| ||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 81.33% | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Gianforte: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Cooney: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% No data | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| Elections in Montana | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||
The2020 Montana gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 2020, to elect the nextgovernor of Montana, concurrently with theU.S. presidential election, as well aselections to the U.S. Senate andthe House of Representatives and variousstate and local elections. It resulted in voters selectingGreg Gianforte overMike Cooney. IncumbentDemocratic governorSteve Bullock was term-limited and could not seek a third consecutive term in office, and he ran unsuccessfully forMontana's Class II Senate seat.[2]
Bullock's lieutenant governor,Mike Cooney, was the Democratic nominee, while the Republican nominee was Montana's at-large representativeGreg Gianforte, who won the election, making him the first Republican governor of Montana sinceJudy Martz left office in 2005.[3] This was the only gubernatorial seat to change partisan control in the 2020 elections. This election marked the first time since the 1920s that Republicans controlled all state constitutional offices and a majority of the legislature.[4]
Statewide politicians
Federal politicians
Organizations
Statewide politicians
Local politicians
Organizations
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[26] | October 7–16, 2019 | 40 (LV) | – | 19% | 2% | 6% | 11% | 62% |

| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Mike Cooney | 81,527 | 54.86% | |
| Democratic | Whitney Williams | 67,066 | 45.14% | |
| Total votes | 148,593 | 100.00% | ||
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[26] | October 7–16, 2019 | 99 (LV) | – | 25% | 33% | 9% | 32% |
| Gravis Marketing[43] | August 28–30, 2019 | 433 (RV) | ± 4.7% | 29% | 56% | 15% | – |
| Moore Information[44][A] | July 7–10, 2019 | 400 (LV) | ± 5.0% | 17% | 56% | 5% | 23% |

| 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% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green | Robert Barb | 713 | 100.0% | |
| Total votes | 713 | 100.0% | ||
| Host | Date & Time | Link(s) | Participants | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Cooney (D) | Greg Gianforte (R) | |||
| Montana PBS | October 6, 2020 6:00pm MDT | [50] | Present | Present |
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[51] | Tossup | October 23, 2020 |
| Inside Elections[52] | Tossup | October 28, 2020 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[53] | Lean R(flip) | November 2, 2020 |
| Politico[54] | Lean R(flip) | November 2, 2020 |
| Daily Kos[55] | Lean R(flip) | October 28, 2020 |
| RCP[56] | Tossup | November 2, 2020 |
| 270towin[57] | Tossup | November 2, 2020 |
Statewide and local politicians
Federal politicians
Organizations
U.S. presidents
Individuals
Organizations
This graph was using thelegacy Graph extension, which is no longer supported. It needs to be converted to thenew Chart extension. |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size[a] | Margin of error | Mike Cooney (D) | Greg Gianforte (R) | Other / Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Change Research[59] | October 29 – November 2, 2020 | 920 (LV) | ± 3.5% | 44% | 48% | 6%[b] |
| Montana State University Billings[60] | October 19–24, 2020 | 546 (LV) | ± 4.2% | 45% | 45% | 11%[c] |
| Siena College/NYT Upshot[61] | October 18–20, 2020 | 758 (LV) | ± 4.4% | 44% | 48% | 8%[d] |
| Strategies 360/NBCMT[62] | October 15–20, 2020 | 500 (LV) | ± 4.4% | 41% | 48% | 11%[e] |
| RMG Research/PoliticalIQ[63] | 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[64] | October 4–7, 2020 | 500 (LV) | ± 3.7% | 41% | 54% | 5%[l] |
| Montana State University Bozeman[65] | September 14 – October 2, 2020 | 1,605 (LV) | ± 3.9% | 42% | 47% | 11%[m] |
| Siena College/NYT Upshot[66] | September 14–16, 2020 | 625 (LV) | ± 4.8% | 39% | 45% | 16%[n] |
| Global Strategy Group (D)[67] | August 18–23, 2020 | 600 (LV) | – | 46% | 47% | – |
| Emerson College[68] | July 31 – August 2, 2020 | 584 (LV) | ± 4.0% | 41% | 50% | 10%[o] |
| Civiqs/Daily Kos[69] | July 11–13, 2020 | 873 (RV) | ± 4.2% | 44% | 47% | 9%[p] |
| Public Policy Polling[70][B] | July 9–10, 2020 | 1,224 (V) | ± 2.8% | 42% | 46% | 12%[q] |
| University of Montana[71] | June 17–26, 2020 | 517 (RV) | ± 4.3% | 36% | 46% | 18%[r] |
| The Progress Campaign (D)[72] | April 14–21, 2020 | 1,712 (RV) | ± 4.6% | 41% | 43% | 16%[s] |
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[73] | 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[74] | 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[75] | February 21 – March 1, 2019 | 293 (RV) | ± 5.7% | 32.4%[x] | 48.4%[y] | 19.2%[z] |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | 328,548 | 54.43% | +8.08% | ||
| Democratic | 250,860 | 41.56% | −8.69% | ||
| Libertarian |
| 24,179 | 4.01% | +0.61% | |
| Write-in | 21 | 0.00% | N/A | ||
| Total votes | 603,608 | 100.00% | |||
| Turnout | 612,075 | 81.33% | |||
| Registered electors | 752,538 | ||||
| Republicangain fromDemocratic | |||||
| County[76][77] | Mike Cooney Democratic | Greg Gianforte Republican | Various candidates Other parties | Margin | Total votes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Beaverhead | 1,668 | 29.49% | 3,779 | 66.81% | 209 | 3.70% | 2,111 | 37.32% | 5,656 |
| Big Horn | 2,513 | 52.42% | 2,078 | 43.35% | 203 | 4.23% | –435 | –9.07% | 4,794 |
| Blaine | 1,619 | 51.94% | 1,365 | 43.79% | 133 | 4.27% | –254 | –8.15% | 3,117 |
| Broadwater | 928 | 22.64% | 3,032 | 73.97% | 139 | 3.39% | 2,104 | 51.33% | 4,099 |
| Carbon | 2,498 | 35.30% | 4,303 | 60.81% | 275 | 3.89% | 1,805 | 25.51% | 7,076 |
| Carter | 91 | 10.62% | 748 | 87.28% | 18 | 2.10% | 657 | 76.66% | 857 |
| Cascade | 15,922 | 39.97% | 22,221 | 55.79% | 1,690 | 4.24% | 6,299 | 15.81% | 39,833 |
| Chouteau | 1,048 | 35.26% | 1,816 | 61.10% | 108 | 3.63% | 768 | 25.84% | 2,972 |
| Custer | 1,619 | 27.58% | 3,971 | 67.65% | 280 | 4.77% | 2,352 | 40.07% | 5,870 |
| Daniels | 217 | 21.51% | 768 | 76.11% | 24 | 2.38% | 551 | 54.61% | 1,009 |
| Dawson | 1,124 | 23.29% | 3,524 | 73.02% | 178 | 3.69% | 2,400 | 49.73% | 4,826 |
| Deer Lodge | 2,747 | 56.37% | 1,881 | 38.60% | 245 | 5.03% | –866 | –17.77% | 4,873 |
| Fallon | 218 | 14.02% | 1,288 | 82.83% | 49 | 3.15% | 1,070 | 68.81% | 1,555 |
| Fergus | 1,567 | 24.11% | 4,737 | 72.89% | 195 | 3.00% | 3,170 | 48.78% | 6,499 |
| Flathead | 20,387 | 34.08% | 37,213 | 62.20% | 2,225 | 3.72% | 16,826 | 28.13% | 59,825 |
| Gallatin | 36,788 | 51.84% | 31,368 | 44.21% | 2,802 | 3.95% | –5,420 | –7.64% | 70,958 |
| Garfield | 48 | 5.90% | 751 | 92.37% | 14 | 1.72% | 703 | 86.47% | 813 |
| Glacier | 3,730 | 65.62% | 1,709 | 30.07% | 245 | 4.31% | –2,021 | –35.56% | 5,684 |
| Golden Valley | 80 | 15.90% | 409 | 81.31% | 14 | 2.78% | 329 | 65.41% | 503 |
| Granite | 659 | 31.47% | 1,348 | 64.37% | 87 | 4.15% | 689 | 32.90% | 2,094 |
| Hill | 3,146 | 43.80% | 3,642 | 50.71% | 394 | 5.49% | 496 | 6.91% | 7,182 |
| Jefferson | 2,791 | 34.16% | 5,097 | 62.38% | 283 | 3.46% | 2,306 | 28.22% | 8,171 |
| Judith Basin | 281 | 20.88% | 1,017 | 75.56% | 48 | 3.57% | 736 | 54.68% | 1,346 |
| Lake | 6,885 | 41.50% | 8,913 | 53.72% | 794 | 4.79% | 2,028 | 12.22% | 16,592 |
| Lewis and Clark | 21,022 | 49.53% | 19,969 | 47.05% | 1,449 | 3.41% | –1,053 | –2.48% | 42,440 |
| Liberty | 268 | 24.75% | 788 | 72.76% | 27 | 2.49% | 520 | 48.01% | 1,083 |
| Lincoln | 3,001 | 25.64% | 8,279 | 70.72% | 426 | 3.64% | 5,278 | 45.09% | 11,706 |
| Madison | 1,877 | 30.83% | 3,992 | 65.57% | 219 | 3.60% | 2,115 | 34.74% | 6,088 |
| McCone | 165 | 14.77% | 921 | 82.45% | 31 | 2.78% | 756 | 67.68% | 1,117 |
| Meagher | 256 | 23.02% | 823 | 74.01% | 33 | 2.97% | 567 | 50.99% | 1,112 |
| Mineral | 706 | 27.66% | 1,715 | 67.20% | 131 | 5.13% | 1,009 | 39.54% | 2,552 |
| Missoula | 43,426 | 60.66% | 25,448 | 35.55% | 2,711 | 3.79% | –17,978 | –25.11% | 71,585 |
| Musselshell | 450 | 15.68% | 2,318 | 80.77% | 102 | 3.55% | 1,868 | 65.09% | 2,870 |
| Park | 5,364 | 46.32% | 5,798 | 50.07% | 418 | 3.61% | 434 | 3.75% | 11,580 |
| Petroleum | 44 | 12.57% | 299 | 85.43% | 7 | 2.00% | 255 | 72.86% | 350 |
| Phillips | 412 | 17.36% | 1,908 | 80.40% | 53 | 2.23% | 1,496 | 63.04% | 2,373 |
| Pondera | 912 | 30.43% | 1,981 | 66.10% | 104 | 3.47% | 1,069 | 35.67% | 2,997 |
| Powder River | 162 | 14.35% | 943 | 83.53% | 24 | 2.13% | 781 | 69.18% | 1,129 |
| Powell | 849 | 26.64% | 2,212 | 69.41% | 126 | 3.95% | 1,363 | 42.77% | 3,187 |
| Prairie | 160 | 21.92% | 544 | 74.52% | 26 | 3.56% | 384 | 52.60% | 730 |
| Ravalli | 8,883 | 31.17% | 18,557 | 65.11% | 1,063 | 3.73% | 9,674 | 33.94% | 28,503 |
| Richland | 1,017 | 17.67% | 4,506 | 78.31% | 231 | 4.01% | 3,489 | 60.64% | 5,754 |
| Roosevelt | 1,961 | 48.94% | 1,859 | 46.39% | 187 | 4.67% | –102 | –2.55% | 4,007 |
| Rosebud | 1,236 | 32.99% | 2,363 | 63.06% | 148 | 3.95% | 1,127 | 30.08% | 3,747 |
| Sanders | 1,870 | 24.65% | 5,346 | 70.47% | 370 | 4.88% | 3,476 | 45.82% | 7,586 |
| Sheridan | 634 | 31.45% | 1,300 | 64.48% | 82 | 4.07% | 666 | 33.04% | 2,016 |
| Silver Bow | 11,495 | 61.23% | 6,490 | 34.57% | 788 | 4.20% | –5,005 | –26.66% | 18,773 |
| Stillwater | 1,263 | 22.06% | 4,292 | 74.96% | 171 | 2.99% | 3,029 | 52.90% | 5,726 |
| Sweet Grass | 553 | 22.59% | 1,801 | 73.57% | 94 | 3.84% | 1,248 | 50.98% | 2,448 |
| Teton | 1,053 | 28.58% | 2,497 | 67.76% | 135 | 3.66% | 1,444 | 39.19% | 3,685 |
| Toole | 468 | 22.10% | 1,546 | 72.99% | 104 | 4.91% | 1,078 | 50.90% | 2,118 |
| Treasure | 89 | 19.35% | 358 | 77.83% | 13 | 2.83% | 269 | 58.48% | 460 |
| Valley | 1,182 | 27.82% | 2,899 | 68.24% | 167 | 3.93% | 1,717 | 40.42% | 4,248 |
| Wheatland | 251 | 23.68% | 767 | 72.36% | 42 | 3.96% | 516 | 48.68% | 1,060 |
| Wibaux | 105 | 17.95% | 465 | 79.49% | 15 | 2.56% | 360 | 61.54% | 585 |
| Yellowstone | 31,152 | 37.18% | 48,586 | 57.99% | 4,051 | 4.83% | 17,434 | 20.81% | 83,789 |
| Totals | 250,860 | 41.56% | 328,548 | 54.43% | 24,200 | 4.01% | 77,688 | 12.87% | 603,608 |
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
Partisan clients
Official campaign websites