John Bohlinger, Jr. (born April 21, 1936) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 33rd

Lieutenant Governor of Montana The lieutenant governor of Montana is an elected official in the State of Montana that ranks just below the governor of Montana. List of lieutenant governors ;Parties Living former lieutenant governors , there are six former lieutenant gov ...

from 2005 to 2013. He ran for the office as a

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 ...

on a

bipartisan Bipartisanship, sometimes referred to as nonpartisanship, is a political situation, usually in the context of a two-party system (especially those of the United States and some other western countries), in which opposing political parties find co ...

ticket Ticket or tickets may refer to: Slips of paper * Lottery ticket * Parking ticket, a ticket confirming that the parking fee was paid (and the time of the parking start) * Toll ticket, a slip of paper used to indicate where vehicles entered a tol ...

headed by Democratic gubernatorial candidate

Brian Schweitzer Brian David Schweitzer (born September 4, 1955) is an American farmer and politician who served as the 23rd Governor of Montana from 2005 to 2013. Schweitzer served for a time as chair of the Western Governors Association as well as the Democra ...

. Schweitzer and Bohlinger were elected to the governorship and lieutenant governorship in 2004; both were reelected in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

. Due to term limits, they were unable to run in the

2012 election This national electoral calendar for 2012 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2012 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *3–4 January: ...

. Bohlinger switched to the Democratic Party in 2013.

Early life, education and private career

Bohlinger was born in Bozeman, Montana, in 1936 to John and Aileen Bohlinger. In 1941, the family moved to

Billings, Montana Billings is the largest city in the U.S. state of Montana, with a population of 117,116 as of the 2020 census. Located in the south-central portion of the state, it is the seat of Yellowstone County and the principal city of the Billings Met ...

where his parents operated a women's apparel store, Aileen's. While enrolled at Billings Senior High School, Bohlinger enlisted in the

United States Marine Corps Reserve The Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES or MFR), also known as the United States Marine Corps Reserve (USMCR) and the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve, is the reserve force of the United States Marine Corps. It is the largest command, by assigned p ...

. He went on to the

University of Montana The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. UM reported 10,962 undergraduate and graduate students in the fa ...

where he became a member of the

Sigma Chi Sigma Chi () International Fraternity is one of the largest North American fraternal literary societies. The fraternity has 244 active (undergraduate) chapters and 152 alumni chapters across the United States and Canada and has initiated more t ...

fraternity, and earned a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

in business. The Marine Corps called him to service after his sophomore year and he completed his university career after completing his service with the Marine Corps. Bohlinger spent the next 33 years as a small businessman working in the family clothing business.

Early political career

Bohlinger served three terms in the Montana House of Representatives and was then twice elected to the Montana Senate. He resigned his Montana Senate seat as he assumed the office of lieutenant governor.

Lieutenant Governor of Montana

On the 2004 Democratic gubernatorial ticket, Bohlinger, a

, joined with Democratic candidate Brian Schweitzer. There was no precedent in Montana for a gubernatorial ticket where the candidates belonged to different parties. The ticket prevailed, and Bohlinger was inaugurated as lieutenant governor of Montana, on January 3, 2005. The Schweitzer-Bohlinger team was reelected to a second term, on November 4, 2008.

2014 U.S. Senate election

On November 5, 2013, Bohlinger announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination in 2014 for Montana's Class II

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

seat, to succeed the retiring

Max Baucus Maxwell Sieben Baucus ( Enke; born December 11, 1941) is an American politician who served as a United States senator from Montana from 1978 to 2014. A member of the Democratic Party, he was a U.S. senator for over 35 years, making him the long ...

. The Democratic nomination was won by U.S. Senator John Walsh who had been appointed to fill the seat when Baucus resigned. Walsh dropped out of the race on August 7, following allegations of plagiarism. He was replaced by

Amanda Curtis Amanda Gayle Curtis ( née Morse, born September 10, 1979) is an American politician who serves as the president of the Montana Federation of Public Employees (MFPE), Montana's largest labor union. Curtis served in the Montana House of Represe ...

Personal

He was the husband of Bette Cobetto, who died of cancer on January 9, 2006. Bohlinger married Karen Seiler in Helena on January 12, 2008. They have since divorced.

References

External links

Bohlinger
– Biography
Schweitzer Bohlinger
– Official 2008 campaign site * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bohlinger, John 1936 births Lieutenant Governors of Montana Living people Members of the Montana House of Representatives Montana Republicans Montana state senators Politicians from Billings, Montana Politicians from Bozeman, Montana United States Marines Montana Independents Montana Democrats Candidates in the 2014 United States elections United States Marine Corps reservists