2000 Montana gubernatorial election

2000 Montana gubernatorial election
	November 7, 2000
Turnout	59.90%10.70
	County results; Martz: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90%; O'Keefe: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%
Governor before election; Marc Racicot; Republican	Elected Governor ; Judy Martz; Republican

The 2000 Montana gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 2000. Incumbent Governor of Montana Marc Racicot, who was first elected in 1992 and was re-elected in 1996, was unable to seek re-election due to term limits. Judy Martz, the Lieutenant Governor of Montana under Racicot for four years, won the Republican primary and advanced to the general election, where she faced Mark O'Keefe, the Montana State Auditor and Democratic nominee. Despite the fact that George W. Bush, the Republican nominee for president in 2000, won the state in a landslide, the race between Martz and O'Keefe was close. However, Martz managed to narrowly defeat him to win her first and only term as governor. This was the last time that a Republican was elected Governor of Montana until 2020, when Greg Gianforte was elected.^[2]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Mark O'Keefe, Montana State Auditor
Joseph Mazurek, Attorney General of Montana
Mike Cooney, Secretary of State of Montana

Results

Democratic Party primary results^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mark O'Keefe	46,294	48.04%
	Democratic	Joseph Mazurek	34,385	35.69%
	Democratic	Mike Cooney	15,677	16.27%
Total votes			96,356	100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

Judy Martz, Lieutenant Governor of Montana
Rob Natelson, conservative activist and constitutional law professor

Results

Republican Primary results^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Judy Martz	64,278	56.88%
	Republican	Rob Natelson	48,738	43.12%
Total votes			113,016	100.00%

General election

Debates

Complete video of debate, October 15, 2000

Results

Montana gubernatorial election, 2000^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Judy Martz	209,135	50.98%	−28.18%
	Democratic	Mark O'Keefe	193,131	47.08%	+26.25%
	Libertarian	Stan Jones	7,926	1.94%	N/A
Majority			16,004	3.90%	−54.43%
Turnout			410,192	100.00%	N/A
	Republican hold

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

Silver Bow (Largest city: Butte)
Deer Lodge (Largest city: Anaconda)
Missoula (Largest city: Missoula)
Cascade (largest city: Great Falls)
Lewis and Clark (largest city: Helena)
Rosebud (largest city: Colstrip)
Big Horn (largest city: Hardin)
Glacier (largest city: Cut Bank)
Roosevelt (largest city: Wolf Point)
Hill (largest city: Havre)
Blaine (largest city: Chinooko)

References

^ "Montana Voter Turnout". Montana Secretary of State. February 22, 2018. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
^ "GOP Rep. Greg Gianforte wins Montana governor's race |". The Hill. Archived from the original on November 4, 2020. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
^ ^a ^b "2000 Statewide Primary Canvass - June 6, 2000" (PDF). Montana Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 28, 2013. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
^ "2000 Statewide General Canvass – November 7, 2000" (PDF). Montana Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 28, 2013. Retrieved July 4, 2014.

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

[2] "GOP Rep. Greg Gianforte wins Montana governor's race |". The Hill. Archived from the original on November 4, 2020. Retrieved November 4, 2020.

[Primary_election_results-3] "2000 Statewide Primary Canvass - June 6, 2000" (PDF). Montana Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 28, 2013. Retrieved July 5, 2014.

[4] "2000 Statewide General Canvass – November 7, 2000" (PDF). Montana Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 28, 2013. Retrieved July 4, 2014.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

(1999 ←) 2000 United States elections (→ 2001)
President	2000 United States presidential election
U.S. Senate	Arizona California Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia (shadow) Florida Georgia (special) Hawaii Indiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Jersey New Mexico New York North Dakota Ohio Pennsylvania Rhode Island Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
U.S. House	Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia delegate shadow Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois 1st Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
State governors	Delaware Lt. Gov Indiana Missouri Lt. Gov New Hampshire North Carolina Lt. Gov North Dakota Utah Vermont Washington West Virginia
Attorneys General	North Carolina Pennsylvania Washington
State legislature	Arizona Arizona Senate California Assembly Senate Delaware House Senate Illinois House Senate Iowa Senate Minnesota House Senate Montana House New Mexico Senate North Carolina House Senate Pennsylvania House Senate Texas House West Virginia Senate Wyoming Senate
Mayors	Anchorage, AK Baton Rouge, LA Fort Lauderdale, FL Fresno, CA Irvine, CA Milwaukee, WI Orlando, FL Portland, OR Sacramento, CA San Diego, CA San Juan, PR Santa Ana, CA