1996 Montana gubernatorial election
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1996 Montana gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 1996. Incumbent Governor of Montana Marc Racicot, who was first elected in 1992, ran for re-election. After winning the Republican primary against conservative activist Rob Natelson, he moved on to the general election, where he was set to face Chet Blaylock, a former state senator and the Democratic nominee. However, on October 23, 1996, Blaylock died of a heart attack, and the Montana Democratic Party selected his running mate, State Senator Judy Jacobson, to replace him, and she therefore became both the gubernatorial nominee and the lieutenant gubernatorial nominee.[2] Ultimately, Racicot won re-election to his second and final term, winning more than 79% of votes and outperforming Republican nominee Bob Dole's victory margin in the concurrent presidential race by 55.6%. As of 2026, this is the largest gubernatorial victory in Montana State history.
.JPG)
 | ||||||||||||||||||||
November 5, 1996
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 70.60% 8.30[1] | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||||
 County results Racicot: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
As of 2026, this is the last time that the winning gubernatorial nominee carried all counties in Montana. This election was the first time since 1956 and the last until 2024 that an incumbent Republican governor of Montana was re-elected.
Democratic primary
Candidates
- Chet Blaylock, former state senator
- Bob Kelleher, perennial candidate
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Chet Blaylock | 55,120 | 74.61 | |
| Democratic | Bob Kelleher | 18,761 | 25.39 | |
| Total votes | 73,881 | 100.00 | ||
Note: Following Blaylock's death, Judy Jacobson, his running mate, was selected to replace him on the ballot as the Democratic nominee.[2]
Republican primary
Candidates
- Rob Natelson, conservative activist and constitutional law professor
- Marc Racicot, incumbent governor of Montana
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Marc Racicot (incumbent) | 92,644 | 76.37 | |
| Republican | Rob Natelson | 28,672 | 23.63 | |
| Total votes | 121,316 | 100.00 | ||
General election
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Marc Racicot (incumbent) | 320,768 | 79.17% | +27.82% | |
| Democratic | Judy Jacobson | 84,407 | 20.83% | −27.82% | |
| Majority | 236,361 | 58.34% | +55.64% | ||
| Turnout | 405,175 | ||||
| Republican hold | Swing | ||||
Results by county
| County | Marc Racicot Republican |
Judy Jacobson Democratic |
Margin | Total votes cast | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Beaverhead | 3,553 | 88.3% | 473 | 11.7% | 3,080 | 76.6% | 4,026 |
| Big Horn | 2,281 | 54.1% | 1,933 | 45.9% | 348 | 8.2% | 4,214 |
| Blaine | 1,930 | 67.5% | 928 | 32.5% | 1,002 | 35.0% | 2,858 |
| Broadwater | 1,665 | 84.7% | 301 | 15.3% | 1,364 | 69.4% | 1,966 |
| Carbon | 3,815 | 80.3% | 934 | 19.7% | 2,881 | 60.6% | 4,749 |
| Carter | 665 | 88.3% | 88 | 11.7% | 577 | 76.6% | 753 |
| Cascade | 28,511 | 81.0% | 6,684 | 19.0% | 21,827 | 62.0% | 35,195 |
| Chouteau | 2,713 | 86.3% | 430 | 13.7% | 2,283 | 72.6% | 3,143 |
| Custer | 4,315 | 80.4% | 1,049 | 19.6% | 3,266 | 60.8% | 5,364 |
| Daniels | 1,037 | 80.3% | 254 | 19.7% | 783 | 60.6% | 1,291 |
| Dawson | 3,781 | 80.8% | 897 | 19.2% | 2,884 | 61.6% | 4,678 |
| Deer Lodge | 3,458 | 70.0% | 1,484 | 30.0% | 1,974 | 40.0% | 4,942 |
| Fallon | 1,240 | 88.1% | 168 | 11.9% | 1,072 | 76.2% | 1,408 |
| Fergus | 5,064 | 84.3% | 940 | 15.7% | 4,124 | 68.6% | 6,004 |
| Flathead | 26,670 | 82.4% | 5,682 | 17.6% | 20,988 | 64.8% | 32,352 |
| Gallatin | 23,357 | 81.1% | 5,447 | 18.9% | 17,910 | 62.2% | 28,804 |
| Garfield | 682 | 91.9% | 60 | 8.1% | 622 | 83.8% | 742 |
| Glacier | 2,423 | 58.9% | 1,690 | 41.1% | 733 | 17.8% | 4,113 |
| Golden Valley | 427 | 87.5% | 61 | 12.5% | 366 | 75.0% | 488 |
| Granite | 1,195 | 85.8% | 198 | 14.2% | 997 | 71.6% | 1,393 |
| Hill | 5,239 | 73.5% | 1,892 | 26.5% | 3,347 | 47.0% | 7,131 |
| Jefferson | 3,952 | 82.5% | 836 | 17.5% | 3,116 | 65.0% | 4,788 |
| Judith Basin | 1,168 | 86.8% | 177 | 13.2% | 991 | 73.6% | 1,345 |
| Lake | 8,149 | 76.2% | 2,547 | 23.8% | 5,602 | 52.4% | 10,696 |
| Lewis and Clark | 21,668 | 80.8% | 5,135 | 19.2% | 16,533 | 61.6% | 26,803 |
| Liberty | 1,058 | 89.9% | 119 | 10.1% | 939 | 79.8% | 1,177 |
| Lincoln | 6,379 | 83.2% | 1,284 | 16.8% | 5,095 | 66.4% | 7,663 |
| Madison | 3,018 | 86.6% | 465 | 13.4% | 2,553 | 73.2% | 3,483 |
| McCone | 990 | 80.8% | 236 | 19.2% | 754 | 61.6% | 1,226 |
| Meagher | 821 | 88.7% | 105 | 11.3% | 716 | 77.4% | 926 |
| Mineral | 1,215 | 75.9% | 385 | 24.1% | 830 | 51.8% | 1,600 |
| Missoula | 32,877 | 74.2% | 11,426 | 25.8% | 21,451 | 48.4% | 44,303 |
| Musselshell | 1,755 | 84.2% | 329 | 15.8% | 1,426 | 68.4% | 2,084 |
| Park | 5,964 | 81.8% | 1,327 | 18.2% | 4,637 | 63.6% | 7,291 |
| Petroleum | 257 | 89.5% | 30 | 10.5% | 227 | 79.0% | 287 |
| Phillips | 2,209 | 88.0% | 301 | 12.0% | 1,908 | 76.0% | 2,510 |
| Pondera | 2,473 | 84.0% | 472 | 16.0% | 2,001 | 68.0% | 2,945 |
| Powder River | 893 | 87.4% | 129 | 12.6% | 764 | 74.8% | 1,022 |
| Powell | 2,293 | 81.4% | 525 | 18.6% | 1,768 | 62.8% | 2,818 |
| Prairie | 666 | 85.4% | 114 | 14.6% | 552 | 70.8% | 780 |
| Ravalli | 13,161 | 82.1% | 2,863 | 17.9% | 10,298 | 64.2% | 16,024 |
| Richland | 3,576 | 78.2% | 998 | 21.8% | 2,578 | 67.4% | 4,574 |
| Roosevelt | 2,416 | 61.1% | 1,535 | 38.9% | 881 | 22.2% | 3,951 |
| Rosebud | 2,674 | 71.1% | 1,089 | 28.9% | 1,585 | 42.2% | 3,763 |
| Sanders | 3,554 | 77.6% | 1,028 | 22.4% | 2,526 | 55.2% | 4,582 |
| Sheridan | 1,820 | 74.9% | 609 | 25.1% | 1,211 | 49.8% | 2,429 |
| Silver Bow | 11,876 | 67.1% | 5,813 | 32.9% | 6,063 | 34.2% | 17,689 |
| Stillwater | 3,243 | 84.0% | 620 | 16.0% | 2,623 | 68.0% | 3,863 |
| Sweet Grass | 1,562 | 87.5% | 223 | 12.5% | 1,339 | 75.0% | 1,785 |
| Teton | 2,858 | 86.6% | 442 | 13.4% | 2,416 | 73.2% | 3,300 |
| Toole | 2,044 | 82.7% | 429 | 17.3% | 1,615 | 65.4% | 2,473 |
| Treasure | 428 | 85.8% | 71 | 14.2% | 357 | 71.6% | 499 |
| Valley | 3,326 | 78.3% | 923 | 21.7% | 2,403 | 56.6% | 4,249 |
| Wheatland | 915 | 84.4% | 169 | 15.6% | 746 | 68.8% | 1,084 |
| Wibaux | 484 | 81.9% | 107 | 18.1% | 377 | 63.8% | 591 |
| Yellowstone | 45,005 | 81.9% | 9,953 | 18.1% | 35,052 | 63.8% | 54,958 |
| Totals | 320,768 | 79.2% | 84,407 | 20.8% | 236,361 | 58.4% | 405,175 |
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican