The 1940 Montana gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 1940. Incumbent

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

Roy E. Ayers Roy Elmer Ayers (November 9, 1882May 23, 1955) was a U.S. Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives and as the List of Governors of Montana, 11th Governor of Monta ...

, who was first elected governor in

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House. * January 28 – Death and state funer ...

, ran for re-election. He narrowly won the Democratic primary by just over a thousand votes to win renomination, and advanced to the general election, where he was opposed by

Sam C. Ford Samuel Clarence Ford (November 7, 1882November 25, 1961) was an American politician who served as the 12th Governor of Montana from 1941 to 1949. Biography Ford was born on November 7, 1882, in Albany, Kentucky. His early education was in the ...

, a former Associate Justice of the Montana Supreme Court and the Republican nominee. Ultimately, in spite of the fact that then-President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

comfortably won the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

in that year's

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The p ...

, Ford narrowly defeated Ayers to win his first of two terms as governor.

Democratic primary

Candidates

, incumbent

*Arthur F. Lamey, former chairman of the

Montana Democratic Party Montana Democratic Party (MDP) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Montana and one of the two major political parties in the state. The party as of 2024 is chaired by Robyn Driscoll. The National Committeeman is Jorge ...

, former Hill County Attorney *A. E. Kathan

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

, former Associate Justice of the Montana Supreme Court *Charles A. Hauswirth, Mayor of

Butte In geomorphology, a butte ( ) is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and table (landform), tablelands. The word ''butte'' comes from the French l ...

*Julius J. Wuerthner, former Mayor of Great Falls *T. S. Stockdahl *Martin P. Moe, former Secretary of the Montana Education Association *John H. Leuthold

Results

General election

Results

References

{{1940 United States elections

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

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

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, events related to World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *Janu ...

November 1940 in the United States