1972 Montana gubernatorial election

1972 Montana gubernatorial election

← 1968 November 7, 1972 1976 →
Turnout84.60%Decrease1.80[1]
 
Nominee Thomas Lee Judge Ed Smith
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 172,523 146,231
Percentage 54.12% 45.88%

County results
Anderson:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
Smith:      50-60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%

Governor before election

Forrest H. Anderson
Democratic

Elected Governor

Thomas Lee Judge
Democratic

The 1972 Montana gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 1972. Incumbent Governor of Montana Forrest H. Anderson, who was first elected in 1968, declined to seek re-election. Thomas Lee Judge, the Lieutenant Governor of Montana, won a competitive Democratic primary, and moved on to the general election, where he faced Ed Smith, a rancher and the Republican nominee. Although then-President Richard Nixon won the state in a landslide in that year's presidential election, Judge managed to handily defeat Smith, winning his first of two terms as governor.

  1. ^ "Montana Voter Turnout". Montana Secretary of State. February 22, 2018. Retrieved May 26, 2022.