Montana Secretary of State election, 2016

Montana 2016 elections

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Montana Secretary of State Election

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Primary Date:
June 7, 2016
General Election Date:
November 8, 2016

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November Election Winner:
Corey Stapleton (R)
Incumbent Prior to Election:
Linda McCulloch (D)

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State Executive Elections Top Ballot
Governor • Lt. Governor
Secretary of State • Attorney General
Down Ballot
Commissioner of Securities and Insurance, Auditor • Superintendent • Montana Public Service Commission, districts 2, 3 & 4
Key election dates

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Filing deadline:
March 14, 2016
Petition deadline (third parties and independents):
May 31, 2016
Filing deadline (third parties and independents):
June 6, 2016
Primary date:
June 7, 2016
General election date:
November 8, 2016
Recount request deadline:
TBD
Inauguration:
January 2, 2017

Montana held an election for secretary of state on November 8, 2016. Republican Corey Stapleton won the seat, which had previously been controlled by Democrats.

HIGHLIGHTS

* Incumbent Linda McCulloch (D) was prevented from running for re-election by term limits.

* State Auditor Monica Lindeen (D), former state Senator Corey Stapleton (R), and professor Roger Roots (Lib.) were all unopposed in their parties' primaries and competed in the November 8 general election.

* Stapleton won the general election on November 8, 2016.

## Contents

* 1 Overview
* 2 Candidates
* 3 Results
* 3.1 General election
* 3.2 Primary elections
* 3.2.1 Republican primary contest
* 3.2.2 Democratic primary contest
* 3.2.3 Libertarian primary contest
* 4 Context of the 2016 election
* 4.1 Primary elections
* 4.2 Incumbent Linda McCulloch (D)
* 4.3 Party control in Montana
* 5 Campaigns
* 5.1 Campaign finance
* 5.2 Campaign media
* 6 About the office
* 7 Incumbent
* 8 Authority
* 9 Qualifications
* 10 Past elections
* 10.1 2012
* 11 Recent news
* 11.1 State profile
* 11.1.1 Presidential voting pattern
* 11.1.1.1 Pivot Counties (2016)
* 11.1.1.2 Pivot Counties (2020)
* 11.2 See also
* 11.3 External links
* 11.4 Footnotes

## Overview[edit]

Secretaries of state are the administrative officers of state governments. Montana's office of the secretary of state has tended to alternate party hands every one or two officeholders since the early 1900s. At the time of this election, Montana had a divided government and also had a history of electing both parties to the U.S. Congress, though the state favored Republican presidential candidates.

Major party candidates Monica Lindeen and Corey Stapleton were nearly tied in fundraising as of the end-of-May filing. Stapleton won the general election on November 8, 2016.

## Candidates[edit]

Monica Lindeen (D)
Incumbent state auditor since 2009

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Corey Stapleton (R)
Nonprofit president, former state senator

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Roger Roots (Lib.)
Assistant professor, Jarvis Christian College since 2012

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## Results[edit]

### General election[edit]

Corey Stapleton defeated Monica Lindeen and Roger Roots in the Montana secretary of state election.

Montana Secretary of State, 2016

Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes
| Republican  |  Corey Stapleton | 55.49% | 277,473
| Democratic  | Monica Lindeen | 40.97% | 204,861
| Libertarian  | Roger Roots | 3.54% | 17,687
Total Votes | 500,021
Source: Montana Secretary of State

### Primary elections[edit]

#### Republican primary contest[edit]

Corey Stapleton ran unopposed in the Montana Republican primary for secretary of state.

Montana Republican primary for secretary of state, 2016

Candidate | Vote % | Votes
Corey Stapleton (unopposed) | 100.00% | 137,252
Total Votes (686 of 686 precincts reporting) | 137,252
Source: Montana Secretary of State

#### Democratic primary contest[edit]

Monica Lindeen ran unopposed in the Montana Democratic primary for secretary of state.

Montana Democratic primary for secretary of state, 2016

Candidate | Vote % | Votes
Monica Lindeen (unopposed) | 100.00% | 111,525
Total Votes (686 of 686 precincts reporting) | 111,525
Source: Montana Secretary of State

#### Libertarian primary contest[edit]

Roger Roots ran unopposed in the Montana Libertarian primary for secretary of state.

Montana Libertarian primary for secretary of state, 2016

Candidate
Roger Roots
Source: Montana Secretary of State

## Context of the 2016 election[edit]

### Primary elections[edit]

A primary election is an election in which voters select the candidate they believe should represent a political party in a general election. Primaries usually take place several months before a general election. Montana utilizes an open primary system, in which registered voters do not have to be members of a party to vote in that party's primary.[1][2][3]

Montana's primary elections took place on June 7, 2016.

### Incumbent Linda McCulloch (D)[edit]

Linda McCulloch was elected secretary of state in 2008, narrowly defeating Republican Brad Johnson by a margin of one percent. She won re-election to the position in 2012 again beating Johnson, this time by six percent. Prior to her tenure as secretary of state, McCulloch served as superintendent of public instruction from 2001-2009, and in the House of Representatives from 1995-2001. She was prevented from running for re-election in 2016 due to term limits.

Before she entered politics, McCulloch worked first as an elementary teacher then as the school librarian.

### Party control in Montana[edit]

Going into the 2016 election, Montana had a divided government since 2005, which was preceded by a nine-year Republican trifecta. Republicans controlled the state legislature, while a Democrat held the governorship. In recent years, Republican candidates had consistently managed to win statewide offices. Most recently, in 2014, Steve Daines (R) defeated Kim Gillan (D) by a 10-point margin in the open U.S. Senate election, and Ryan Zinke (R) defeated John Lewis (D) by a 15-point margin in the open race for Montana's at-large seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.[4]

The state had gone to Republican presidential contenders for the last ten presidential elections with the exception of 1992, when Montana's electoral votes went to Bill Clinton.[5] However, Montana tends to elect both Democratic and Republican candidates to the U.S. Congress. Control of the state's executive offices was nearly equally distributed among the two parties.

The office of the Montana secretary of state has tended to change party hands every one to two officeholders since the turn of the 20th century. Prior to McCulloch's election in 2008, Republicans Bob Brown and Brad Johnson served from 2001-2005 and 2005-2009, respectively. Lieutenant Governor Mike Cooney (D) held the office from 1989 until 2001; Republicans had controlled the office for eight years prior.

## Campaigns[edit]

### Campaign finance[edit]

Monica Lindeen Campaign Finance Reports

Report| Date Filed| Beginning Balance| Total Contributions
for Reporting Period| Expenditures| Cash on Hand
3/28/2016 - 4/26/2016| 5/23/2016| $72,179.38| $11,328.33| $(1,639.43)| $81,868.28
4/27/2016 - 5/18/2016| 5/23/2016| $81,868.28| $5,433.33| $(255.61)| $87,046
| | | Running totals|
| | | $16,761.66| $(1,895.04)|
Corey Stapleton Campaign Finance Reports

Report| Date Filed| Beginning Balance| Total Contributions
for Reporting Period| Expenditures| Cash on Hand
3/28/2016 - 4/26/2016| 5/1/2016| $63,384.23| $5,755| $(4,631.99)| $64,507.24
4/27/2016 - 5/18/2016| 5/23/2016| $64,507.24| $13,037.24| $(2,409.79)| $75,134.45
| | | Running totals|
| | | $18,792.24| $(7,041.78)|

### Campaign media[edit]

Note: If a candidate is not listed below, Ballotpedia staff were unable to locate any campaign media for that candidate. Do you know of any? Tell us!

Democrats

| Monica Lindeen (D)  |

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Republicans

| Corey Stapleton (R)  |

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Libertarians

Roger Roots (Lib.)  |

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## About the office[edit]

The secretary of state for Montana is one of the elected constitutional officers of the executive branch of the U.S. state of Montana. The secretary of state is the keeper of the Montana state seal, and also serves on the Montana Board of Land Commissioners, which administers school trust lands.[6]

Quick facts about Secretaries of State

* Twenty-six states held secretary of state elections in the 2014 electoral cycle.
* In 2013 the annual salaries for secretaries of state ranged from $54,305 (Arkansas) to $190,260 (Tennessee).[7]

# Incumbent[edit]

The incumbent was Linda McCulloch (D). She was first elected to the statewide position in 2008 and won re-election in 2012.[8]

# Authority[edit]

The state Constitution addresses the office of secretary of state in Article VI, the Executive Department.

Under Article VI, Section I:

The executive branch includes a governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state...

# Qualifications[edit]

A candidate for secretary of state must be:

* at least 25 years of age or older at the time of election
* a citizen of the United States
* have resided within the state at least two years at his election

# Past elections[edit]

### 2012[edit]

See also: Montana secretary of state election, 2012

Incumbent Linda McCulloch (D) successfully won re-election, defeating Brad Johnson (R) and Roger Roots (L) in the November 6, 2012 general election.

Montana Secretary of State General Election, 2012

Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes
| Democratic  | Linda McCulloch Incumbent | 51.4% | 245,024
| Republican  |  Brad Johnson  | 45.1% | 214,976
| Libertarian  |  Roger Roots  | 3.5% | 16,622
Total Votes | 476,622
Election results via Montana Secretary of State

# Recent news[edit]

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Montana secretary of state election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Montana Secretary of State election, 2016 - Google News

## State profile[edit]

Demographic data for Montana

| Montana| U.S.
Total population:| 1,032,073| 316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):| 145,546| 3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:| 89.2%| 73.6%
Black/African American:| 0.5%| 12.6%
Asian:| 0.7%| 5.1%
Native American:| 6.5%| 0.8%
Pacific Islander:| 0.1%| 0.2%
Two or more:| 2.5%| 3%
Hispanic/Latino:| 3.3%| 17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:| 92.8%| 86.7%
College graduation rate:| 29.5%| 29.8%
Income
Median household income:| $47,169| $53,889
Persons below poverty level:| 17%| 11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015)
Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Montana.

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**Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

### Presidential voting pattern[edit]

See also: Presidential voting trends in Montana

Montana voted Republican in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.

#### Pivot Counties (2016)

Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, three are located in Montana, accounting for 1.46 percent of the total pivot counties.[9]

#### Pivot Counties (2020)

In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Montana had two Retained Pivot Counties and one Boomerang Pivot County, accounting for 1.10 and 4.00 percent of all Retained and Boomerang Pivot Counties, respectively.

More Montana coverage on Ballotpedia

* Elections in Montana
* United States congressional delegations from Montana
* Public policy in Montana
* Endorsers in Montana
* Montana fact checks
* More...

## See also[edit]

Montana government:

* Montana state executive offices
* Montana State Legislature
* Montana courts

Previous elections:

* State executive official elections, 2015
* State executive official elections, 2014

Ballotpedia exclusives:

* State executives compensation
* State of the state addresses
* Who runs the states?

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## External links[edit]

| Suggest a link

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* Office of the Montana Secretary of State
* About the office of the Montana Secretary of State

## Footnotes[edit]

1. ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures Website, "State Primary Election Types," accessed January 6, 2014
2. ↑ Fair Vote, "Congressional and Presidential Primaries: Open, Closed, Semi-Closed, and 'Top Two,'" accessed January 6, 2014
3. ↑ Ballotpedia research conducted December 26, 2013, through January 3, 2014, researching and analyzing various state websites and codes.
4. ↑ Montana Secretary of State, "2014 Election center," accessed August 21, 2015
5. ↑ 270 to win, "Montana," accessed May 30, 2016
6. ↑ Montana Secretary of State, "About the Office" accessed January 17, 2013
7. ↑ Council of State Governments, "Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries," February 18, 2014
8. ↑ Montana Secretary of State Office, "Biography" accessed January 17, 2013
9. ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.

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