Montana gubernatorial election, 2004

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The 2004 Montana gubernatorial election took place on 2 November 2004 for the post of Governor of Montana. Democrat Brian Schweitzer defeated Montana Secretary of State Republican Bob Brown.

Contents

[edit] Democratic primary

Democratic candidate Brian Schweitzer
Democratic candidate Brian Schweitzer

Brian Schweitzer, a farmer from Whitefish, began campaigning for the Democratic nomination over a year before the primary.[1] He had narrowly lost the Senate race to Conrad Burns in 2000. In February 2004 he announced that liberal Republican state senator John Bohlinger would be his running mate for the post of Lieutenant Governor. This would be the first bipartisan gubernatorial team since the Montana Constitution was amended in 1972 to require Governors and Lieutenant Governors to run as a team.[2]

In March 2004 John Vincent, a former speaker of the Montana House of Representatives entered the race and criticised Schweitzer for taking both sides on some issues.[1] In the end Schweitzer easily won the Democratic primary on 8 June 2004 defeating Vincent by almost 3 to 1. Three days after the primary Schweitzer addressed the Montana Democratic Convention, gave a bear hug to his defeated rival, and said he would bring a new kind of leadership to Montana.[3]

Candidate # of votes  % of votes
Brian Schweitzer 68,738 72.5
John Vincent 26,057 27.5

Source: 2004 statewide primary canvass - June 8, 2004

[edit] Republican primary

Incumbent Governor Judy Martz had a difficult term of office with her approval ratings as Governor going as low as 20%. In August 2003 she announced she would not run for re-election as she wanted to spend more time with her family.[4][5] Lieutenant Governor Karl Ohs was expected to enter the Republican primary race but decided not to.[4]

Montana Secretary of State Bob Brown, conservative businessman Pat Davison and State Senators Ken Miller and Tom Keating competed for the nomination. Brown was seen as the favorite in the primary but was attacked by Pat Davison for being 'liberal on taxes.' Brown was the only one of the candidates who refused to sign a pledge not to raise taxes as he said he wanted to keep all options open as Governor.[6]

An opinion poll in the run-up to the primary showed Brown and Davison level on 25%, Miller on 13% and Keating on 9%.[7] In the end Brown won the primary with 39% of the vote and called on the party to unite behind him.[8]

Candidate # of votes  % of votes
Bob Brown 43,145 39.2
Pat Davison 25,319 23.0
Ken Miller 24,313 22.1
Tom Keating 17,421 15.8

Source: 2004 statewide primary canvass - June 8, 2004

[edit] Campaign

In mid summer polls showed Schweitzer had a 10-point lead over Brown,[9] but by October the gap had closed to only 4 percent.[10]

Schweitzer campaigned with plans to lift Montana from its position at the bottom of all 50 states in wages. He called for new uses to be found for crops like mint and for small businesses to pool together in purchasing health care.[11] He also supported opening the border with Canada to allow consumers to get cheaper prescription drugs from Canada.[12]

Brown said that the Democrats harmed business growth and job creation.[13] He touted his government experience including 26 years in the Montana legislature and accused Schweitzer of taking hypocritical stands.[14]

Schweitzer won the election to become the first Democrat in 20 years to win an election for Governor.[14] According to the exit polls Schweitzer obtained two-thirds of the vote from over 65s and from independent voters.[15] This was despite President George Bush winning Montana very easily over John Kerry.

[edit] Election results

2004 gubernatorial election, Montana
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Brian Schweitzer 225,016 50.4 +3.3
Republican Bob Brown 205,313 46.0 -5.0
Green Bob Kelleher 8,393 1.9 +1.9
Libertarian Stanley Jones 7,424 1.7 -0.2
Majority 19,703 4.4
Turnout 446,146 69.9 +11.2
Democratic gain from Republican Swing

Source: 2004 Gubernatorial General Election Results - Montana

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Vincent adds zing to gubernatorial primary. Great Falls Tribune (2004-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-03-02.
  2. ^ Schweitzer to share ticket with Republican. Great Falls Tribune (2004-02-12). Retrieved on 2008-03-02.
  3. ^ Schweitzer electrifies Democrats. Great Falls Tribune (2004-06-13). Retrieved on 2008-03-02.
  4. ^ a b Montana election results 2004. The Washington Post. Retrieved on 2008-02-28.
  5. ^ More governors join exodus from statehouses. USA Today (2003-08-13). Retrieved on 2008-03-02.
  6. ^ Race quickly is turning into two-candidate spat. Great Falls Tribune (2004-05-18). Retrieved on 2008-03-02.
  7. ^ Volunteers making last-minute push in GOP governor's primary. Great Falls Tribune (2004-06-07). Retrieved on 2008-03-02.
  8. ^ Unified GOP may take some time. Great Falls Tribune (2004-06-12). Retrieved on 2008-03-02.
  9. ^ Racing for the Governor’s Mansions. National Review (2004-09-14). Retrieved on 2008-03-02.
  10. ^ Purple People Watch. The American Prospect (2004-10-08). Retrieved on 2008-03-02.
  11. ^ Montana Democrats Reflect on Success. New York Times (2004-11-14). Retrieved on 2008-03-02.
  12. ^ The Rockies. The Washington Post (2004-11-04). Retrieved on 2008-03-02.
  13. ^ Schweitzer wins Montana governorship. CNN (2004-11-03). Retrieved on 2008-03-02.
  14. ^ a b Schweitzer secures Montana governor's chair. USA Today (2004-11-03). Retrieved on 2008-03-02.
  15. ^ Bush makes most of Montana; Schweitzer cruises. USA Today (2004-11-01). Retrieved on 2008-03-02.