The 2012 congressional election in Montana was held on November 6, 2012, to determine who would represent the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

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 Columb ...

in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

. At the time, Montana had one seat in the House. Incumbent

Denny Rehberg Dennis Ray Rehberg (born October 5, 1955) is an American politician and member of the Republican Party. He served as the Lieutenant Governor of Montana from 1991 to 1997 and as the U.S. representative for from 2001 to 2013. Rehberg was the Repu ...

did not run for reelection, choosing instead to run for the seat in the

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 ...

. A primary election was held on June 5, 2012.

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 ...

businessman

Steve Daines Steven David Daines ( ; born August 20, 1962) is an American politician and former corporate executive serving as the junior United States senator for Montana since 2015. A Republican, he served as the U.S. representative for Montana's at-lar ...

won the open seat.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

, businessman and nominee for Lieutenant Governor 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; ...

=Eliminated in primary

= * Eric Brosten, author and engineer * Vincent Melkus, student at

Colorado Mesa University Colorado Mesa University is a public university in Grand Junction, Colorado. The university's other locations include Bishop Campus, which houses Western Colorado Community College in northwestern Grand Junction, and a regional campus in Mon ...

and former Marine

Withdrawn

* John Abarr, Ku Klux Klan member

Hypothetical polling

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Kim Gillan Kim J. Gillan is an American politician and former Democratic Party member of the Montana Senate. She represented District 24 from 2004 to 2012. She was unable to run for reelection in 2012 due to Montana's term limits. Earlier she was a membe ...

, state senator from

Billings 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 ...

Eliminated in primary

* Sam Rankin, real estate salesman and candidate for this seat in 2010 * Diane Smith, businesswoman * Dave Strohmaier,

Missoula Missoula ( ; fla, label=Salish language, Séliš, Nłʔay, lit=Place of the Small Bull Trout, script=Latn; kut, Tuhuⱡnana, script=Latn) is a city in the U.S. state of Montana; it is the county seat of Missoula County, Montana, Missoula Cou ...

city council member * Rob Stutz, attorney * Jason Ward, farmer and construction manager for the

Crow Nation The Crow, whose autonym is Apsáalooke (), also spelled Absaroka, are Native Americans living primarily in southern Montana. Today, the Crow people have a federally recognized tribe, the Crow Tribe of Montana, with an Indian reservation loca ...

Franke Wilmer Franke Wilmer (born December 2, 1950) is an academic and a politician. She was a Democratic member of the Montana House of Representatives, representing Districts 63 and 64 from 2007–2015. Before first running for office in 2006, Wilmer was a ...

, state representative from Bozeman

Declined

* Melinda Gopher, writer and candidate for this seat in 2010 *

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 ...

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 state's military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, the power to either approve or veto ...

Polling

Results

Libertarian primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= * David Kaiser

General election

Endorsements

Polling

Predictions

Results

References

External links

Elections
at the Montana Secretary of State
United States House of Representatives elections in Montana, 2012
at Ballotpedia
Montana U.S. House
at OurCampaigns.com
Campaign contributions for U.S. Congressional races in Montana
at

OpenSecrets OpenSecrets is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that tracks data on campaign finance and lobbying. It was created from a merger of the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) and the National Institute on Money in Politics (NIMP) ...

Outside spending
at the Sunlight Foundation ;Campaign websites
Steve Daines campaign websiteKim Gillan campaign websiteDavid Kaiser campaign website
{{United States general elections, 2012

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...