Thomas Lee Judge (October 12, 1934 – September 8, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 18th

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 ...

from 1973 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 25th lieutenant governor of Montana from 1969 to 1973.

Biography

Judge was born in

Helena, Montana Helena (; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat, seat of Lewis and Clark County, Montana, Lewis and Clark County. Helena was founded as a gold camp during the Montana gold ...

. He earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

and did his graduate study at the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...

. He graduated from the

United States Army Adjutant General School The Adjutant General School and the Soldier Support Institute (SSI) are located at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. The school was formerly located at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana, until its closure. These provide training and development of doctr ...

at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana. Judge married Carol Anderson in 1966. The couple had two sons, Thomas Warren Judge and Patrick Lane Judge. The Judges, who were serving as governor and first lady of Montana, separated in the fall of 1979 and divorced during the winter of 1980. Judge then married his second wife, Suzan Koch, in 1981. Judge and Koch separated in 2003.

Career

Judge was a second lieutenant in the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

and a captain in the US Army Adjutant General Corps and in the US Army Reserves from 1958 to 1964. In 1960, he became president and owner of a public relations firm. Judge served in 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 In the event that the parti ...

from 1961 to 1967 and in the

Montana Senate The Montana State Senate is the upper house of the Montana Legislature, the state legislative branch of the U.S. state of Montana. The body is composed of 50 senators elected for four years. Half of the Senate is up for election every two years. ...

from 1967 to 1969, and as 22nd Lieutenant Governor of Montana from 1969 to 1973. In

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

, when 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 ...

Forrest Anderson declined to run for a second term, Judge ran to succeed him. He defeated several opponents in the Democratic primary, and advanced to the general election, where he comfortably defeated Republican nominee Ed Smith, a rancher and legislator from

Dagmar, Montana Dagmar is an unincorporated community in northeastern Sheridan County, 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 ...

. Judge was 38 years old at the time of his election as governor. When Judge ran for re-election in

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

, he was opposed by

State Attorney General The state attorney general in each of the 50 U.S. states, of the District of Columbia, federal district, or of any of the Territories of the United States, territories is the chief legal advisor to the State governments of the United States, sta ...

Bob Woodahl, whom he defeated in a landslide. He ran for re-election for a third consecutive term in

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

, but was defeated in the Democratic primary by his

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

Ted Schwinden Theodore Schwinden (August 31, 1925 – October 7, 2023) was an American politician from Montana. He was the 19th governor of Montana from 1981 to 1989. He had previously served as the 26th lieutenant governor of Montana and as a member of the M ...

, who went on to win the general election. During his tenure as governor, Judge served on the

executive committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...

of the

National Governors Association The National Governors Association (NGA) is an American Politics of the United States, political organization founded in 1908. The association's members are the governors of the 55 U.S. state, states, Territories of the United States, territories ...

and was chair of the Western Governors Conference. When Schwinden declined to seek re-election to a third term in

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

, Judge ran to succeed him, and won a competitive and crowded Democratic primary. In the general election,

Stan Stephens Stanley Graham Stephens (September 16, 1929 – April 3, 2021) was a Canadian-American politician, journalist, and broadcaster who served as the 20th Governor of Montana from 1989 until 1993 as a member of the Republican Party. Biography Born i ...

, the former President of the

and the Republican nominee, defeated Judge by a slim margin.

Death

Judge died in

Chandler, Arizona Chandler is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and a suburb in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area, Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is the List of municipalities in Arizona, fourth-most populous city in Arizona ...

, on September 8, 2006, at the age of 71. He is interred at Resurrection Cemetery in

References

External links

The Political Graveyard
*
Montana Historical Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Judge, Thomas Lee 1934 births 2006 deaths Democratic Party governors of Montana Democratic Party Montana state senators Democratic Party members of the Montana House of Representatives Military personnel from Montana Politicians from Chandler, Arizona Politicians from Helena, Montana Lieutenant governors of Montana Deaths from respiratory failure Deaths from pulmonary fibrosis 20th-century members of the Montana Legislature Catholics from Arizona Catholics from Montana University of Notre Dame alumni