Marc Racicot | |
|---|---|
.JPG) | |
| Chair of theRepublican National Committee | |
| In office December 5, 2001 – July 25, 2003 | |
| Preceded by | Jim Gilmore |
| Succeeded by | Ed Gillespie |
| 21stGovernor of Montana | |
| In office January 4, 1993 – January 1, 2001 | |
| Lieutenant | Denny Rehberg Judy Martz |
| Preceded by | Stan Stephens |
| Succeeded by | Judy Martz |
| 20thAttorney General of Montana | |
| In office January 2, 1989 – January 4, 1993 | |
| Governor | Stan Stephens |
| Preceded by | Mike Greely |
| Succeeded by | Joseph Mazurek |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1948-07-24)July 24, 1948 (age 77) Thompson Falls, Montana, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Theresa Barber |
| Children | 5 |
| Education | Carroll College (BA) University of Montana, Missoula (JD) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Army |
| Years of service | 1973–1976 |
| Rank |  Captain |
| Unit | J.A.G. Corps |
Marc Racicot (/ˈrɑːskoʊ/; born July 24, 1948) is an American attorney, lobbyist, and formerRepublican politician who served as the 21st governor ofMontana from 1993 until 2001.[1] After leaving office, Racicot worked as a lobbyist for the law firmBracewell & Giuliani. His notable clients includedEnron,Burlington Northern Santa Fe, and theRecording Industry Association of America.[2][3]
He was chairman of theRepublican National Committee from 2001 until 2003, when he was appointed as the chairman of theBush re-election campaign. In 2000 as well as 2004 he was rumored to be Bush's choice forUnited States Attorney General. During the 2000 election, some saw him as a possible running mate for Bush.[4]The Washington Post described him as "one of Bush's closest friends and advisers".[5] Racicot has been harshly critical ofDonald Trump, and endorsedJoe Biden over Trump in the2020 United States presidential election.[6] This led to theMontana Republican Party censuring him in 2023, and declaring that they no longer considered him a Republican.
Racicot was born inThompson Falls, Montana. His ancestors came to the Montana Territory in the 1860s. Marc's grandfather arrived inLibby, Montana, in 1917 to work as a logging camp cook in northwestern Montana for J. Neils Lumber Company.[7] Marc Racicot was born to Bill and Pat Racicot on July 24, 1948. He was raised inMiles City, Montana, and Libby. His parents owned a foster home. His father was also a teacher, high school basketball coach, and track coach. He graduated fromLibby High School. Racicot received a bachelor's degree in English fromCarroll College in 1970. He was a starting basketball player in high school as well at Carroll College. He earned aJ.D. degree in 1973 from theUniversity of Montana School of Law inMissoula, Montana.[8]
Racicot had previously been anArmy ROTC graduate. He attendedThe JAG School at theUniversity of Virginia and enteredU.S. Army JAG Corps. He was immediately assigned as a prosecutor in theArmy JAG Corps from 1973 to 1976. He was stationed inWest Germany where he served as Chief Prosecutor for the largest U.S. military jurisdiction in Europe. While there, he also taught business and criminal law for theUniversity of Maryland. After three years, he was discharged from the Army as a captain and returned to Montana in 1976.[8]
He became the deputy county attorney forMissoula County from 1976 to 1977.[8] After that, he became a special prosecutor for Montana statewide in 1977, and served in that position until 1988. During this time, he had a conviction rate of 95%. He lost only two cases in twelve years. He convicted Don and Dan Nichols, who both abductedKari Swenson, an Olympic athlete, and murdered a would-be rescuer. In May 1985, Dan Nichols was sentenced to 20 years for kidnapping and assault. In September 1985, Don Nichols was sentenced to 85 years for kidnapping, murder, and aggravated assault.[9] In 1980 he ran forchief justice of the Montana Supreme Court, but was unsuccessful. He also ran for district judge inLewis & Clark County in 1982 andBroadwater County in 1984, but lost both elections.[10]
Racicot was the special prosecutor in the 1984 murder trial ofBarry Beach, who was convicted of killing teenager Kim Nees nearPoplar, Montana, in 1979, at age 17, and was sentenced to life without parole. Beach maintains that he is innocent and that his confession was coerced, while Racicot is convinced of his guilt. Beach's appeals were unsuccessful, with theMontana Supreme Court rejecting a bid to overturn his conviction by a 4–3 vote. Beach's petitions for clemency to the state Board of Pardons and Parole were opposed by Racicot, but supported by other prominent Montanans, such asJon Tester andBrian Schweitzer. At a clemency hearing, Racicot acknowledged that law enforcement had created a "mess" by contaminating the crime scene, but testified that Beach's detailed confession was strong evidence of his guilt, and disputed the plausibility of alternate accounts of Nees' murder.[11]
In 1988, he ran forAttorney General of Montana. He defeated Democratic nomineeMike McGrath, the Lewis and Clark County Attorney, 52%-48%.[12] He served as attorney general until January 1993.
In1992, incumbent GovernorStan Stephens declined to run due to health problems. Racicot decided to run and easily won the Republican primary by defeating Andy Bennett 69%-31%.[13] He won every county in the state.[13] He then competed withDemocratic State RepresentativeDorothy Bradley ofBozeman. Both candidates called for a 4%sales tax, but differed on how to spend such a tax. Racicot defeated her 51%-49%, a difference of 10,980 votes.[14]
In1996, Racicot ran for re-election. He easily defeated Rob Natelson in the Republican primary, 76%-24%.[15] He was challenged in the general election by long-time state State SenatorChet Blaylock. Polls showed that Racicot maintained a sizable lead over Blaylock during the campaign.[16] A few weeks before the election however, Blaylock unexpectedly died of a heart attack on the way to a debate.[16] Reluctantly, his little known running mate,Judy Jacobson continued the drive but had little time to launch her own campaign. Because the election was so near, the voting ballots could only be changed to show Jacobson running for both governor and lieutenant governor. In one of the largest margins in state history, Racicot defeated Jacobson, 79%–21%, winning every county in the state.[17]
As governor, Racicot was described asfiscally conservative and "an advocate for deregulation and business interests".[8] After working with theMontana State Legislature to eliminate the $200 million deficit in 1993, the Racicot Administration produced a $22.4 million budget surplus the year after. They used the surplus to cut taxes. He approved legislation that deregulated the utility sector in Montana. This legislation was sought by theMontana Power Company, the major utility supplier in the state. Following passage, the Montana Power Company divested itself of its utility operations and became a telecommunications company. The company filed forbankruptcy a few years later. The final result of this sweeping deregulation of Montana's utilities was a drastic rise in rates for most of the power customers in Montana.[18] Workers with pensions from Montana Power were suddenly left without income.
Racicot was one of the earliest supporters of George W. Bush for President, and was a very effective spokesman for the Bush campaign in the recount debacle.[19][20] In addition, Racicot was Bush's first choice forU.S. Attorney General, but he took himself off the list for personal reasons.[21][22][23][24]
On December 5, 2001, PresidentGeorge W. Bush announced that he would nominate Racicot, a strong Bush ally,[25] to become thechairman of the Republican National Committee. In order to be elected chairman, he severed ties to lobbying organizations that were connected toEnron.[26] On January 18, 2002, the 165-member RNC unanimously elected Racicot.[27]
Racicot was extremely successful as the Republican party performed very well in the2002 midterm elections.[28] Republicans took control of theU.S. Senate, makingBill Frist theSenate Majority Leader. In the wake of theMcCain-Feingold finance reform, the RNC raised a record-$250 million insoft money.[citation needed]
In January 2003, he decided to resign to become chairman ofBush's 2004 re-election campaign.[29] Bush appointedEd Gillespie as the next chairman of the RNC.[30]
Racicot was the chairman of Bush's re-election campaign from 2003 to 2004, the entire election cycle.[31] He said of his job: "I'm just a utility infielder."[32] Racicot called Bush's opponent, U.S. SenatorJohn Kerry, "out of the mainstream" and dismissed all polls suggesting Kerry would win.[33][34] He also said Kerry's "record on defense and intelligence funding is not defensible."[35]
Bush won re-election to a second term, defeating Kerry 51%-48%.[36]
Racicot was president of theAmerican Insurance Association (AIA), an insurance industry lobbying group[37] from June 13, 2005[38] to February 1, 2009.[39]
He is a member of the board of directors ofMassMutual,[40]Weyerhaeuser andJobs for America's Graduates,[41] He was formerly a member of the board of visitors for theUniversity of Montana School of Law.[42] He is also a past member of the board of directors of theCorporation for National and Community Service andUnited Way, and was a member of theCarroll College Board of Trustees.[42]
He is a former partner at the Texas-based law firmBracewell & Giuliani.
Racicot has criticized the Supreme Court ruling inCitizens United v. FEC (2010), saying it has led to "obscene" levels of fundraising from "third-party groups", and worsened American political discourse, alongsidesocial media.[8]
Racicot has been a staunch critic ofDonald Trump, whom he has called "a scourge on America".[8] During the2016 election, he wrote an op-ed inThe Washington Post in which he said, "Trump has demonstrated neither [...] qualities of principled leadership, nor offered any substantive or serious conservative policy proposals consistent with historical Republican Party platform positions".[8] In2020, he vocally supportedJoe Biden over Trump.[6] Racicot has refused to endorse Republican candidates who have backed Trump; in 2022, he declined to endorseRyan Zinke, a former secretary of the interior under Trump, in his bid for the U.S. Congress, saying that he "enable[d Trump]".[8] In 2023, the Montana Republican State Central Committee passed a resolution rebuking Racicot, saying that they no longer considered him a Republican due to his opposition to Trump.[8] In 2024, he endorsedJon Tester over Trump-backed Tim Sheehy in theU.S. Senate election.[43]
Racicot lives inMissoula, Montana as of 2023[update]. He and his wife, Theresa, have five children.[8]
In early April of 1996, Racicot gained national attention when he playfully sparred with hostJay Leno ofThe Tonight Show in a bid to rebut Montana's new image as a refuge for criminals and kooks. Racicot was loose and wisecracking while recording a two-to-three-minute comedy segment with Leno from the governor's office. He followed cue cards that set up responses from Leno in "The Tonight Show" studio. "Every state has its positives and negatives, governor," Leno said in the working script. "And to prove that, I thought you and I would compare the state of California with Montana." Racicot then made a series of comments about Montana, and Leno responded with comparisons to California.[44] Among the back and forth:
Racicot: "Montana, Big Sky Country."
Leno: "California, brown sky country!"
Racicot: "Montana, where the deer and the antelope roam free."
Leno: "California, where O.J. (Simpson) still roams free!"
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Marc Racicot | 209,401 | 51.35 | ||
| Democratic | Dorothy Bradley | 198,421 | 48.65 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Marc Racicot (incumbent) | 320,768 | 79.17 | ||
| Democratic | Judy Jacobson | 84,407 | 20.83 | ||
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Attorney General of Montana 1989–1993 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Governor of Montana 1993–2001 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forGovernor of Montana 1992,1996 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theRepublican National Committee 2001–2003 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former US Senator | Order of precedence of the United States Within Montana | Succeeded byas Former Governor |
| Preceded byas Former Governor | Order of precedence of the United States Outside Montana | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
