Montana judicial elections, 2016
Three seats on Montana's state-level courts were up for election on November 8, 2016, with a primary election held on June 7. The Montana Supreme Court seats on the 2016 ballot were held by Chief Justice Mike McGrath, Justice Patricia O'Brien Cotter and Justice Jim Shea heading into the election. Each justice elected to the court serves an eight-year term.
Only one seat, held by retiring Justice Cotter, was contested in the 2016 elections. Three candidates vied for the seat in the June 7 primary. Kristen Juras and Dirk Sandefur were the top two finishers and advanced to the November general election. Sandefur defeated Juras in the general election. The other two seats were held by incumbents who ran unopposed.[1] Montana law states that these races were to be treated as retention elections on the November 8 ballot, though the candidates appeared on the June 7 primary ballot as well. Each incumbent justice was retained.
Supreme Court candidates
Chief Justice (McGrath's seat)
■ Mike McGrath 
(Incumbent/Unopposed)
- Because Justice McGrath was an incumbent running unopposed, Montana law treated this election as a retention election on November 8, though the office was on the ballot for the June 7 primary.
Seat 3 (Cotter's seat)
Justice Patricia O'Brien Cotter announced her intention to retire in 2016.[2]
■ Kristen Juras
■ Dirk M. Sandefur
Seat 6 (Shea's seat)
■ Jim Shea (Incumbent/Unopposed)
- Because Justice Shea was an incumbent running unopposed, Montana law treated this election as a retention election on November 8, though the office was on the ballot for the June 7 primary.
Election results
November 8 general election
| Montana Supreme Court, Seat 3, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Dirk M. Sandefur |
56.13% | 254,811 |
| Kristen Juras | 43.87% | 199,148 |
| Total Votes (686 of 686 precincts reporting: 100%) | 453,959 | |
| Source: Montana Secretary of State | ||
| Montana Supreme Court, Chief Justice Seat, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes votes | |
| Mike McGrath | 81.76% | |
| Source: Montana Secretary of State | ||
| Montana Supreme Court, Seat 6, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes votes | |
| Jim Shea | 81.40% | |
| Source: Montana Secretary of State | ||
June 7 primary election
| Montana Supreme Court Primary, Seat 3, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Kristen Juras |
44.10% | 100,846 |
| Dirk M. Sandefur |
34.48% | 78,855 |
| Eric Mills | 21.41% | 48,965 |
| Total Votes (686 of 686 precincts reporting: 100%) | 228,666 | |
| Source: Montana Secretary of State Official Results | ||
| Montana Supreme Court Primary, Chief Justice Seat, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Mike McGrath Incumbent (unopposed) |
100.00% | 237,577 |
| Total Votes (686 of 686 precincts reporting: 100%) | 237,577 | |
| Source: Montana Secretary of State Official Results | ||
| Montana Supreme Court Primary, Seat 6, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Jim Shea Incumbent (unopposed) |
100.00% | 227,153 |
| Total Votes (686 of 686 precincts reporting: 100%) | 227,153 | |
| Source: Montana Secretary of State Official Results | ||
Selection
- See also: Judicial selection in Montana
Nonpartisan elections
In the primary, the two candidates who receive the greatest number of votes advance to the general election. If only two candidates file for one judicial seat, both candidates advance to the general election.[3]
Note: A federal court in 2012 struck down Montana's law that elections be nonpartisan, allowing political parties to legally endorse or oppose candidates. For more information, see: Montana judicial elections, "Federal court mandates partisan elections".
Retentions
If an incumbent is running unopposed and no challengers advance to the general election, the incumbent judge will appear on the ballot for retention.[4]
The ballot for a retention election reads: "Shall (insert title of officer) (insert name of the incumbent officer) of the (insert title of the court) of the state of Montana be retained in office for another term?" Voters must then answer with either "Yes" or "No".[5]
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.[6]
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...
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Montana court elections' OR 'Montana Supreme Court' OR 'Montana judicial election 2016'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Montana Secretary of State, "2016 candidate filing list: Non-Legislative," accessed March 15, 2016
- ↑ KPAX.com Mike Dennison, "Money piles up in 2016 Montana Supreme Court race," accessed January 26, 2016
- ↑ Montana Code Annotated 2013, "Title 13, Chapter 14, Section 117," accessed March 20, 2014
- ↑ The Billings Gazette, "3 Yellowstone County judges to seek re-election," January 19, 2012
- ↑ Montana Code Annotated 2013, "Title 13, Chapter 14, Section 212," accessed April 28, 2014
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
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Federal courts:
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of Montana • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of Montana
State courts:
Montana Supreme Court • Montana District Courts • Montana Courts of Limited Jurisdiction • Montana Water Court • Montana Workers' Compensation Court
State resources:
Courts in Montana • Montana judicial elections • Judicial selection in Montana
