2008 United States presidential election in Montana
Bill Clinton's victory in 1992 and near miss in 1996 were attributed to Ross Perot's strong third party candidacy in 1992 and 1996, the only other elections since 1964 when Montana was decided by under 5%.Here are their last predictions before election day: Although Republican George W. Bush of Texas carried Montana by double digits in both 2000 and 2004, polls taken throughout July indicated a close race between Republican John McCain of Arizona and Democrat Barack Obama of Illinois.When Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska was announced as McCain's running mate in late August, however, McCain took a double-digit lead in the state that lasted until the middle of October, when polling once again showed the two candidates within striking distance of each other in the state.Students in Missoula County, which is home to the University of Montana, helped him win a three-to-two margin there.In the southwest, Obama won more than 65% of the vote in Deer Lodge County and Silver Bow County—Democratic strongholds which have voted Republican only twice since 1912; Obama also became the first Democratic presidential nominee to win Gallatin County, home to Bozeman, since Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1944.The Montana Constitution Party ran libertarian-leaning Republican U.S. Representative Ron Paul of Texas on their line (against his wishes), winning 2.17% of the vote in Montana, which was the highest statewide percentage total for any third-party candidate in the 2008 presidential election.During the same election, incumbent Democratic Governor Brian Schweitzer was reelected to a second term in a landslide over Republican Roy Brown and Libertarian Stan Jones.At the state level, however, Republicans picked up three seats in the Montana Senate and gained control of the chamber.
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Democratic
Hold
Gain from Republican
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Republican
Hold
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2008 United States presidential electionUnited States presidential electionJohn McCainBarack ObamaRepublicanDemocraticArizonaIllinoisSarah PalinJoe BidenGeorge W. BushElections in MontanaFederal governmentPresidential electionsPresidential primariesU.S. Senate elections1895 sp1901 sp1934 spU.S. House of Representatives elections2nd spState governmentGubernatorial electionsSecretary of State electionsAttorney General electionsState Auditor electionsSenate electionsHouse of Representatives electionsBallot measuresCapital referendumInitiative 96Referendum 121Initiative 182Initiative 190Referendum 131Initiative 128BillingsMayoral electionsMissoulaGreat FallsBozemanHelenaElectoral Collegepresidentvice presidentMontanaMissouriNorth CarolinaIndianabellwether stateBill ClintonRoss Perot'sthird party2008 Montana Democratic presidential primary2008 Montana Republican presidential caucuses and primaryGovernorAlaska2004 electionGeorge H. W. BushMissoula CountyDeer Lodge CountySilver Bow CountyGallatin CountyFranklin D. RooseveltNative AmericanslibertarianU.S. RepresentativeRon PaulBrian SchweitzerreelectedRoy BrownMax Baucusperennial candidateBob KelleherMontana SenateSecretary of State2020 presidential electionLake CountyCascade CountyRosebud CountyLewis and Clark CountyMineralSheridanConstitutionMichael PeroutkaIndependentRalph NaderMatt GonzalezBob BarrWayne Allyn Root(write-in)Write-in candidatesChuck BaldwinCynthia McKinneyRosa ClementeBeaverheadBig HornBlaineBroadwaterCarbonCarterCascadeChouteauCusterDanielsDawsonDeer LodgeFallonFergusFlatheadGallatinGarfieldGlacierGolden ValleyGraniteJeffersonJudith BasinLewis and ClarkLibertyLincolnMadisonMcConeMeagherMusselshellPetroleumPhillips