Montana elections, 2012

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The state of Montana held elections in 2012. Below are the dates of note:

• Signature filing deadline: September 30, 2011 (VR); March 12, 2012 (Candidates); June 22, 2012 (CISS)and (CICA)
• Primary date: June 5, 2012
• General election date: November 6, 2012

On the 2012 ballot			Click here for all November 6, 2012 Election Results
U.S. Senate (1 seat)	a	Preview Article
U.S. House (1 seat)	a
State Executives (9 positions)	a	Preview Article
State Senate (26 seats)	a	Preview Article
State House (100 seats)	a
Ballot measures (5 measures)	a	Preview Article

2012 Elections

Note: Election information listed on this page does not pertain to 2012 presidential elections. For more about Ballotpedia's areas of coverage, click here.
For election results in the 50 states, see our November 6, 2012 election results page

U.S. Senate

See also: United States Senate elections in Montana, 2012

U.S. Senate, Montana General Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Jon Tester Incumbent	48.6%	236,123
	Republican	Denny Rehberg	44.9%	218,051
	Libertarian	Dan Cox	6.6%	31,892
Total Votes				486,066

U.S. House

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in Montana, 2012

Members of the U.S. House from Montana -- Partisan Breakdown
Party		As of November 2012	After the 2012 Election
	Democratic Party	0	0
	Republican Party	1	1
Total		1	1

District	General Election Candidates	Incumbent	2012 Winner	Partisan Switch?
At-large	Kim Gillan Steve Daines David Kaiser	Denny Rehberg	Steve Daines	No

State Executives

See also: Montana state executive official elections, 2012

There were nine state executive positions up for election.

• Governor
• Lieutenant Governor
• Secretary of State
• Attorney General
• Commissioner of Securities and Insurance, State Auditor
• Superintendent of Public Instruction
• Public Service Commission

Governor/Lieutenant Governor of Montana General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Steve Bullock and John E. Walsh	48.9%	236,450
	Republican	Rick Hill and Jon Sonju	47.3%	228,879
	Libertarian	Ron Vandevender and Marc Mulcahy	3.8%	18,160
Total Votes				483,489
Election results via Montana Secretary of State

Montana Secretary of State General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Linda McCulloch Incumbent	51.4%	245,024
	Republican	Brad Johnson	45.1%	214,976
	Libertarian	Roger Roots	3.5%	16,622
Total Votes				476,622
Election results via Montana Secretary of State

Attorney General of Montana, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Tim Fox	53.7%	252,916
	Democratic	Pam Bucy	46.3%	218,228
Total Votes				471,144
Election results via Montana Secretary of State

Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance, State Auditor General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Monica Lindeen Incumbent	53.5%	248,447
	Republican	Derek Skees	46.5%	215,743
Total Votes				464,190
Election results via Montana Secretary of State

Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Denise Juneau Incumbent	50.2%	235,397
	Republican	Sandy Welch	49.8%	233,166
Total Votes				468,563
Election results via Montana Secretary of State

Montana Public Service Commission District 2 General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Kirk Bushman	52.7%	47,385
	Democratic	Chuck Tooley	47.3%	42,587
Total Votes				89,972
Election results via Montana Secretary of State

Montana Public Service Commission District 3 General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Roger Koopman	50.9%	52,330
	Democratic	John Vincent Incumbent	49.1%	50,513
Total Votes				102,843
Election results via Montana Secretary of State

Montana Public Service Commission District 4 General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Bob Lake	51.4%	49,140
	Democratic	Gail Gutsche Incumbent	48.6%	46,462
Total Votes				95,602
Election results via Montana Secretary of State

State Senate

See also: Montana State Senate elections, 2012

Heading into the election, Republicans maintained partisan control in the state senate.

Montana State Senate
Party		As of November 5, 2012	After the 2012 Election
	Democratic Party	22	23
	Republican Party	27	27
	Vacancy	1	0
Total		50	50

State House

See also: Montana House of Representatives elections, 2012

Heading into the election, Republicans maintained partisan control in the state house.

Montana House of Representatives
Party		As of November 5, 2012	After the 2012 Election
	Democratic Party	32	37
	Republican Party	68	63
Total		100	100

Ballot measures

See also: Montana 2012 ballot measures

November 6:

Typ	Titel	Subject	Description	Result
LRSS	LR-120	Abortion	Relating to parental involvement for a minor’s abortion.	a
LRSS	LR-121	Immigration	Would require citizenship proof in order to receive state services.	aot
LRSS	LR-122	Gesundheitswesen	Would allow residents to choose their healthcare insurance plans.	a
VR	IR-124	Marijuana	Would place a legislative repeal of 2004 initiative to a vote, instead of automatic law.	a
CISS	I-166	Elections	Set policy on prohibiting corporate contributions and expenditures in Montana elections.	aot

Eligibility to Vote

Primary election

See also: Voting in the 2012 primary elections

Montana had a mixed primary system -- Republicans held a closed caucus and Democrats had an open primary. Voters wishing to vote in the primary had to register by May 6, 2012, which was 30 days before the primary. Late registration was available up through the close of polls on Election Day. (Information about registering to vote)

General election

See also: Voting in the 2012 general elections

The deadline to register to vote was 28 days prior to the election day, which in 2012 was October 9.

Note: Some states had a voter registration deadline 30 days prior to the election but because this could have fallen on a weekend and Columbus Day was on Monday, October 8th, some extended the deadline to October 9, 2012.

• Voter ID info
• Residency requirements: Reside in Montana for at least 30 days
• Same-day registration: Yes

Voting absentee

See also: Absentee Voting

All voters are eligible to vote absentee in Montana. There are no special eligibility requirements for voting absentee.

To vote absentee, an absentee ballot application must be received by county election officials by noon the day prior to the election. A returned absentee ballot must be postmarked on or before Election Day in order to be counted.

Voting early

See also: Early voting

Montana is one of 33 states (plus the District of Columbia) that permit some form of early voting. Early voting begins as soon as ballots are made available and ends on the day prior to Election Day.

See also

• Statewide elections, 2012
• 2012 election dates
• Election result resources
• Voter guides
• State Blue Books
• State Poll Opening and Closing Times (2012)
• Voting in Montana
• Absentee voting
• Early voting