2012 United States House of Representatives election in Montana

The 2012 congressional election in Montana was held on November 6, 2012, to determine who would represent the state of Montana in the United States House of Representatives. Montana has one seat in the House, apportioned according to the 2010 United States Census. Incumbent Denny Rehberg did not run for reelection, choosing instead to run for the seat in the U.S. Senate.[1] A primary election was held on June 5, 2012.[2] Republican businessman Steve Daines won the open seat.

2012 United States House of Representatives election in Montana

November 6, 2012

Nominee Steve Daines Kim Gillan Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 255,468 204,939 Percentage 53.3% 42.7%

County results Daines:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Gillan:      50–60%      60–70%

U.S. Representative before election Denny Rehberg Republican Elected U.S. Representative Steve Daines Republican

Montana's at-large congressional district

Republican primary

Candidates

• Eric Brosten, author and engineer[3]
• Steve Daines, businessman and nominee for Lieutenant Governor in 2008[4]
• Vincent Melkus, student at Colorado Mesa University and former Marine[5]

Withdrawn

• John Abarr, Ku Klux Klan member[6]

Hypothetical polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	John Abarr	Steve Daines	Other	Undecided
Public Policy Polling	June 16–19, 2011	382	± 5.0%	14%	22%	—	64%

Results

Republican primary results[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Steve Daines	82,843	71.2
	Republican	Eric Brosten	21,012	18.1
	Republican	Vincent Melkus	12,420	10.7
Total votes			116,275	100.0

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Kim Gillan, state senator from Billings[8]
• Sam Rankin, real estate salesman and candidate for the at-large House seat in 2010[9]
• Diane Smith, businesswoman[10]
• Dave Strohmaier, Missoula city council member[11]
• Rob Stutz, attorney[12]
• Jason Ward, farmer and construction manager for the Crow Nation[13]
• Franke Wilmer, state representative from Bozeman[14]

Declined to run

• Melinda Gopher, writer and candidate for the at-large House seat in 2010[15]
• Brian Schweitzer, Governor of Montana[16][17]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Kim Gillan	Sam Rankin	Diane Smith	Dave Strohmaier	Rob Stutz	Jason Ward	Franke Wilmer	Undecided
Public Policy Polling	April 26–29, 2012	332	± 5.4%	21%	4%	13%	9%	1%	0%	11%	41%

Results

Democratic primary results[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kim Gillan	25,077	31.0
	Democratic	Franke Wilmer	14,836	18.4
	Democratic	Diane Smith	12,618	15.6
	Democratic	Dave Strohmaier	11,366	14.1
	Democratic	Sam Rankin	9,382	11.6
	Democratic	Jason Ward	4,959	6.1
	Democratic	Rob Stutz	2,586	3.2
Total votes			80,824	100.0

General election

Candidates

• Steve Daines (R), businessman
• Kim Gillan (D), state Senator
• David Kaiser (Libertarian)[18]

General election

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Steve Daines (R)	Kim Gillan (D)	Other	Undecided
Mason-Dixon	September 17–19, 2012	625	± 4.0%	46%	38%	2%	14%
Public Policy Polling	September 10–11, 2012	656	± 3.8%	40%	37%	9%	15%
Public Policy Polling	April 26–29, 2012	934	± 3.2%	33%	27%	—	40%
Public Policy Polling	June 16–19, 2011	819	± 3.4%	35%	27%	—	38%

Results

Montana's at-large congressional district, 2012[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Steve Daines	255,468	53.25%	-7.16%
	Democratic	Kim Gillan	204,939	42.72%	+8.88%
	Libertarian	David Kaiser	19,333	4.03%	-1.71%
Total votes			479,740	100.0%	N/A
	Republican hold

References

1. Johnson, Charles S. (February 5, 2011). "It's official: Rehberg says he's taking on Tester". Billings Gazette. Retrieved February 5, 2011.
2. "Montana 2012 Primary and General Election Calendar" (PDF). Secretary of State Linda McCulloch. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 10, 2011. Retrieved August 16, 2011.
3. Johnson, Charles S. (February 2, 2012). "Star Wars is top issue for GOP House candidate". Billings Gazette. Retrieved February 7, 2012.
4. Slate, Judy (February 3, 2011). "Bozeman's Steve Daines comments on switching from Senate to House race". KXLF.com. Archived from the original on July 13, 2011. Retrieved June 1, 2011.
5. Johnson, Charles S. (March 6, 2012). "Ex-Marine from Hardin files for Montana's U.S. House seat". Missoulian. Retrieved March 11, 2012.
6. "Republican Mont. candidate for Congress with KKK ties drops out due to lack of support". The Washington Post. October 5, 2011. Retrieved October 15, 2011.
7. https://sosmt.gov/wp-content/uploads/attachments/2012_PRIMARY_STATEWIDE_CANVASS.PDF
8. Banks, Marnee (June 21, 2011). "Kim Gillan enters Democratic race for US House". KAJ18.com. Archived from the original on March 21, 2012. Retrieved June 21, 2011.
9. "Billings real estate agent Rankin joins U.S. House race as Demo". Independent Record. March 9, 2012. Retrieved March 11, 2012.
10. Dennison, Mike (November 3, 2011). "Whitefish businesswoman becomes 5th Democrat in U.S. House race". Billings Gazette. Retrieved November 11, 2011.
11. Weller, Allyson (June 18, 2011). "Strohmaier announces run for Congress". KPAX. Archived from the original on June 23, 2011. Retrieved June 20, 2011.
12. Banks, Marnee (August 10, 2011). "Helena attorney Rob Stutz announces run for US House". KRTV. Archived from the original on September 29, 2011. Retrieved August 16, 2011.
13. Johnson, Charles S. (January 20, 2012). "Crow tribal member files as Democrat for U.S. House seat". Missoulian. Retrieved January 25, 2012.
14. Banks, Marnee (February 1, 2011). "Wilmer of Bozeman announces U.S. House bid". KRTV.com. Archived from the original on July 13, 2011. Retrieved June 1, 2011.
15. "Gopher not running for Congress; she sets eye on Senate in 2014". Independent Record. March 14, 2012. Retrieved March 15, 2012.
16. Drucker, David M. (June 9, 2011). "Could Schweitzer Challenge Baucus in 2014?". Roll Call. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
17. Johnson, Charles S. (July 28, 2011). "Schweitzer says his future isn't in Congress". Billings Gazette. Retrieved August 2, 2011.
18. Dennison, Mike (March 13, 2012). "Filing deadline: Busy day precedes busy election season". Independent Record. Retrieved March 15, 2012.
19. "2012 General Canvass" (PDF). Retrieved 2019-02-23.

External links

• Elections at the Montana Secretary of State
• United States House of Representatives elections in Montana, 2012 at Ballotpedia
• Montana U.S. House at OurCampaigns.com
• Campaign contributions for U.S. Congressional races in Montana at OpenSecrets.org
• Outside spending at the Sunlight Foundation

Campaign websites

• Steve Daines campaign website
• Kim Gillan campaign website
• David Kaiser campaign website