2008 Montana gubernatorial election

2008 Montana gubernatorial election
	November 4, 2008
Turnout	74.5%3.1
	County results; Schweitzer: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90%; Brown: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70%
Governor before election; Brian Schweitzer; Democratic	Elected Governor ; Brian Schweitzer; Democratic

The 2008 Montana gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 2008, to elect the governor and lieutenant governor of the U.S. state of Montana. Incumbent governor Brian Schweitzer, a Democrat who was elected to his first four-year term in 2004, was elected to a second term with 65.5% of the vote. Incumbent lieutenant governor John Bohlinger, a Republican who was once again Schweitzer's running mate, was reelected to a second term. The Republican nominee was Roy Brown, a member of the Montana Senate. Brown's running mate was businessman Steve Daines, a future U.S. Representative and a future U.S. Senator.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Brian Schweitzer, incumbent governor of Montana, 2000 U.S. Senate nominee and rancher
- John Bohlinger, incumbent lieutenant governor of Montana and former Republican member of the Montana House of Representatives and Montana Senate
William Fischer, small businessman involved in the logging industry in Lakeside, Montana
- Steve White, small business owner in the telecommunications industry in Kalispell, Montana
Don Pogreba, Shelby native, English and debate teacher at Helena High School
- Jason Neiffer, Great Falls native, history teacher at Capital High School

Results

Democratic primary results^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Brian Schweitzer (incumbent)	159,820	91.30
	Democratic	William Fischer	9,865	5.64
	Democratic	Donald Pogreba	5,358	3.06
Total votes			175,043	100.00

Republican primary

Candidates

Roy Brown, businessman, member of the Montana Senate and former Majority Leader of the Montana House of Representatives
- Steve Daines, businessman
Larry H. Steele, 2007 candidate for Mayor of Great Falls and 2006 candidate for the Montana House of Representatives
- Harold Luce

Primary results

Republican primary results^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Roy Brown	65,883	80.81
	Republican	Larry Steele	15,643	19.19
Total votes			81,526	100.00

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Stan Jones, business consultant and United States Air Force veteran
- Michael Baker

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report^[3]	Safe D	October 16, 2008
Rothenberg Political Report^[4]	Safe D	November 2, 2008
Sabato's Crystal Ball^[5]	Safe D	November 3, 2008
Real Clear Politics^[6]	Safe D	November 4, 2008

Polling

Poll source	Dates administered	Brian Schweitzer (D)	Roy Brown (R)	Stan Jones (L)
Public Policy Polling^[7]	November 2, 2008	62%	36%	–
Rasmussen Reports^[8]	October 1, 2008	56%	41%	–
The Mellman Group (D)^[9]	September 16–18, 2008	63%	24%	–
Rasmussen Reports^[10]	July 29, 2008	56%	32%	3%
Rasmussen Reports^[11]	June 30, 2008	61%	32%	3%
Mason Dixon/Lee Newspapers^[12]	May 19–21, 2008	55%	30%	–
Mason Dixon/Lee Newspapers^[13]	December 17–19, 2007	55%	30%	–

Results

2008 Montana gubernatorial election^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Brian Schweitzer (incumbent)	318,670	65.47%	+15.04%
	Republican	Roy Brown	158,268	32.52%	−13.50%
	Libertarian	Stan Jones	9,796	2.01%	+0.35%
Total votes			486,734	100.00%	N/A
	Democratic hold

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

Beaverhead (largest city: Dillon)
Broadwater (largest city: Townsend)
Custer (largest city: Miles City)
Daniels (largest city: Scobey)
Fallon (largest city: Baker)
Fergus (largest city: Lewistown)
Flathead (largest city: Kalispell)
Golden Valley (largest city: Ryegate)
Granite (largest city: Philipsburg)
Jefferson (largest city: Clancy)
Judith Basin (largest city: Stanford)
Liberty (largest city: Chester)
Lincoln (largest city: Libby)
Madison (largest city: Ennis)
McCone (largest city: Circle)
Phillips (largest city: Malta)
Pondera (largest city: Conrad)
Powell (largest city: Deer Lodge)
Prairie (largest city: Terry)
Ravalli (largest city: Hamilton)
Richland (largest city: Sidney)
Rosebud (largest city: Colstrip)
Dawson (Largest city: Glendive)
Mineral (Largest city: Superior)
Gallatin (largest city: Bozeman)
Chouteau (largest municipality: Fort Benton)
Sanders (largest city: Thompson Falls)
Stillwater (largest city: Columbus)
Teton (largest city: Choteau)
Toole (largest city: Shelby)
Wheatland (largest city: Harlowton)
Wibaux (largest city: Wibaux)

References

^ "Montana Voter Turnout". Montana Secretary of State. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
^ ^a ^b "2008 Statewide Primary Canvass - June 3rd, 2008" (PDF). Montana Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 8, 2013. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
^ "2008 Governor Race ratings". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
^ "2008 Gubernatorial Ratings". Gubernatorial Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
^ "THE LAST LAST WORD The Crystal Ball's Final Projections for the 2008 Election". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
^ "2008 Montana Governor Race". RealClearPolitics. November 4, 2008. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
^ Public Policy Polling
^ Rasmussen Reports
^ The Mellman Group (D)
^ Rasmussen Reports
^ Rasmussen Reports
^ Mason Dixon/Lee Newspapers
^ Mason Dixon/Lee Newspapers
^ "2008 Statewide General Canvass - November 4th, 2008" (PDF). Montana Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved July 2, 2014.

External links

Campaign contributions from Follow the Money
Brown (R) vs Schweitzer (D-i) graph of collected poll results from Pollster.com
Roy Brown for Governor
Brian Schweitzer for Governor

[1] "Montana Voter Turnout". Montana Secretary of State. Retrieved May 26, 2022.

[Primary_election_results-2] "2008 Statewide Primary Canvass - June 3rd, 2008" (PDF). Montana Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 8, 2013. Retrieved July 2, 2014.

[3] "2008 Governor Race ratings". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved March 4, 2021.

[4] "2008 Gubernatorial Ratings". Gubernatorial Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved May 25, 2021.

[5] "THE LAST LAST WORD The Crystal Ball's Final Projections for the 2008 Election". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved December 25, 2021.

[6] "2008 Montana Governor Race". RealClearPolitics. November 4, 2008. Retrieved March 5, 2021.

[7] Public Policy Polling

[8] Rasmussen Reports

[9] The Mellman Group (D)

[10] Rasmussen Reports

[11] Rasmussen Reports

[12] Mason Dixon/Lee Newspapers

[13] Mason Dixon/Lee Newspapers

[14] "2008 Statewide General Canvass - November 4th, 2008" (PDF). Montana Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved July 2, 2014.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

(2007 ←) 2008 United States elections (→ 2009)
U.S. President	Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Guam (straw poll)
U.S. Senate	Alabama Alaska Arkansas Colorado Delaware District of Columbia (shadow) Georgia Idaho Illinois Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Mississippi (special) Montana Nebraska New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico North Carolina Oklahoma Oregon Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Virginia West Virginia Wyoming Wyoming (special)
U.S. House (election ratings)	Alabama Alaska American Samoa Arizona Arkansas California 12th sp Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia delegate shadow Florida Georgia Guam Hawaii Idaho Illinois 14th sp Indiana 7th sp Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana 1st sp 6th sp Maine Maryland 4th sp Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi 1st sp Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Northern Mariana Islands Ohio 11th sp Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas U.S. Virgin Islands Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
Governors	American Samoa Delaware Lt. Gov Indiana Missouri Lt. Gov New Hampshire North Carolina Lt. Gov North Dakota Puerto Rico Utah Vermont Washington West Virginia
Attorneys General	North Carolina Pennsylvania Washington Ohio (special)
Other statewide elections	Pennsylvania Auditor General Treasurer Washington Secretary of State Wisconsin Supreme Court
State legislatures	Arizona Senate California Assembly Senate Connecticut Senate Delaware House Senate Iowa House Senate Massachusetts House Senate Michigan House Minnesota House Montana House New Mexico House Senate New York Assembly North Carolina House Senate Pennsylvania House Senate Senate Texas House Senate Washington (state) House Senate West Virginia Senate Wisconsin Assembly Senate Wyoming Senate
Mayors	Augusta, GA Bakersfield, CA Baton Rouge, LA Fresno, CA Honolulu, HI Irvine, CA Mesa, AZ Milwaukee, WI Orlando, FL Portland, OR Sacramento, CA San Diego, CA San Juan, PR Santa Ana, CA Stockton, CA Virginia Beach, VA
Local	Bay County, MI Executive DeKalb County, GA Chief Executive Officer Miami Dade County, FL Mayor New Castle County, DE Executive Oakland County, MI Executive Summit County, OH Executive Will County, IL Executive
States and territories	Alabama Alaska American Samoa Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Guam Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas U.S. Virgin Islands Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming