Montana 2010 Election Results

Montana held its general election on November 2, 2010, deciding 126 legislative seats. Control shifted: the House moved from a 50-50 power-sharing tie to a 68-32 Republican majority.

Highlights

• Republicans won a two-thirds House majority, but their 28-22 Senate edge left them short of overriding the governor's veto. That made Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer, who was not on the ballot, the check on the new majority. In April 2011, he rejected 17 Republican bills on the Capitol steps, branding several with a "VETO" iron.
• Of the 21 legislative seats that changed party, all but one went Republican, and all but one of the 11 incumbents who lost were Democrats. Republican gains included the open Senate District 17, where Rowlie Hutton (R) beat House Speaker Bob Bergren (D) by about 1,200 votes. The one Democratic gain was Senate District 25 in Yellowstone County, where Kendall Van Dyk (D) unseated Roy Brown (R), the party's 2008 nominee for governor, by a handful of votes after a recount. It was the most expensive legislative race in state history. Several Republican pickups were nearly as close:
  • Dan Skattum (R) unseated Bob Ebinger (D) by about 10 votes in House District 62, and a recount confirmed the result.
  • Max Yates (R) won the open House District 74 by 21 votes over Bob Brock (D).
  • Tom Burnett (R) unseated Jennifer Pomnichowski (D) by about 70 votes in House District 63.
• Voters approved 3 of the 4 statewide measures. More than 70% backed initiative I-164, which capped interest and fees on payday, title, and consumer loans at 36 percent a year, and constitutional amendment CI-105, which bars any new tax on the sale or transfer of real estate. Initiative I-161, which abolished outfitter-sponsored nonresident hunting licenses and raised nonresident license fees, passed more narrowly. Voters rejected CC-2, the constitutional convention question the constitution puts on the ballot every 20 years.

Legislature

• House (100 seats): 50 D, 50 R before the election, 32 D, 68 R after; control moved from Power_Sharing to Republicans.
• Senate (50 seats): 23 D, 27 R before the election, 22 D, 28 R after; control stayed with Republicans.

Legislative races

Ballot measures