2024 Montana gubernatorial election

2024 Montana gubernatorial election
Reporting	0%as of 7:00 AM MDT
	County results
Incumbent Governor; Greg Gianforte; Republican	; ;

The 2024 Montana gubernatorial election will be held on November 5, 2024, to elect the governor of the U.S. state of Montana, concurrently with the 2024 U.S. presidential election, as well as elections to the United States Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives, and various state and local elections. Primary elections took place on June 4, 2024.^[1] Republican incumbent Governor Greg Gianforte and Democratic businessman Ryan Busse won their parties' respective nominations.^[2]

Though Montana has backed the GOP in every presidential election since 1996, the sparsely-populated Mountain state maintained a Democratic tendency at the state and U.S. Senate levels well through the 2010s. In the 2020 gubernatorial election, Gianforte defeated Democratic nominee Mike Cooney by 12.8%, becoming the first Republican to be elected governor of Montana since Judy Martz in 2000. Gianforte's election flipped two of Montana's last three Democrat-held statewide offices (governor and lieutenant governor) into the GOP camp; currently, the only one occupied by a Democrat is Jon Tester's U.S. Senate seat, which most analysts predict to narrowly flip Republican in a concurrent race.^[3] Gianforte is widely expected to comfortably win re-election in 2024.^[4]^[5]

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Greg Gianforte, incumbent governor (2021–present)^[6]
- Running mate: Kristen Juras, incumbent lieutenant governor (2021–present)^[6]

Eliminated in primary

Tanner Smith, state representative (2023–present)^[7]
- Running mate: Randy Pinocci, member of the Montana Public Service Commission (2019–present)^[8]

Endorsements

Greg Gianforte

Organizations

Results

Republican primary results^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Greg Gianforte (incumbent) Kristen Juras (incumbent)	144,752	75.2%
	Republican	Tanner Smith Randy Pinocci	47,747	24.8%
Total votes			192,499	100.0%

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Ryan Busse, author and former vice president of sales at Kimber Manufacturing^[12]
- Running mate: Raph Graybill, former chief legal counsel to Governor Steve Bullock and nominee for Attorney General in 2020^[13]

Eliminated in primary

Jim Hunt, attorney and candidate for Montana's at-large congressional district in 2008^[14]
- Running mate: Jerry Driscoll, former executive secretary of the Montana AFL-CIO^[15]

Withdrawn

Shawn White Wolf, perennial candidate^[16]

Results

Democratic primary results^[17]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ryan Busse Raph Graybill	69,184	70.9%
	Democratic	Jim Hunt Jerry Driscoll	28,354	29.1%
Total votes			97,538	100.00%

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Presumptive nominee

Kaiser Leib, software engineer^[14]
- Running mate: Matt Campbell, transportation engineer^[15]

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report^[18]	Solid R	June 13, 2024
Inside Elections^[19]	Solid R	July 14, 2023
Sabato's Crystal Ball^[20]	Safe R	June 4, 2024
RCP^[21]	Likely R	July 13, 2024
Elections Daily^[22]	Safe R	July 12, 2023
CNalysis^[23]	Solid R	August 17, 2024

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size^[a]	Margin of error	Greg Gianforte (R)	Ryan Busse (D)	Other	Undecided
Montana State University	September 30 – October 16, 2024	760 (A)	± 3.56%	50%	31%	5%^[b]	14%
The New York Times/Siena College	October 5–8, 2024	656 (LV)	± 4.3%	57%	35%	–	8%
The New York Times/Siena College	October 5–8, 2024	656 (RV)	± 4.3%	57%	35%	–	9%
Public Opinion Strategies (R)^[A]	September 29 – October 1, 2024	500 (LV)	± 4.34%	55%	36%	1%^[c]	7%
Fabrizio Ward (R)/ David Binder Research (D)^[B]	August 25–29, 2024	600 (LV)	± 4.0%	54%	38%	–	8%
Public Opinion Strategies (R)^[A]	August 18–20, 2024	500 (LV)	± 4.38%	53%	34%	4%^[d]	8%
Public Opinion Strategies (R)^[A]	June 11–13, 2024	500 (LV)	± 4.4%	54%	33%	5%^[e]	8%
SurveyUSA^[C]	February 12–15, 2024	549 (LV)	± 4.5%	52%	30%	–	18%

Results

2024 Montana gubernatorial election
Party		Candidate
	Republican	Greg Gianforte (incumbent) Kristen Juras (incumbent)
	Democratic	Ryan Busse Raph Graybill
	Libertarian	Kaiser Leib Matt Campbell
Total votes

Notes

^ Key:
A – all adults
RV – registered voters
LV – likely voters
V – unclear
^ Kaiser Leib (L) with 5%
^ Kaiser Leib (L) with 1%
^ Kaiser Leib (L) with 4%
^ Kaiser Leib (L) with 5%

Partisan clients

^ ^a ^b ^c Poll sponsored by the Montana Republican Party
^ Poll sponsored by AARP.
^ Poll sponsored by KULR-TV

References

^ "2024 State Primary Election Dates". National Conference of State Legislatures. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
^ "Busse and Gianforte win their respective primary races". KRTV NEWS Great Falls. June 5, 2024. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
^ Kondik, Kyle (September 6, 2024). "Montana Senate Race Moves from Toss-up to Leans Republican". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
^ "Cook Political Report 2024 Governor Race Ratings - 270toWin". 270toWin.com. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
^ "2024 Governor". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
^ ^a ^b Anthony, Michael (January 17, 2024). "Governor Greg Gianforte to seek reelection". KFYR-TV. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
^ Larson, Seaborn (June 13, 2023). "Freshman GOP Rep. announces run for governor". Independent Record.
^ Kimbel-Sannit, Arren; Sakariassen, Alex; Eggert, Amanda (April 15, 2024). "Who's running for office in Montana's 2024 election". Montana Free Press. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
^ NRA-PVF. "NRA-PVF | Grades | Montana". NRA-PVF. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
^ Stacy, Nicole (May 3, 2024). "SBA Pro-Life America Candidate Fund Endorses Gianforte for Governor". SBA Pro-Life America. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
^ https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-primary-elections/montana-governor-results#republican-primary
^ Hanson, Amy; Brown, Matthew (September 14, 2023). "Former firearms executive Busse seeks Democratic nomination for Montana governor". Associated Press. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
^ Silvers, Mara (February 19, 2024). "Busse taps Graybill as running mate in bid for governor's office". Montana Free Press. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
^ ^a ^b "FEDERAL PRIMARY 2024 Candidate List". prodcandidatefiling.mt.gov. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
^ ^a ^b Ambarian, Jonathon (March 11, 2024). "Top Montana election races set as candidate filing period closes". KTVH. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
^ Kimbel-Sannit, Arren; Sakariassen, Alex (November 28, 2023). "Who's running for office in Montana in 2024? Here's a running list". Montana Free Press. Retrieved January 17, 2024. Shawn White Wolf, who has run for a number of different positions in the Helena area in recent years, filed to run for governor in 2023 but has since withdrawn his candidacy.
^ https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-primary-elections/montana-governor-results#democratic-primary
^ "2024 Governor Race ratings". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
^ "Gubernatorial Ratings". Inside Elections. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
^ "2024 Gubernatorial race ratings". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
^ "2024 Governor Races". www.realclearpolling.com. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
^ "Election Ratings". Elections Daily. July 22, 2023. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
^ "Governor Forecasts". CNalysis. Retrieved August 17, 2024.

External links

Official campaign websites

[Key-24] Key:
A – all adults
RV – registered voters
LV – likely voters
V – unclear

[25] Kaiser Leib (L) with 5%

[27] Kaiser Leib (L) with 1%

[29] Kaiser Leib (L) with 4%

[30] Kaiser Leib (L) with 5%

[mtgop-26] Poll sponsored by the Montana Republican Party

[28] Poll sponsored by AARP.

[31] Poll sponsored by KULR-TV

[1] "2024 State Primary Election Dates". National Conference of State Legislatures. Retrieved August 6, 2023.

[2] "Busse and Gianforte win their respective primary races". KRTV NEWS Great Falls. June 5, 2024. Retrieved October 27, 2024.

[3] Kondik, Kyle (September 6, 2024). "Montana Senate Race Moves from Toss-up to Leans Republican". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved October 27, 2024.

[4] "Cook Political Report 2024 Governor Race Ratings - 270toWin". 270toWin.com. Retrieved October 27, 2024.

[5] "2024 Governor". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved October 27, 2024.

[gianforte-6] Anthony, Michael (January 17, 2024). "Governor Greg Gianforte to seek reelection". KFYR-TV. Retrieved January 17, 2024.

[7] Larson, Seaborn (June 13, 2023). "Freshman GOP Rep. announces run for governor". Independent Record.

[8] Kimbel-Sannit, Arren; Sakariassen, Alex; Eggert, Amanda (April 15, 2024). "Who's running for office in Montana's 2024 election". Montana Free Press. Retrieved May 2, 2024.

[9] NRA-PVF. "NRA-PVF | Grades | Montana". NRA-PVF. Retrieved May 13, 2024.

[10] Stacy, Nicole (May 3, 2024). "SBA Pro-Life America Candidate Fund Endorses Gianforte for Governor". SBA Pro-Life America. Retrieved May 6, 2024.

[11] ttps://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-primary-elections/montana-governor-results#republican-primary

[12] Hanson, Amy; Brown, Matthew (September 14, 2023). "Former firearms executive Busse seeks Democratic nomination for Montana governor". Associated Press. Retrieved September 14, 2023.

[13] Silvers, Mara (February 19, 2024). "Busse taps Graybill as running mate in bid for governor's office". Montana Free Press. Retrieved February 20, 2024.

[:0-14] "FEDERAL PRIMARY 2024 Candidate List". prodcandidatefiling.mt.gov. Retrieved March 12, 2024.

[set-15] Ambarian, Jonathon (March 11, 2024). "Top Montana election races set as candidate filing period closes". KTVH. Retrieved April 5, 2024.

[16] Kimbel-Sannit, Arren; Sakariassen, Alex (November 28, 2023). "Who's running for office in Montana in 2024? Here's a running list". Montana Free Press. Retrieved January 17, 2024. Shawn White Wolf, who has run for a number of different positions in the Helena area in recent years, filed to run for governor in 2023 but has since withdrawn his candidacy.

[17] ttps://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-primary-elections/montana-governor-results#democratic-primary

[18] "2024 Governor Race ratings". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved July 24, 2023.

[Inside_Elections2-19] "Gubernatorial Ratings". Inside Elections. Retrieved July 24, 2023.

[Sabato's_Crystal_Ball-20] "2024 Gubernatorial race ratings". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved July 24, 2023.

[21] "2024 Governor Races". www.realclearpolling.com. Retrieved July 16, 2024.

[22] "Election Ratings". Elections Daily. July 22, 2023. Retrieved July 24, 2023.

[23] "Governor Forecasts". CNalysis. Retrieved August 17, 2024.

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Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Eliminated in primary

Endorsements

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Eliminated in primary

Withdrawn

Results

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Presumptive nominee

General election

Predictions

Polling

Results

See also

Notes

References

External links