Elections in Montana

United States presidential election results for Montana^[1]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	343,602	56.92%	244,786	40.55%	15,286	2.53%
2016	279,240	55.65%	177,709	35.41%	44,873	8.94%
2012	267,928	55.30%	201,839	41.66%	14,717	3.04%
2008	243,882	49.49%	232,159	47.11%	16,709	3.39%
2004	266,063	59.07%	173,710	38.56%	10,672	2.37%
2000	240,178	58.44%	137,126	33.36%	33,693	8.20%
1996	179,652	44.11%	167,922	41.23%	59,687	14.66%
1992	144,207	35.12%	154,507	37.63%	111,897	27.25%
1988	190,412	52.07%	168,936	46.20%	6,326	1.73%
1984	232,450	60.47%	146,742	38.18%	5,185	1.35%
1980	206,814	56.82%	118,032	32.43%	39,106	10.74%
1976	173,703	52.84%	149,259	45.40%	5,772	1.76%
1972	183,976	57.93%	120,197	37.85%	13,430	4.23%
1968	138,835	50.60%	114,117	41.59%	21,452	7.82%
1964	113,032	40.57%	164,246	58.95%	1,350	0.48%
1960	141,841	51.10%	134,891	48.60%	847	0.31%
1956	154,933	57.13%	116,238	42.87%	0	0.00%
1952	157,394	59.39%	106,213	40.07%	1,430	0.54%
1948	96,770	43.15%	119,071	53.09%	8,437	3.76%
1944	93,163	44.93%	112,556	54.28%	1,636	0.79%
1940	99,579	40.17%	145,698	58.78%	2,596	1.05%
1936	63,598	27.59%	159,690	69.28%	7,224	3.13%
1932	78,078	36.07%	127,286	58.80%	11,115	5.13%
1928	113,300	58.37%	78,578	40.48%	2,230	1.15%
1924	74,138	42.50%	33,805	19.38%	66,480	38.11%
1920	109,430	61.13%	57,372	32.05%	12,204	6.82%
1916	66,750	37.57%	101,063	56.88%	9,866	5.55%
1912	18,512	23.19%	27,941	35.00%	33,373	41.81%
1908	32,333	46.98%	29,326	42.61%	7,163	10.41%
1904	34,932	54.21%	21,773	33.79%	7,739	12.01%
1900	25,409	39.79%	37,311	58.43%	1,136	1.78%
1896	10,509	19.71%	42,628	79.93%	193	0.36%
1892	18,871	42.44%	17,690	39.79%	7,900	17.77%

Montana became a territory May 28, 1864 and the first delegation created nine counties: Beaverhead, Big Horn (renamed Custer in 1877), Chouteau, Deer Lodge, Gallatin, Jefferson, Edgerton (renamed Lewis and Clark in 1867), Madison, and Missoula. Montana became a state on November 8, 1889.

Montana has a history of voters splitting their tickets and filling elected offices with individuals from both parties. Through the mid-20th century, the state had a tradition of "sending the liberals to Washington and the conservatives to Helena". Between 1988 and 2006, the pattern flipped, with voters more likely to elect conservatives to federal offices. There have also been long-term shifts in party control. From 1968 through 1988, the state was dominated by the Democratic Party, with Democratic governors for a 20-year period, and a Democratic majority of both the national congressional delegation and during many sessions of the state legislature. This pattern shifted, beginning with the 1988 election when Montana elected a Republican governor for the first time since 1964 and sent a Republican to the U.S. Senate for the first time since 1948. This shift continued with the reapportionment of the state's legislative districts that took effect in 1994, when the Republican Party took control of both chambers of the state legislature, consolidating a Republican party dominance that lasted until the 2004 reapportionment produced more swing districts and a brief period of Democratic legislative majorities in the mid-2000s.

Montana has voted for the Republican nominee in all but two presidential elections since 1952.^[2] The state last supported a Democrat for president in 1992, when Bill Clinton won a plurality victory. However, since 1889 the state has voted for Democratic governors 60 percent of the time, and Republican governors 40 percent of the time. In the 2008 presidential election, Montana was considered a swing state and was ultimately won by Republican John McCain by a narrow margin of two percent.

In a 2020 study, Montana was ranked as the 21st easiest state for citizens to vote in.^[3]

1890s

Included representatives from additional territorial counties: Meagher (1866), Dawson (1869), Silver Bow (1881), Yellowstone (1883), Fergus (1885), Park (1887), and Cascade (1887)