The 1940 Montana gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 1940. Incumbent

Governor of Montana The governor of Montana is the head of government of MontanaMontana Constitution, Article VI, Section 4. and the commander-in-chief of the U.S. state, state's Montana National Guard, military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, ...

Roy E. Ayers, who was first elected governor in

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

, ran for re-election. He narrowly won the Democratic primary by just over a thousand votes to win renomination, and advanced to the general election, where he was opposed by

Sam C. Ford Samuel Clarence Ford (November 7, 1882November 25, 1961) was an American politician who served as the 12th Governor of Montana from 1941 to 1949. Biography Ford was born on November 7, 1882 in Albany, Kentucky. His early education was in the p ...

, a former Associate Justice of the Montana Supreme Court and the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

nominee. Ultimately, in spite of the fact that then-President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

comfortably won the

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in that year's

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pre ...

, Ford narrowly defeated Ayers to win his first of two terms as governor.

Democratic primary

Candidates

* Roy E. Ayers, incumbent

*Arthur F. Lamey, former Chairman of the

Montana Democratic Party Montana Democratic Party (MDP) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Montana and one of the two major political parties in the state. The party as of 2021 is chaired by Robyn Driscoll. The National Committeeman is Jorge ...

, former Hill County Attorney *A. E. Kathan

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

, former Associate Justice of the Montana Supreme Court *Charles A. Hauswirth, Mayor of

Butte __NOTOC__ In geomorphology, a butte () is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and tablelands. The word ''butte'' comes from a French word mea ...

*Julius J. Wuerthner, former Mayor of

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*T. S. Stockdahl *Martin P. Moe, former Secretary of the Montana Education Association *John H. Leuthold

Results

General election

Results

References

{{1940 United States elections

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

Gubernatorial A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political_regions, political region, ranking under the Head of State, head of state and in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of ...

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *January ...

November 1940 events