Montana election recap: Republicans dominate statewide races

Gallatin County voters elect democrats Cora Neumann, Alanah Griffith to Montana Legislature

By Jen Clancey and Jack Reaney

Editor’s note: EBS is updating this story with live results from Montana house district 60.

On Election Day, Montana voters made their voices heard, keeping election offices busy through the night with many still counting through Wednesday. 

Gallatin County Elections Administrator Eric Semerad expected final votes to be counted by 1 a.m., which he said is the latest finish his office had ever experienced. 

“My staff is exhausted,” Semerad told EBS on Nov. 5 as election day dragged into the evening hours. “They’ve been working, you know, 13-, 14-hour days for weeks on end.”

By early morning on Wednesday, Nov. 6, the Associated Press had called all of Montana’s statewide races, reflecting a strong showing from republican voters. Detailed and interactive live results from Montana races are available online from Montana Free Press. 

According to MTFP’s results webpage, republican incumbent Gov. Greg Gianforte defeated democrat challenger Ryan Busse in a race that was called by 8 p.m. on election night. Incumbent three-term Sen. Jon Tester, a democrat, fell to republican challenger Tim Sheehy by eight percentage points—the race garnered national eyes and more than $255 million in campaign spending. Incumbent U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke held his seat by a similar margin, defeating Monica Tranel, a democrat who has challenged him in the past two elections for Montana’s western congressional district; in the eastern district, republican Troy Downing swamped his democrat opponent, John Driscoll, by 32 percentage points. 

Montana voters favored former president Donald Trump by more than 20 percentage points over Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump, who previously won Montana in 2020 by 16.4 percentage points, earned four electoral votes by winning Montana for the third consecutive presidential election. 

In races for the Montana Legislature, results were a mixed bag across dozens of voting districts, but state positions were held by republicans Attorney General Austin Knudsen, Superintendent of Public Instruction Susie Hedalen, and State Auditor James Brown. 

For voters in Big Sky and parts of Gallatin County, democrat Cora Neumann earned a state senate seat, beating republican Tyler Rogers by roughly 17 percentage points in the race for senate district 30. Big Sky resident Alanah Griffith, a democrat, defeated republican Jerry Johnson in a relatively tight race. Griffith won by nearly five percentage points, and the race was not called until 9:19 a.m. on Thursday.

Abortion earns constitutional protection in Montana

Voters passed ballot initiative CI-128, which enshrines the right to abortion in the Montana Constitution. Martha Fuller, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Montana, stated in a Nov. 6 press release that it’s a “huge win for Montana” but work must continue to educate citizens about the issue. 

Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Action Fund, stated that the decision sent a message that politicians don’t belong in personal health care decisions. “By passing CI-128, Montanans surmounted every obstacle thrown their way—including multiple challenges from state officials—to secure reproductive freedom and abortion access for future generations,” Johnson stated. 

The other two ballot initiatives both failed: CI-126 aimed to alter election structure by creating open primaries with the top four candidates appearing on a single ballot, and CI-127 would require a majority of votes to win an election. 

For “central count” counties like Gallatin County, Tuesday’s votes weren’t counted at various districts. Ballots were picked up from polling places like the Big Sky County Water and Sewer District and brought to the third floor community room of the Gallatin County Courthouse—on Tuesday, Eric Semerad had estimated Big Sky and West Yellowstone ballots to arrive in Bozeman around 11 p.m., escorted by the Gallatin County Sheriff. 

“Everything gets counted here, in this room right there,” Semerad said, describing the third floor Community Room in the courthouse. On the second and third floors, a line of voters wanting to register or get replacement ballots snaked through the lobby. 

Volunteers offered pizza to people waiting in line outside of the building. As the night wore on, anyone who arrived before poll closure at 8 p.m. waited to finally cast their ballots.