Montana's 2020 candidates

Gianforte was elected to the U.S. House in the 2017 special election and re-elected to a two-year term in 2019. He was the Republican nominee for governor in 2016, losing in the general election to incumbent Gov. Steve Bullock. Gianforte was convicted of misdemeanor assault for attacking a reporter during his 2017 House run. Before entering politics, he founded RightNow Technologies in Bozeman. He has named University of Montana law professor Kristen Juras as his running mate.

Cooney, of Helena, is a former Montana legislator and secretary of state who has been Steve Bullock’s lieutenant governor since 2016. He has named former gubernatorial candidate and House Minority Leader Casey Schreiner of Great Falls as his running mate.

Bishop owns Hoplite Armor in Kalispell. He has named John Nesper as his running mate.

Daines, of Bozeman, was elected Montana’s U.S. representative in 2012, and was elected to the Senate in 2014. He previously worked as an executive at RightNow Technologies.

Bullock is facing term limits after two terms as Montana governor. Previously Montana’s attorney general, he also made an unsuccessful 2020 bid for U.S. president.

Rosendale, of Glendive, was elected state auditor in 2016.

Williams, of Bozeman, is a former state legislator who has worked for the Western Landowners Alliance. She previously made a run for the U.S. House in 2018, losing the general election to incumbent Rep. Greg Gianforte.

Knudsen, an attorney from Culbertson, graduated from law school at the University of Montana and served eight years in the Montana House of Representatives, including four as one of the state’s youngest-ever speakers of the House. He was elected Roosevelt County Attorney in 2018.

Graybill, of Helena, is currently the governor’s chief legal counsel. He is a graduate of Yale Law School, and studied at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar.

Jacobsen, of Helena, serves as the chief of staff for current Secretary of State Corey Stapleton.

Bennett is a state senator from Missoula who has served in the Montana Legislature since 2011. He was previously the executive director of the Montana Public Interest Research Group, a University of Montana-affiliated policy nonprofit.

Arntzen, formerly a state legislator from Billings, was elected superintendent of public instruction in 2016.

Romano is a Helena teacher. She was the 2016 Democratic nominee for superintendent of public instruction, losing to Arntzen.

Leatherbarrow runs a private tutoring center in Great Falls. He was previously a Libertarian candidate for the Montana Senate.

Downing is a military veteran who ran in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate in 2018.

Morigeau, a state representative from Missoula, announced his candidacy for state auditor June 30. He is a member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and has a law degree from the University of Montana.

Roots, of Livingston, is an attorney and civil liberties activist. He ran for secretary of state in 2016.

McKinnon, of Helena, was elected to the Montana Supreme Court in 2012. She previously served as a District Court judge in north-central Montana.

Black, of Helena, worked in the Montana attorney general’s office from 2011 to 2015.

Shea, of Helena, has served on the Montana Supreme Court since 2014.

O’Donnell, of Billings, was elected to the PSC in 2016. He previously worked at a home improvement store and ran a retail merchandising company.

Brown, of Dillon, operates a business law practice and lobbies for industry groups including the Montana Wool Growers Association, Solid Waste Contractors Association and Montana Funeral Directors Association.

Fielder, of Thompson Falls, has served in the Montana Legislature since 2013 and chaired the Senate Fish and Game Committee in 2019. She is also the CEO of the American Lands Council, a nonprofit that advocates for the transfer of federal lands to state ownership.

McMurtry, of Billings, is a retired P.E. and special education teacher. She was educated at Montana State University.

Woods, of Bozeman, has served in the Montana Legislature since 2013. He also teaches cell biology, animal physiology and physics at Montana State University.

Tranel, of Missoula, is an attorney who works with energy and regulatory issues. She previously worked as a PSC staff attorney and for the Montana Consumer Counsel.