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| Turnout | 81.33%  [1] | ||||||||||||||||
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  Daines: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Bullock: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% No data | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Montana |
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The 2020 United States Senate election in Montana was held on November 3, 2020, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Montana. It was held concurrently with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states, elections to the United States House of Representatives, and various state and local elections. The primaries for both the Democratic and Republican nominations took place on June 2, 2020. Incumbent senator Steve Daines won the Republican primary, while Montana Gov. Steve Bullock won the Democratic primary.[2]
Originally, this seat was projected to be a safe Republican hold.[3] However, Bullock entered the race on the last day to file, shifting the dynamics of the contest dramatically; many political pundits then considered it a competitive race and a potential pickup for Democrats.[4] One poll showed Bullock leading by seven points.[5] Democrats outspent Republicans $82 million to $63 million on this race; it was one of the most expensive Senate races in the 2020 cycle.[6] On Election Day, Daines prevailed by a relatively comfortable 10% margin following a trend of Republican Senate candidates outperforming expectations.
Despite his loss, Bullock did outperform Biden, who lost Montana by a 16.4% margin.[7] He also flipped 2 counties won by Donald Trump in the presidential contest — Lewis and Clark and Roosevelt.
This election marked the first time since 2000 where Montana voted for a Republican governor, president, and senator all on the same ballot. As the Green Party was removed from the ballot and both Libertarian nominees withdrew, this was the first time since 1988 that there were no third-party candidates running for either United States House of Representatives or United States Senate in Montana.[8] This was the first time ever that an incumbent Republican senator was re-elected to this seat.
- ^ "Montana Voter Turnout". Montana Secretary of State - Christi Jacobsen. February 22, 2018. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
- ^ Drake, Phil. "Daines, Bullock take party primaries in Montana US Senate race". Great Falls Tribune. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
- ^ "Here's who we think will win the 2020 elections in Montana". Politico. November 19, 2019. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
- ^ Nilsen, Ella; Zhou, Li (March 9, 2020). "Gov. Steve Bullock just made the Montana Senate race competitive for Democrats". Vox. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
- ^ "Western States Coronavirus Survey - Montana - Politics and Policy Questions" (PDF). Montana State University - HELPS Lab.
- ^ "Trump noticeably absent from key US Senate race in Montana". ABC News. November 1, 2020. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
- ^ "Montana U.S. Senate Election Results". The New York Times. November 3, 2020. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
- ^ "No Alternative Candidates on Montana Ballot for Any Congressional Race". Ballot Access News. September 13, 2020. Archived from the original on September 13, 2020. Retrieved September 13, 2020.