# 2017 Montana's at-large congressional district special election

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vte :
In Montana, an at-large congressional district special election was held on May 25, 2017, to determine the member of the United States House of Representatives for Montana's at-large congressional district. The election was necessitated by incumbent Republican Representative Ryan Zinke's appointment as United States Secretary of the Interior. Zinke resigned on March 1, 2017, upon his confirmation.
Montana's state law required the governor of Montana to call for a special election to be held no less than 85 and no more than 100 days after the vacancy. Governor Steve Bullock declared a special election to take place on May 25, the earliest possible day he was legally allowed to choose.
The Democratic, Republican, Libertarian, and Green Parties held nominating conventions to decide their nominee. The day before the election, Gianforte assaulted a reporter and was charged with misdemeanor assault. At around 10:30pm MST, the election was called for Gianforte after 77% of the votes were counted.

## Republican Party

The Republican Party nominated a candidate at a convention on March 6.

### Nominated

* Greg Gianforte, founder of RightNow Technologies and nominee for governor in 2016

### Eliminated at convention

* Edward Buttrey, state senator
* Carl Glimm, state representative
* Ken Miller, former state senator, former chair of the Montana Republican Party and candidate for governor in 2012
* Samuel Redfern, nonprofit executive
* Dean Rehbein, contractor
* Ed Walker, former state senator

### Withdrawn

* Eugene Graf, businessman
* Drew Turiano, real estate agent and perennial candidate

### Declined

* Gary Carlson, publisher of the White Hat Express
* Russell Fagg, Yellowstone County District Judge
* Matthew Rosendale, state auditor and candidate for this seat in 2014
* Scott Sales, president of the State Senate
* Richard B. Spencer, president of the National Policy Institute
* Daniel Zolnikov, state representative

### Results

Republican Convention :
| Candidate | First ballot | Pct. |
| Greg Gianforte | 150.5 | 61% |
| Others | 94.5 | 39% |

## Democratic Party

The Democratic Party selected a nominee at a convention on March 5.
The Bozeman Daily Chronicle from February 4 to 8 conducted a straw poll of Democratic delegates. Of 89 delegates who responded, Rob Quist was selected by 37, Amanda Curtis by 30, Kelly McCarthy by 13, 9 were undecided, and zero selected John Meyer or other.

### Nominated

* Rob Quist, musician, former spokesman and advocate for the Montana Food Bank, and former member of the Montana Arts Council

### Eliminated at convention

* Amanda Curtis, state representative and nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2014
* Kelly McCarthy, state representative
* John Meyer, attorney and executive director of the Cottonwood Environmental Law Center
* Lee "Link" Neimark, ski instructor and small business owner
* Gary Stein, teacher and candidate for the state house in 2008
* Thomas Weida, retired businessman
* Dan West, former aide to Senators Max Baucus and Mark Udall and former appointee to NASA

### Declined

* Zeno Baucus, Assistant U.S. Attorney and son of former U.S. Senator Max Baucus
* Larry Jent, former state senator
* Denise Juneau, former superintendent of public instruction and candidate for this seat in 2016
* Casey Schreiner, state representative

### Endorsements (primary)

* Robyn Driscoll, Yellowstone County Commissioner and former state senator
* Cliff Larsen, former state senator
* John Rogers, former Montana Chief Business Development Officer
Imdividuals
* Dorothy Bradley, former state representative and nominee for governor in 1992
* John Morrison, former state auditor
* Brian Schweitzer, former governor
* Jonathan Windy Boy, state representative and former state senator
Organizations
* Our Revolution, progressive political action organization spun out of Senator Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign
* Reggie Watts, comedian and musician

### Results

Democratic Convention :
| Candidate | First ballot | Pct. | Second ballot | Pct. | Third ballot | Pct. | Fourth ballot | Pct. |
| Rob Quist | 57 | 36% | 62 | 39% | 72 | 45% | 90 | 57% |
| Amanda Curtis | 39 | 25% | 48 | 30% | 57 | 36% | 69 | 43% |
| Kelly McCarthy | 38 | 24% | 42 | 26% | 31 | 19% | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| Dan West | 17 | 11% | 8 | 5% | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| Others | 7 | 4% | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated |

## Libertarian Party

The Libertarian Party Convention on March 11, 2017, was held at Eagle's Lodge in Helena, Montana.
The following county affiliate parties were represented at the convention:
* Gallatin County
* Flathead County
* Park County
* Missoula County
* Ravalli County
* Lake County
* Yellowstone County
* Broadwater County
* Lewis and Clark County
* Hill County
Officers of the Montana Libertarian Party and delegates from the assembled counties had voting rights.

### Nominated

* Mark Wicks, author, rancher and fruit salesman

### Eliminated at convention

* Chris Colvin, retired masonry contractor and writer
* Evan Gardner, small business owner
* Nathan McKenty
* Dan Nelson, IT administrator
* Joe Paschal, rancher and businessman
* Rufus Peace, accounting analyst
* James White, Uber driver

### Withdrawn

* Rick Breckenridge, land surveyor

### Results

Libertarian Convention :
| Candidate | First ballot | Pct. | Second ballot | Pct. | Third ballot | Pct. |
| Mark Wicks | 3 | 19% | 5 | 29% | 9 | 56% |
| Joe Paschal | 5 | 31% | 6 | 35% | 7 | 44% |
| Evan Gardner | 3 | 19% | 3 | 18% | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| Rufus Peace | 3 | 19% | 3 | 18% | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| Dan Nelson | 1 | 6% | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| Chris Colvin | 0 | 0% | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| Nathan McKenty | 0 | 0% | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| James White | 0 | 0% | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| None of the Above | 1 | 6% | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated |

## Green Party

The Green Party Convention on March 4, 2017, was held at the University of Montana's Payne Family Native American Center.
Breck, along with two independent candidates, won a lawsuit in U.S. District Court against the Montana Secretary of State, ruling Montana's ballot access laws to be unconstitutional in the case of special elections. The District Court Judge ruled to change the original requirement to submit 14,268 ballot petition signatures, reducing that requirement to 400 signatures. The US Court decision failed to provide further remedy and Breck's name was not placed on the ballot despite injunctive appeals to the Ninth Circuit Court and U.S. Supreme Court. Breck subsequently endorsed Independent write-in candidate Doug Campbell who was a co-plaintiff in the suit.

### Nominated

* Thomas Breck

## General election
### Campaign

During his 2017 congressional special election campaign, Gianforte relaxed his past pledges to refuse all PAC money, and began to turn away only corporate PAC funding. His campaign began accepting contributions from political party and leadership PACs.
The night before the election, Gianforte physically assaulted Ben Jacobs, a reporter from The Guardian, in front of multiple witnesses, knocking him down, punching him, and breaking his glasses. Gianforte was subsequently charged with misdemeanor assault. The editorial boards of the Billings Gazette, the Independent Record, and the Missoulian rescinded their endorsements of Gianforte.
The Gianforte campaign released a statement following the incident alleging the incident was caused by, "this aggressive behavior from a liberal journalist", a claim contradictory to the eyewitness account of the Fox News team present in the room at the time. Alicia Acuna, one of two Fox news reporters present, and the only eyewitnesses to the incident, stated that Jacobs had walked into the room, put a voice recorder up to Gianforte's face and began asking questions. She stated that Jacobs, however, showed no sign of physical aggression and did not physically engage Gianforte before being attacked by the Republican candidate.
On June 12, following the election, Gianforte was sentenced to community service and fined $385 after admitting the charge.

### Predictions

| Source | Ranking | As of |
| The Cook Political Report | Lean R | May 12, 2017 |
| Inside Elections | Lean R | May 25, 2017 |

### Endorsements
#### National politicians

* Steve Daines, U.S. senator (R-MT)
* Mike Pence, vice president of the United States and former governor of Indiana
* Donald Trump, president of the United States
* Ryan Zinke, Secretary of the Interior and former congressman (R-MT)
Statewide officeholders
* Elsie Arntzen, superintendent of public instruction of the State of Montana
Local officeholders
* David Clarke, sheriff of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin
Individuals
* Donald Trump Jr., businessman and television personality
Organizations
* The Crow Tribe of Montana
* Montana Republican Party
* National Federation of Independent Business
* Montana Shooting Sports Association
* NRA Political Victory Fund
Newspapers
* Billings Gazette (later pulled)
* Independent Record (later pulled)
* The Missoulian (later pulled)
U.S. senators
* Al Franken, U.S. senator (D-MN)
* Catherine Cortez Masto, U.S. senator (D-NV)
* Bernie Sanders, U.S. senator (I-VT)
* Jon Tester, U.S. senator (D-MT)
* Elizabeth Warren, U.S. senator (D-MA)
Governors
* Steve Bullock, governor of Montana
* Brian Schweitzer, former governor of Montana
Local politicians
* Carson Taylor, mayor of Bozeman, Montana
Individuals
* Jeff Bridges, actor, singer, and producer
* Michael Keaton, actor and producer
* Alyssa Milano, actress and UNICEF activist
* Bill Pullman, actor
* Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood
Labor unions
* International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers
* International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
* Montana Education Association-Montana Federation of Teachers
* Montana Public Employees Association
* Montana State AFL–CIO
* Montana State Council of Professional Firefighters
Organizations
* Democracy for America
* End Citizens United
* League of Conservation Voters
* Montana Conservation Voters
* Montana Democratic Party
* Montana Sportmen's Alliance
* NARAL Pro-Choice America
* National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare
* Northern Cheyenne Tribe
* Our Revolution
Websites
* Daily Kos, political news blog
* Moveon.org, a progressive public policy advocacy group and political action committee

#### Organizations

* Montana Libertarian Party
Local officeholders
* Jeff Krauss, former mayor of Bozeman, Montana

### Polling

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Greg Gianforte (R) | Rob Quist (D) | Mark Wicks (L) | Thomas Breck (G) | Undecided |
| Change Research | May 20–23, 2017 | 1,888 | ± 2.0% | 49% | 44% | 7% | – | – |
| Gravis Marketing | May 22, 2017 | 818 | ± 3.4% | 49% | 35% | 8% | – | 9% |
| Gravis Marketing | May 2–4, 2017 | 462 | ± 4.6% | 45% | 37% | 5% | 3% | 10% |
| Gravis Marketing | April 27, 2017 | 836 | ± 3.4% | 52% | 39% | 6% | – | 2% |
| Garin-Hart-Yang (D) | April 25–27, 2017 | 601 | ± 4.0% | 49% | 43% | – | – | 8% |
| Emerson College | April 20–21, 2017 | 648 | ± 3.8% | 52% | 37% | 5% | – | 7% |
| Gravis Marketing | April 6, 2017 | 1,222 | ± 2.9% | 50% | 38% | 3% | 2% | 7% |

### Results

Montana's at-large congressional district special election, 2017 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Republican | Greg Gianforte | 190,520 | 49.95% | −6.24% |
| | Democratic | Rob Quist | 169,214 | 44.37% | +3.82% |
| | Libertarian | Mark Wicks | 21,682 | 5.68% | +2.42% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 381,416 | 100.00% | N/A |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |
County results
| | Greg Gianforte Republican | Greg Gianforte Republican | Rob Quist Democratic | Rob Quist Democratic | Mark Wicks Libertarian | Mark Wicks Libertarian | Margin | Margin | Total | Total |
| County | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | Turnout |
| Beaverhead | 2,239 | 62.28% | 1,144 | 31.82% | 212 | 5.90% | 1,095 | 30.46% | 3,621 | 53.92% |
| Big Horn | 1,193 | 43.70% | 1,394 | 51.06% | 143 | 5.24% | 201 | 7.36% | 2,743 | 34.30% |
| Blaine | 821 | 41.82% | 974 | 49.62% | 168 | 8.56% | 153 | 7.79% | 1,969 | 49.56% |
| Broadwater | 1,481 | 65.39% | 638 | 28.17% | 146 | 6.45% | 843 | 37.22% | 2,282 | 53.52% |
| Carbon | 2,572 | 53.25% | 1,975 | 40.89% | 283 | 5.86% | 597 | 12.36% | 4,845 | 63.79% |
| Carter | 441 | 84.32% | 59 | 11.28% | 23 | 4.40% | 382 | 73.04% | 532 | 54.68% |
| Cascade | 13,427 | 49.80% | 11,546 | 42.83% | 1,987 | 7.37% | 1,881 | 6.98% | 27,143 | 50.19% |
| Chouteau | 1,234 | 57.85% | 717 | 33.61% | 182 | 8.53% | 517 | 24.24% | 2,149 | 61.29% |
| Custer | 2,206 | 60.99% | 1,175 | 32.49% | 236 | 6.52% | 1,031 | 28.50% | 3,629 | 50.55% |
| Daniels | 495 | 72.79% | 151 | 22.21% | 34 | 5.00% | 344 | 50.59% | 680 | 55.69% |
| Dawson | 2,019 | 66.74% | 827 | 27.34% | 179 | 5.92% | 1,192 | 39.40% | 3,035 | 51.26% |
| Deer Lodge | 955 | 28.99% | 2,063 | 62.63% | 276 | 8.38% | 1,108 | 33.64% | 3,313 | 60.64% |
| Fallon | 702 | 81.25% | 136 | 15.74% | 26 | 3.01% | 566 | 65.51% | 868 | 43.95% |
| Fergus | 3,005 | 66.22% | 1,196 | 26.36% | 337 | 7.43% | 1,809 | 39.86% | 4,557 | 58.74% |
| Flathead | 20,302 | 57.38% | 13,630 | 38.52% | 1,450 | 4.10% | 6,672 | 18.86% | 35,462 | 51.85% |
| Gallatin | 17,074 | 40.88% | 22,902 | 54.84% | 1,787 | 4.28% | 5,828 | 13.95% | 41,909 | 54.69% |
| Garfield | 487 | 90.19% | 29 | 5.37% | 24 | 4.44% | 458 | 84.81% | 540 | 58.76% |
| Glacier | 929 | 30.20% | 1,972 | 64.11% | 175 | 5.69% | 1,043 | 33.91% | 3,085 | 39.15% |
| Golden Valley | 282 | 71.03% | 88 | 22.17% | 27 | 6.80% | 194 | 48.87% | 397 | 65.30% |
| Granite | 838 | 60.07% | 470 | 33.69% | 87 | 6.24% | 368 | 26.38% | 1,399 | 59.58% |
| Hill | 2,061 | 43.62% | 2,091 | 44.25% | 573 | 12.13% | 30 | 0.63% | 4,782 | 50.25% |
| Jefferson | 2,997 | 56.71% | 1,996 | 37.77% | 292 | 5.53% | 1,001 | 18.94% | 5,322 | 62.49% |
| Judith Basin | 636 | 65.43% | 255 | 26.23% | 81 | 8.33% | 381 | 39.20% | 975 | 67.66% |
| Lake | 5,193 | 51.37% | 4,469 | 44.21% | 447 | 4.42% | 724 | 7.16% | 10,133 | 53.10% |
| Lewis and Clark | 11,880 | 42.75% | 14,487 | 52.13% | 1,423 | 5.12% | 2,607 | 9.38% | 27,957 | 60.96% |
| Liberty | 489 | 58.49% | 208 | 24.88% | 139 | 16.63% | 281 | 33.61% | 842 | 71.17% |
| Lincoln | 4,471 | 65.41% | 2,104 | 30.78% | 260 | 3.80% | 2,367 | 34.63% | 6,855 | 50.03% |
| Madison | 2,247 | 60.53% | 1,235 | 33.27% | 230 | 6.20% | 1,012 | 27.26% | 3,741 | 59.60% |
| McCone | 632 | 76.70% | 155 | 18.81% | 37 | 4.49% | 477 | 57.89% | 830 | 67.04% |
| Meagher | 516 | 66.58% | 196 | 25.29% | 63 | 8.13% | 320 | 41.29% | 780 | 59.68% |
| Mineral | 911 | 58.85% | 538 | 34.75% | 99 | 6.40% | 373 | 24.10% | 1,548 | 49.41% |
| Missoula | 15,137 | 32.10% | 30,054 | 63.73% | 1,968 | 4.17% | 14,917 | 31.63% | 47,356 | 56.14% |
| Musselshell | 1,307 | 73.72% | 324 | 18.27% | 142 | 8.01% | 983 | 55.44% | 1,779 | 58.58% |
| Park | 3,329 | 45.12% | 3,678 | 49.85% | 371 | 5.03% | 349 | 4.73% | 7,401 | 57.81% |
| Petroleum | 203 | 79.61% | 38 | 14.90% | 14 | 5.49% | 165 | 64.71% | 256 | 60.24% |
| Phillips | 1,374 | 75.70% | 304 | 16.75% | 137 | 7.55% | 1,070 | 58.95% | 1,824 | 66.45% |
| Pondera | 1,267 | 58.28% | 733 | 33.72% | 174 | 8.00% | 534 | 24.56% | 2,182 | 61.99% |
| Powder River | 570 | 77.87% | 121 | 16.53% | 41 | 5.60% | 449 | 61.34% | 732 | 56.92% |
| Powell | 1,344 | 63.34% | 622 | 29.31% | 156 | 7.35% | 722 | 34.02% | 2,138 | 60.24% |
| Prairie | 405 | 74.18% | 104 | 19.05% | 37 | 6.78% | 301 | 55.13% | 546 | 62.69% |
| Ravalli | 10,480 | 59.76% | 6,224 | 35.49% | 833 | 4.75% | 4,256 | 24.27% | 17,660 | 57.95% |
| Richland | 1,958 | 73.78% | 601 | 22.65% | 95 | 3.58% | 1,357 | 51.13% | 2,662 | 37.02% |
| Roosevelt | 916 | 44.02% | 1,030 | 49.50% | 135 | 6.49% | 114 | 5.48% | 2,087 | 35.46% |
| Rosebud | 1,400 | 57.64% | 888 | 36.56% | 141 | 5.80% | 512 | 21.08% | 2,435 | 48.40% |
| Sanders | 2,903 | 63.79% | 1,353 | 29.73% | 295 | 6.48% | 1,550 | 34.06% | 4,572 | 54.38% |
| Sheridan | 691 | 54.45% | 483 | 38.06% | 95 | 7.49% | 208 | 16.39% | 1,276 | 52.45% |
| Silver Bow | 3,635 | 29.33% | 7,872 | 63.52% | 886 | 7.15% | 4,237 | 34.19% | 12,490 | 56.61% |
| Stillwater | 2,429 | 67.45% | 914 | 25.38% | 258 | 7.16% | 1,515 | 42.07% | 3,617 | 58.92% |
| Sweet Grass | 1,076 | 69.29% | 403 | 25.95% | 74 | 4.76% | 673 | 43.34% | 1,553 | 58.74% |
| Teton | 1,536 | 58.47% | 887 | 33.76% | 204 | 7.77% | 649 | 24.70% | 2,646 | 65.19% |
| Toole | 989 | 61.89% | 443 | 27.72% | 166 | 10.39% | 546 | 34.17% | 1,613 | 60.50% |
| Treasure | 213 | 64.35% | 79 | 23.87% | 39 | 11.78% | 134 | 40.48% | 332 | 59.18% |
| Valley | 1,904 | 62.78% | 859 | 28.32% | 270 | 8.90% | 1,045 | 34.45% | 3,035 | 67.79% |
| Wheatland | 466 | 62.63% | 198 | 26.61% | 80 | 10.75% | 268 | 36.02% | 745 | 55.89% |
| Wibaux | 273 | 78.90% | 62 | 17.92% | 11 | 3.18% | 211 | 60.98% | 348 | 46.96% |
| Yellowstone | 29,980 | 55.79% | 20,120 | 37.44% | 3,634 | 6.76% | 9,860 | 18.35% | 54,066 | 55.70% |

#### Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

* Park lLargest city: Livingston)
* Lewis and Clark (largest city: Helena)
* Hill (largest city: Havre)