The 2020 Montana gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 2020, to elect the next governor of Montana, concurrently with the

U.S. presidential election The election of the president and the vice president of the United States is an indirect election in which citizens of the United States who are registered to vote in one of the fifty U.S. states or in Washington, D.C., cast ballots not di ...

, as well as elections to the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives and various state and local elections. It resulted in voters selecting

Greg Gianforte Gregory Richard Gianforte (born April 17, 1961) is an American businessman, politician, software engineer, and writer serving as the 25th governor of Montana since 2021. A member of the Republican Party, Gianforte served as the U.S. represent ...

over Mike Cooney. Incumbent Democratic Governor

Steve Bullock Steve, Steven, or Stephen Bullock may refer to: *Steve Bullock (British politician) (born 1953), first directly elected mayor of the London Borough of Lewisham *Steve Bullock (American politician) Stephen Clark Bullock (born April 11, 1966) is ...

, who was term-limited and could not seek reelection to a third consecutive term in office, was instead seeking Montana's Class II Senate seat. Bullock's lieutenant governor, Mike Cooney, was the Democratic nominee, while the Republican nominee was Montana's at-large congressman

. Gianforte won the election, making him the first Republican governor of Montana since

Judy Martz Judith Helen Martz (née Morstein; July 28, 1943 – October 30, 2017) was an American Republican Party politician, businesswoman, and Olympian speed skater who served as the 22nd governor of Montana from 2001 to 2005. She was the first and only ...

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

* Mike Cooney,

Lieutenant Governor of Montana The lieutenant governor of Montana is an elected official in the State of Montana that ranks just below the governor of Montana. List of lieutenant governors ;Parties Living former lieutenant governors , there are six former lieutenant gove ...

and former Secretary of State of Montana and candidate in

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

** Running mate: Casey Schreiner, Minority Leader of the

Montana House of Representatives The Montana House of Representatives is, with the Montana Senate, one of the two houses of the Montana Legislature. Composed of 100 members, the House elects its leadership every two years. Composition of the House :''67th Legislature – 2021� ...

Eliminated in primary

* Whitney Williams, businesswoman and daughter of former U.S. Representative Pat Williams ** Running mate: Buzz Mattelin, farmer and president of the National Barley Growers Association

Withdrawn

* Reilly Neill, former state representative * Casey Schreiner, Minority Leader of the

(running for Lieutenant Governor)

Declined

*Ryan Busse, businessman *

Wilmot Collins Wilmot Collins (born October 15, 1963) is a Liberian-born American politician serving as the mayor of Helena, Montana. He defeated four-term incumbent mayor James E. Smith in the 2017 mayoral election on November 7, 2017, with 51% of the vote. T ...

, Mayor of

Helena Helena may refer to: People *Helena (given name), a given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Katri Helena (born 1945), Finnish singer *Helena, mother of Constantine I Places Greece * Helena (island) Guyana * H ...

and former 2020 candidate for the U.S. Senate *John Heenan, attorney and candidate for

Montana's at-large congressional district Montana is represented in the United States House of Representatives by one at-large congressional district, among the 435 in the United States Congress. The district was the most populous U.S. congressional district, with just over 1 million c ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

Michael Punke Michael W. Punke (born December 7, 1964) is an American author, attorney, academic, and policy analyst. He is a former Deputy United States Trade Representative and U.S. Ambassador to the World Trade Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. In 2017 ...

, writer and former U.S. Ambassador to the

World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and ...

* Brian Schweitzer, former Governor of Montana (endorsed Williams) * Kathleen Williams, former state representative and nominee for

( running for the U.S. House)

Endorsements

Polling

Polls with a sample size of <100 have their sample size entries marked in red to indicate a lack of reliability.

Results

Montana gubernatorial Democratic primary, 2020

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

, incumbent U.S. Representative for

and nominee for Governor of Montana in

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:*Running mate: Kristen Juras, businesswoman and attorney

Eliminated in primary

* Tim Fox,

Attorney General of Montana The Montana Department of Justice is a state law enforcement agency of Montana. The Department is equivalent to the State Bureau of Investigation in other states. The Montana Attorney General, currently Republican Austin Knudsen, heads the age ...

:*Running mate: Jon Knokey, former state representative *

Albert Olszewski Albert Olszewski (born August 26, 1962) is an American orthopedic surgeon and perennial candidate, who served as a Republican member of both the Montana Senate and Montana House of Representatives, also running unsuccessful campaigns for the sen ...

, state senator and candidate for U.S. Senate in

:*Running mate: Kenneth Bogner, state senator

Withdrawn

Corey Stapleton Corey Stapleton (born September 17, 1967) is an American politician and musician who served as the Secretary of State of Montana from 2017 to 2021. A Republican, he served as a member of the Montana State Senate from 2001 to 2009. In 2020, Sta ...

, Secretary of State of Montana, candidate for Governor of Montana in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

and candidate for the U.S. House in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...

( running for the U.S. House) * Gary Perry, former state senator *Pete Ziehli

Declined

* Matt Rosendale,

Montana State Auditor The Montana State Auditor is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of government of the U.S. state of Montana. The State Auditor is elected once every four years, concurrent with the state's gubernatorial election and the U.S. presi ...

and nominee for the U.S. Senate in

( running for the U.S. House) * Ryan Zinke, former

United States Secretary of Interior The United States secretary of the interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior. The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land along with natura ...

and former U.S. Representative for

Endorsements

Polling

Polls with a sample size of <100 have their sample size entries marked in red to indicate a lack of reliability.

Results

Montana gubernatorial Republican primary, 2020

Other candidates

Libertarian Party

Nominee

*Lyman Bishop, founder and CEO of Hoplite Armor **Running mate: John Nesper

Withdrawn

*Ron Vandevender, nominee for lieutenant governor in

and nominee for governor in

Green Party

Disqualified

*Robert Barb **Running mate: Joshua Thomas

Results

General election

Debate

Predictions

Endorsements

Polling

;with Mike Cooney, Tim Fox, Greg Gianforte, Albert Olszewski, Ron Vandevender and Whitney Williams ;with Mike Cooney, Tim Fox, Greg Gianforte, Reilly Neill, Albert Olszewski, Gary Perry, Casey Schreiner and Whitney Williams ;with Tim Fox, Matt Rosendale, Corey Stapleton, Kathleen Williams and Whitney Williams

Results

Results by County

Notes

;Partisan clients

References

External links

;Official campaign websites
Lyman Bishop (L) for Governor

Mike Cooney (D) for Governor

Greg Gianforte (R) for Governor
{{2020 United States elections 2020

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...