Montana’s 2020 elections
STATEWIDE AND REGIONAL SEATS
Montanans will have a large ballot to vote on in the 2020 elections. Montana’s federal, state and regional elections, along with the presidential election, will be voted on. Montanans will be voting on more than who will control the White House. People have until March 9, 2020 to file for candidacy with the Office of the Secretary of State. Montana’s primary elections are June 2, 2020. One candidate from each political party will advance to the general election Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020. Two of the three seats in Montana’s congressional delegation are up for bid. Steve Daines, the incumbent senator, is running for a second term. He is unopposed for the primary election, as he is the only Republican running. Four Democrats have filed for the senate seat in the primary election. Greg Gianforte wants to step out of the United States House of Representatives and into the Governor’s mansion. His campaign for Montana’s chief executive seat leaves his former seat in congress open to one of the seven candidates currently campaigning for the job. Montanans will decide five statewide offices in the 2020 election. Most of the statewide offices being voted on, including Montana’s governor, attorney general, secretary of state, and state auditor, will see new leadership. The lone incumbent on the state level is Republican Elsie Arntzen, running for the Superintendent of Public Instruction. No one has filed for candidacy against Arntzen and her opposition, Democrat Melissa Romano. Some regional offices of southwest Montana will be on the ballot. Montana’s Legislative Senate District 36 and House District 71, which encompasses Madison County and small portions of Jefferson and Silver Bow counties, will be elected. Four candidates have filed for southwest Montana’s Public Service Commissioner seat. PSC’s District 3 is made up of 14 counties including Madison, Beaverhead, Jefferson, Gallatin and Silver Bow. District 3 commissioner, Roger Koopman, has been outspoken about how the commission dealt with the recent NorthWest Energy electric rate increase. As he terms out of the seat, a new commissioner will be elected in 2020. Elections in the Montana Supreme Court will vote in two justices. Four candidates have filed for justices five and six, including incumbent Laurie McKinnon. Follow the Madisonian’s coverage on the 2020 elections over the next few months. The first election that will be dived into is the gubernatorial race.