Governor of Montana

Montana Governor
General information
Office Type:	Partisan
Office website:	Official Link
Compensation:	$118,397
2025 FY Budget:	$7,507,283
Term limits:	Two terms during any 16 year period
Structure
Length of term:	4 years
Authority:	Montana Constitution, Article VI, Section IV the Executive Department
Selection Method:	Elected
Current Officeholder
Governor of Montana Greg Gianforte Republican Party Assumed office: January 4, 2021
Elections
Next election:	November 7, 2028
Last election:	November 5, 2024
Other Montana Executive Offices
Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General • Treasurer • Auditor • Superintendent of Public Instruction • Agriculture Director • Insurance Commissioner • Natural Resources Director • Labor Commissioner • Public Service Commission

The Governor of the State of Montana is an elected constitutional officer, the head of the executive branch and the highest state office in Montana. The governor is popularly elected every four years by a plurality and is limited to two terms in any 16 year span.

Montana has a Republican trifecta. The Republican Party controls the office of governor and both chambers of the state legislature.

Montana has a Republican triplex. The Republican Party controls the offices of governor, secretary of state, and attorney general.

See also: Montana State Legislature, Montana House of Representatives, Montana State Senate

Current officeholder

The 25th and current governor of Montana is Greg Gianforte (R).

Authority

The state Constitution addresses the office of the governor in Article VI, the Executive Department.

Under Article VI, Section I:

The executive branch includes a governor...

Additionally, under Article VI, Section IV:

The executive power is vested in the governor who shall see that the laws are faithfully executed.

Qualifications

State Executives
Current Governors
Gubernatorial Elections
2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014
Current Lt. Governors
Lt. Governor Elections
2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014

A candidate for governor must be:

• at least 25 years of age or older at the time of election
• a citizen of the United States
• have resided within the state at least two years at his or her election

Elections

Montana state government organizational chart

Montana elects governors in the presidential elections, that is, in leap years. Legally, the gubernatorial inauguration is always set for the first Monday in the January following an election.

2024

See also: Montana gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2024

General election

General election for Governor of Montana

Incumbent Greg Gianforte defeated Ryan Busse and Kaiser Leib in the general election for Governor of Montana on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Greg Gianforte (R)	59.6	326,499
		Ryan Busse (D)	37.9	207,675
		Kaiser Leib (L)	2.4	13,276

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. Source	Total votes: 547,450
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Governor of Montana

Ryan Busse defeated Jim Hunt in the Democratic primary for Governor of Montana on June 4, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ryan Busse	71.0	70,857
		Jim Hunt	29.0	29,004

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 99,861
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Shawn White Wolf (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Governor of Montana

Incumbent Greg Gianforte defeated Tanner Smith in the Republican primary for Governor of Montana on June 4, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Greg Gianforte	75.2	144,827
		Tanner Smith	24.8	47,713

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 192,540
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Libertarian primary election

The Libertarian primary election was canceled. Kaiser Leib advanced from the Libertarian primary for Governor of Montana.

2020

See also: Montana gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2020

General election

General election for Governor of Montana

Greg Gianforte defeated Mike Cooney, Lyman Bishop, and Chris Hall in the general election for Governor of Montana on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Greg Gianforte (R)	54.4	328,548
		Mike Cooney (D)	41.6	250,860
		Lyman Bishop (L)	4.0	24,179
		Chris Hall (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	21

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 603,608
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Robert Barb (G)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Governor of Montana

Mike Cooney defeated Whitney Williams in the Democratic primary for Governor of Montana on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mike Cooney	54.9	81,527
		Whitney Williams	45.1	67,066

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 148,593
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Casey Schreiner (D)
• Reilly Neill (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Governor of Montana

Greg Gianforte defeated Tim Fox and Albert Olszewski in the Republican primary for Governor of Montana on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Greg Gianforte	53.4	119,247
		Tim Fox	27.3	60,823
		Albert Olszewski	19.3	43,080

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 223,150
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Gary Perry (R)
• Corey Stapleton (R)
• Peter Ziehli (R)

Green primary election

Green primary for Governor of Montana

Robert Barb advanced from the Green primary for Governor of Montana on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Robert Barb	100.0	713

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 713
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Libertarian primary election

The Libertarian primary election was canceled. Lyman Bishop advanced from the Libertarian primary for Governor of Montana.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Ron Vandevender (L)

2016

See also: Montana gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial elections, 2016

The general election for governor was held on November 8, 2016. Incumbent Steve Bullock (D) defeated challenger Greg Gianforte (R).

Incumbent Steve Bullock & Mike Cooney defeated Greg Gianforte & Lesley Robinson, Ted Dunlap & Ron Vandevender, Casey Filler, and Christopher Zarcone in the Montana governor election.

Montana Governor, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Steve Bullock & Mike Cooney Incumbent	50.25%	255,933
	Republican	Greg Gianforte & Lesley Robinson	46.36%	236,115
	Libertarian	Ted Dunlap & Ron Vandevender	3.40%	17,312
	Independent	Casey Filler	0.00%	0
	Independent	Christopher Zarcone	0.00%	0
Total Votes				509,360
Source: Montana Secretary of State

2012

See also: Montana gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2012

Incumbent Brian Schweitzer (D) was prevented from running for re-election due to term limits. Steve Bullock (D), running on a ticket with John E. Walsh, defeated Rick Hill (R), Ron Vandevender (L), and Bill Coate (I) in the November 6, 2012 general election.

Governor/Lieutenant Governor of Montana General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Steve Bullock and John E. Walsh	48.9%	236,450
	Republican	Rick Hill and Jon Sonju	47.3%	228,879
	Libertarian	Ron Vandevender and Marc Mulcahy	3.8%	18,160
Total Votes				483,489
Election results via Montana Secretary of State

Term limits

See also: States with gubernatorial term limits

Montana governors are restricted to eight years in office during any 16-year period.

Montana Constitution, Article IV, Section 8

(1) The secretary of state or another authorized official shall not certify a candidate's nomination or election to, or print or cause to be printed on any ballot the name of a candidate for, one of the following offices if, at the end of the current term of that office, the candidate will have served in that office or had he not resigned or been recalled would have served in that office: (a) 8 or more years in any 16-year period as governor...

Partisan composition

The chart below shows the partisan breakdown of Montana governors from 1992 to 2013.

Vacancies

See also: How gubernatorial vacancies are filled

Details of vacancies are addressed under Article VI, Section 14.

If a governor-elect dies, is disqualified, or declines to take office, the lieutenant governor-elect takes offices and serves as governor. If the governor-elect is unable to take office on inauguration day, the lieutenant governor-elect served as acting governor only until the elected Governor is able to take office.

The lieutenant governor also becomes acting governor when the governor so requests in writing, when the governor's illness or disability renders him or her unable to make that request, and automatically whenever the governor has been absent from office for 45 days.

The lieutenant governor and the attorney general may together recommend that the Governor be found unfit to serve and convene the legislature to consider the question.

Under such circumstances, the legislature has 21 days to consider the motion and may declare the governor until by a two-thirds vote. The lieutenant governor then becomes the acting governor and the elected governor retains the prerogative to attest that he or she is able to resume the office. If the governor takes this step, the legislature has 15 days to contest the declaration.

Lastly, the lieutenant governor assumes the governorship and serves the remainder of the term if the governor dies, resigns, or is disqualified while in office.

Duties

The governor has the duty to see that the Montana Constitution and the laws of the state are faithfully executed. The governor has the power to appoint and supervise the directors of each executive department. Additionally, the governor, as mandated by the state constitution, will give information to the state legislature and recommend measures considered necessary and suitable (§ 9). This includes submitting a budget recommendation detailing expenditures and revenue. The governor has the responsibility to carry out the duties of commander-in-chief of the militia forces of the state.

Other duties and privileges of the office include:

• Delegating powers to the Lieutenant Governor, excepting those that are Constitutionally vested in the Governor (§ 4)

• Filling vacancies in all other Executive offices (§ 6)

• Making all appointments not otherwise provided for by law, filling vacancies with the consent of the Senate, and making recess appointments (§ 8)

• Vetoing bills, "except bills proposing amendments to the Montana constitution, bills ratifying proposed amendments to the United States constitution, resolutions, and initiative and referendum measures," subject to a legislative override. The Governor may also recommend amendments to bills (§ 10)

• Convening special sessions of the legislature (§ 11)

• Granting pardons and reprieves, remitting fines and forfeitures, and restoring citizenship (§ 12)

• Requiring reports from any executive office and appointing committees to investigate the same (§ 15)

Divisions

Note: Ballotpedia's state executive officials project researches state official websites for information that describes the divisions (if any exist) of a state executive office. That information for the Governor of Montana has not yet been added. After extensive research we were unable to identify any relevant information on state official websites. If you have any additional information about this office for inclusion on this section and/or page, please email us.

State budget

Role in state budget

See also: Montana state budget and finances

The state operates on a biennial budget cycle. The sequence of key events in the budget process is as follows:

1. Budget instructions are sent to state agencies in April and August.
2. Agencies submit their budget requests to the governor in June and September.
3. The governor submits his or her proposed budget to the state legislature by November 15. Governors-elect submit budget proposals by January 7.
4. The legislature typically adopts a budget in April. A simple majority is required to pass a budget. The biennium begins July 1.

Montana is one of 44 states in which the governor has line item veto authority.

The governor is statutorily required to submit a balanced budget proposal. The legislature is constitutionally required to pass a balanced budget.

Governor's office budget

The Office of the Governor's budget for fiscal year 2025 was $7,507,283.

Compensation

See also: Comparison of gubernatorial salaries and Compensation of state executive officers

Under Article VI, Section 5 of the Montana Constitution, the governor's salary is fixed by law and the governor may not receive any other governmental compensation while in office.

In 1995, the Montana legislature passed MCA 2-16-403 and MCA 2-16-405, which require the state's Department of Administration to conduct a salary survey every other year of elected officials for North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana. The salary for the governor is determined by calculating the average salary of the governors in the five states. The adjusted salary is effective July 1st of the year following the survey.

2022

In 2022, the officer's salary was $118,397, according to the Council of State Governments.

2021

In 2021, the governor received a salary of $118,397, according to the Council of State Governments.

2020

In 2020, the governor’s salary was $118,397, according to the Council of State Governments.

2019

In 2019, the governor’s salary was $115,505, according to the Council of State Governments.

2018

In 2018, the governor’s salary was increased to $115,505, according to the Council of State Governments.

2017

In 2017, the governor’s salary was $111,569, according to the Council of State Governments.

2016

In 2016, the governor’s salary was increased to $111,569, according to the Council of State Governments.

2015

In 2015, the governor received a salary of $108,167, according to the Council of State Governments.

2014

In 2014, the governor earned a salary of $108,167, according to the Council of State Governments.

2013

In 2013, the governor's salary was $108,167.

2010

In 2010, the governor was paid $100,121, the 42nd highest gubernatorial salary in America at the time.

Historical officeholders

Since 1889, Montana has had 25 governors. Of the 25, 14 have been Democrats, 10 have been Republicans, and one was a Democratic-Populist.

#	Name	Took office	Left office	Party
1	Joseph K. Toole	1889	1893	Democratic
2	John E. Rickards	1893	1897	Republican
3	Robert B. Smith	1897	1901	Democratic, Populist
4	Joseph K. Toole	1901	1908	Democratic
5	Edwin L. Norris	1908	1913	Democratic
6	Samuel V. Stewart	1913	1921	Democratic
7	Joseph M. Dixon	1921	1925	Republican
8	John E. Erickson	1925	1933	Democratic
9	Frank H. Cooney	1933	1935	Democratic
10	Elmer Holt	1935	1937	Democratic
11	Roy E. Ayers	1937	1941	Democratic
12	Samuel C. Ford	1941	1949	Republican
13	John W. Bonner	1949	1953	Democratic
14	John Hugo Aronson	1953	1961	Republican
15	Donald G. Nutter	1961	1962	Republican
16	Tim M. Babcock	1962	1969	Republican
17	Forrest H. Anderson	1969	1973	Democratic
18	Thomas L. Judge	1973	1981	Democratic
19	Ted Schwinden	1981	1989	Democratic
20	Stan Stephens	1989	1993	Republican
21	Marc Racicot	1993	2001	Republican
22	Judy Martz	2001	2005	Republican
23	Brian Schweitzer	2005	2013	Democratic
24	Steve Bullock	2013	2021	Democratic
25	Greg Gianforte	2021	Present	Republican

History

Partisan balance 1992-2013

See also: Ballotpedia:Who Runs the States and Ballotpedia:Who Runs the States, Montana

Partisan breakdown of the Montana governorship from 1992-2013

From 1992-2013, in Montana there were Democratic governors in office for the last nine years while there were Republican governors in office for the first 13 years.

Across the country, there were 493 years of Democratic governors (44.82%) and 586 years of Republican governors (53.27%) from 1992 to 2013.

Over the course of the 22-year study, state governments became increasingly more partisan. At the outset of the study period (1992), 18 of the 49 states with partisan legislatures had single-party trifectas and 31 states had divided governments. In 2013, only 13 states had divided governments, while single-party trifectas held sway in 36 states, the most in the 22 years studied.

The chart below shows the partisan composition of the Office of the Governor of Montana, the Montana State Senate and the Montana House of Representatives from 1992 to 2013.

SQLI and partisanship

The chart below depicts the partisanship of the Montana state government and the state's SQLI ranking for the years studied. For the SQLI, the states were ranked from 1-50, with 1 being the best and 50 the worst. Montana had Republican trifectas from 1995-2004. Montana's lowest SQLI ranking, finishing at 41st, occurred during those Republican trifectas, from 1999-2001. The state's two highest rankings came in the final five years while under divided government.

Chart displaying the partisanship of Montana government from 1992-2013 and the State Quality of Life Index (SQLI).

State profile

Demographic data for Montana
	Montana	U.S.
Total population:	1,032,073	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	145,546	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:	89.2%	73.6%
Black/African American:	0.5%	12.6%
Asian:	0.7%	5.1%
Native American:	6.5%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0.1%	0.2%
Two or more:	2.5%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	3.3%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	92.8%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	29.5%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$47,169	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	17%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Montana. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in Montana

Montana voted Republican in all six presidential elections between 2000 and 2020.

Pivot Counties (2016)

Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, three are located in Montana, accounting for 1.46 percent of the total pivot counties.

Pivot Counties (2020)

In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Montana had two Retained Pivot Counties and one Boomerang Pivot County, accounting for 1.10 and 4.00 percent of all Retained and Boomerang Pivot Counties, respectively.

More Montana coverage on Ballotpedia

• Elections in Montana
• United States congressional delegations from Montana
• Public policy in Montana
• Endorsers in Montana
• Montana fact checks
• More...

Contact information

Office of the Governor
Montana State Capitol Bldg.
P.O. Box 200801
Helena, MT 59620-0801
Phone: 406-444-3111
Fax: 406-444-5529

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• Office of the Montana Governor