2020 Montana Secretary of State election

See also: 2020 United States secretary of state elections

Main article: 2020 Montana elections

2020 Montana Secretary of State election

November 3, 2020

Nominee Christi Jacobsen Bryce Bennett Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 352,939 239,617 Percentage 59.6% 40.4%

County results Precinct results Jacobsen:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Bennett:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%      No data

Secretary of State before election Corey Stapleton Republican Elected Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen Republican

The 2020 Montana Secretary of State election was held on November 3, 2020, to elect the secretary of state of the U.S. state of Montana. Incumbent Republican Montana Secretary of State Corey Stapleton was elected in 2016 with 55.5% of the vote.^[1] Stapleton announced he would not seek re-election, instead running unsuccessfully in the Republican primary for the open U.S. House seat in Montana.^[2]

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Christi Jacobsen, chief of staff to Montana Secretary of State Corey Stapleton^[3]

Eliminated in primary

• Bowen Greenwood, clerk for the Montana State Supreme Court^[4]
• Brad Johnson, Montana Public Service Commissioner and former Montana Secretary of State (2005–2009)^[5]
• Kurt Johnson^[5]
• Forrest Mandeville, state representative^[6]
• Scott Sales, president of the Montana State Senate^[7]

Declined

• Corey Stapleton, incumbent Montana Secretary of State^[2]

Results

Primary results by county:

  Jacobsen

•   20–30%
•   30–40%

  Sales

•   20–30%
•   30–40%
•   40–50%
•   50–60%

  Johnson

•   20–30%
•   30–40%

  Mandeville

•   60–70%

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Christi Jacobsen	57,941	29.4%
	Republican	Scott Sales	49,759	25.3%
	Republican	Brad Johnson	45,526	23.1%
	Republican	Forrest Mandeville	20,318	10.3%
	Republican	Bowen Greenwood	14,080	7.1%
	Republican	Kurt Johnson	9,346	4.7%
Total votes			196,970	100.0%

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

• Bryce Bennett, state senator^[8]

Results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bryce Bennett	130,109	100.0%
Total votes			130,109	100.0%

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[9]	Lean R	June 25, 2020

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Christi Jacobsen (R)	Bryce Bennett (D)	Undecided
Bryce Bennett[10]	Released August 20–26, 2020	–[a]	± 4.4%	39%	36%	22%

Results

Montana Secretary of State election, 2020^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Christi Jacobsen	352,939	59.56%
	Democratic	Bryce Bennett	239,617	40.44%
Total votes			592,556	100.00%
	Republican hold

See also

• 2020 Montana elections
• 2020 United States presidential election in Montana
• 2020 Montana gubernatorial election
• 2020 United States Senate election in Montana
• 2020 United States House of Representatives election in Montana

References

1. "2016GeneralStatewideCanvass.pdf" (PDF). Montana Secretary of State. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
2. Drake, Phil (June 15, 2019). "Stapleton announces run for U.S. House seat". Great Falls Tribune. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
3. "Montana secretary of state aide files to run for boss's job". Helena Independent Record. October 8, 2019. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
4. Michiels, Holly K. (November 5, 2019). "Greenwood running for secretary of state". Helena Independent Record. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
5. Lutey, Tom (March 9, 2020). "Montana's PSC chairman running again for secretary of state". Billings Gazette.
6. "Rep. Forrest Mandeville running for Montana secretary of state". Helena Independent Record. Associated Press. July 31, 2019. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
7. Michiels, Holly K. (March 18, 2019). "State Senate president Scott Sales announces bid for secretary of state in 202". Helena Independent Record. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
8. Michels, Holly K. (May 29, 2019). "State Sen. Bryce Bennett running for Montana secretary of state". Helena Independent Record. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
9. "An Updated Look at Handicapping the 2020 Secretary of State Elections". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
10. Bryce Bennett
11. "Montana Statewide Election Results". Montana Secretary of State. November 3, 2020. Retrieved November 18, 2020.

Notes

1. Not yet released

External links

Official campaign websites

• Bryce Bennett (D) for Secretary of State Archived 2020-09-13 at the Wayback Machine
• Christi Jacobsen (R) for Secretary of State