732 | 28.12% | 192 | 7.38% | 947 | 36.38% | 2,603 |
| Custer | 3,657 | 70.53% | 1,176 | 22.68% | 352 | 6.79% | 2,481 | 47.85% | 5,185 |
| Daniels | 730 | 75.88% | 168 | 17.46% | 64 | 6.66% | 562 | 58.42% | 962 |
| Dawson | 3,320 | 75.30% | 787 | 17.85% | 302 | 6.85% | 2,533 | 57.45% | 4,409 |
| Deer Lodge | 1,763 | 41.92% | 2,058 | 48.93% | 385 | 9.15% | -295 | -7.01% | 4,206 |
| Fallon | 1,279 | 86.19% | 154 | 10.38% | 51 | 3.43% | 1,125 | 75.81% | 1,484 |
| Fergus | 4,269 | 73.10% | 1,202 | 20.58% | 369 | 6.32% | 3,067 | 52.52% | 5,840 |
| Flathead | 30,240 | 63.67% | 13,293 | 27.99% | 3,963 | 8.34% | 16,947 | 35.68% | 47,496 |
| Gallatin | 23,802 | 44.23% | 24,246 | 45.05% | 5,771 | 10.72% | -444 | -0.82% | 53,819 |
| Garfield | 653 | 90.95% | 34 | 4.74% | 31 | 4.31% | 619 | 86.21% | 718 |
| Glacier | 1,620 | 31.92% | 3,121 | 61.50% | 334 | 6.58% | -1,501 | -29.58% | 5,075 |
| Golden Valley | 365 | 77.00% | 71 | 14.98% | 38 | 8.02% | 294 | 62.02% | 474 |
| Granite | 1,192 | 67.08% | 472 | 26.56% | 113 | 6.36% | 720 | 40.52% | 1,777 |
| Hill | 3,478 | 53.96% | 2,371 | 36.79% | 596 | 9.25% | 1,107 | 17.17% | 6,445 |
| Jefferson | 4,177 | 62.21% | 1,998 | 29.76% | 539 | 8.03% | 2,179 | 32.45% | 6,714 |
| Judith Basin | 872 | 72.19% | 235 | 19.45% | 101 | 8.36% | 637 | 52.74% | 1,208 |
| Lake | 7,530 | 57.13% | 4,776 | 36.23% | 875 | 6.64% | 2,754 | 20.90% | 13,181 |
| Lewis and Clark | 16,895 | 47.87% | 14,478 | 41.02% | 3,923 | 11.11% | 2,417 | 6.85% | 35,296 |
| Liberty | 698 | 72.63% | 206 | 21.44% | 57 | 5.93% | 492 | 51.19% | 961 |
| Lincoln | 6,729 | 72.12% | 2,041 | 21.88% | 560 | 6.00% | 4,688 | 50.24% | 9,330 |
| Madison | 3,297 | 69.51% | 1,180 | 24.88% | 266 | 5.61% | 2,117 | 44.63% | 4,743 |
| McCone | 862 | 78.72% | 154 | 14.06% | 79 | 7.22% | 708 | 64.66% | 1,095 |
| Meagher | 729 | 74.62% | 193 | 19.75% | 55 | 5.63% | 536 | 54.87% | 977 |
| Mineral | 1,330 | 66.10% | 519 | 25.80% | 163 | 8.10% | 811 | 40.30% | 2,012 |
| Missoula | 22,250 | 36.64% | 31,543 | 51.95% | 6,929 | 11.41% | -9,293 | -15.31% | 60,722 |
| Musselshell | 1,967 | 80.58% | 332 | 13.60% | 142 | 5.82% | 1,635 | 66.98% | 2,441 |
| Park | 4,980 | 53.21% | 3,595 | 38.41% | 784 | 8.38% | 1,385 | 14.80% | 9,359 |
| Petroleum | 278 | 86.34% | 30 | 9.32% | 14 | 4.34% | 248 | 77.02% | 322 |
| Phillips | 1,723 | 79.36% | 318 | 14.65% | 130 | 5.99% | 1,405 | 64.71% | 2,171 |
| Pondera | 1,799 | 66.07% | 738 | 27.10% | 186 | 6.83% | 1,061 | 38.97% | 2,723 |
| Powder River | 884 | 83.95% | 127 | 12.06% | 42 | 3.99% | 757 | 71.89% | 1,053 |
| Powell | 2,029 | 72.62% | 551 | 19.72% | 214 | 7.66% | 1,478 | 52.90% | 2,794 |
| Prairie | 556 | 80.70% | 100 | 14.51% | 33 | 4.79% | 456 | 66.19% | 689 |
| Ravalli | 14,810 | 65.66% | 6,223 | 27.59% | 1,523 | 6.75% | 8,587 | 38.07% | 22,556 |
| Richland | 3,908 | 80.23% | 671 | 13.78% | 292 | 5.99% | 3,237 | 66.45% | 4,871 |
| Roosevelt | 1,797 | 49.21% | 1,560 | 42.72% | 295 | 8.07% | 237 | 6.49% | 3,652 |
| Rosebud | 2,253 | 65.25% | 987 | 28.58% | 213 | 6.17% | 1,266 | 36.67% | 3,453 |
| Sanders | 4,286 | 72.00% | 1,218 | 20.46% | 449 | 7.54% | 3,068 | 51.54% | 5,953 |
| Sheridan | 1,241 | 67.63% | 477 | 25.99% | 117 | 6.38% | 764 | 41.64% | 1,835 |
| Silver Bow | 6,376 | 38.76% | 8,619 | 52.39% | 1,457 | 8.85% | -2,243 | -13.63% | 16,452 |
| Stillwater | 3,661 | 75.13% | 908 | 18.63% | 304 | 6.24% | 2,753 | 56.50% | 4,873 |
| Sweet Grass | 1,595 | 75.70% | 402 | 19.08% | 110 | 5.22% | 1,193 | 56.62% | 2,107 |
| Teton | 2,170 | 68.07% | 808 | 25.35% | 210 | 6.58% | 1,362 | 42.72% | 3,188 |
| Toole | 1,497 | 73.49% | 402 | 19.73% | 138 | 6.78% | 1,095 | 53.76% | 2,037 |
| Treasure | 351 | 79.23% | 59 | 13.32% | 33 | 7.45% | 292 | 65.91% | 443 |
| Valley | 2,698 | 69.29% | 886 | 22.75% | 310 | 7.96% | 1,812 | 46.54% | 3,894 |
| Wheatland | 702 | 74.21% | 179 | 18.92% | 65 | 6.87% | 523 | 55.29% | 946 |
| Wibaux | 463 | 85.58% | 55 | 10.17% | 23 | 4.25% | 408 | 75.41% | 541 |
| Yellowstone | 40,920 | 58.05% | 22,171 | 31.45% | 7,395 | 10.50% | 18,749 | 26.60% | 70,486 |
| Totals | 279,240 | 55.65% | 177,709 | 35.41% | 44,873 | 8.94% | 101,531 | 20.24% | 501,822 |
Swing by county
Trend relative to the state by county
County flipsDemocratic Hold Gain from Republican | Republican Hold Gain from Democratic
|
Due to the state's low population, only one congressional district is allocated, the At-Large District. This district covers the entire state, and thus is equivalent to the statewide election results.
| District | Trump | Clinton | Representative |
|---|---|---|---|
| At-large | 56.17% | 35.25% | Ryan Zinke |
Like everyRepublican nominee since 1996, Donald Trump carriedMontana's threeelectoral votes. He won by a large margin, and he swept most of theplains counties ineastern Montana, traditionally the mostconservative part of the state, by staggering margins sometimes exceeding 60 points. The eastern part of the state has benefited from therecent energy boom in neighboringNorth Dakota, and its populace is suspicious and disapproving of theenvironmental movement championed byDemocrats in recent elections.
Most counties in thewestern part of the state were also traditionallyRepublican, with aranching-basedeconomy heavily dependent on the raising and production ofcattle andhay, particularly in the counties borderingIdaho such asBeaverhead County andRavalli County. However, an influx of retirees from theWest Coast have made the western region more competitive in recent elections.[13]
The only significant counties won by Clinton wereMissoula County, where the city ofMissoula is located,Gallatin County, whereBozeman is located, andBig Horn County andGlacier County, which are both majorityNative American. While sweeping most of the rural, majoritywhite conservative counties of the state, Trump also won inLewis and Clark County where the capital city ofHelena is located, in neighboringCascade County whereGreat Falls is located, and inYellowstone County where the city ofBillings is located.[14]
Trump became the first Republican to win the White House without carryingGallatin County sinceWilliam McKinley in1900. This was because Gallatin County (home toMontana State University) is the most highly-educated county in Montana, with a majority of adult residents in the county having a Bachelor's degree (see the map), and was the only county in the state to swing towards Clinton.[15]
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