Primary narrows list of candidates; ballot set for November election
Turnout in the primary election in Missoula County hit a new high on Tuesday, as it did across much of the state, and with early counting in play, a number of statewide races were called after the first batch of returns were released on Tuesday night.
“Early ballot prep and the ability to count yesterday has made election day here so much smoother,” said Bradly Seaman, elections supervisor for Missoula County. “A lot of the law changes we've had to allow for the counting center here have worked out incredibly well for Missoula County.”
Missoula County sent out 72,000 ballots to registered voters and had received 44,000 back in the mail just before polls closed. A steady stream of traffic hit the drop-off location at the county fairgrounds minutes before closing.
While 84,600 voters are registered in Missoula County, around 10,000 of them are inactive.
“Ballot return rates have cleared 60% - that's amazing,” Seaman said. “We're getting a lot of ballots in and that's going to mean our votes are much more representative of the Missoula community.”
Across Missoula County, Democratic voters far outnumbered Republicans in the primary by a margin of 24,170 to 15,080
Unofficial statewide returns as of Wednesday morning are as follows with results for the top candidates in both the Democratic and Republican parties: For the most up to date figures, follow this link to the Secretary of State's election page.
President
Joe Biden: 113,340
Bernie Sanders: 21,965
Elizabeth Warren 11,941
Donald Trump: 199,551
Senate
Steve Bullock 144,491
Steve Daines: 192,330
House
Kathleen Williams 133,003
Tom Winter: 15,633
Matt Rosendale: 104,286
Corey Stapleton: 71,593
Governor
Mike Cooney: 81,234
Whitney Williams: 66,878
Tim Fox: 60,617
Greg Gianforte: 118,884
Al Olszewski: 42,953
Secretary of State
Bryce Bennett: 129,035
Christi Jacobsen: 57,749
Brad Johnson: 45,388
Scott Sales: 49,600
State Auditor
Shane Morigeau: 78,374
Mike Winsor: 49,064
Troy Downing: 97,053
Scott Tuxbury: 58,084
Nelly Nicol: 39,172
Attorney General
Kimberly Dudik: 59,963
Raph Graybill: 79,772
Jon Bennion: 78,161
Austin Knudsen: 116,112
Superintendent of Public Instruction
Melisa Romano: 132,350
Elsie Arntzen: 177,595
Public Service Commissioner District 4 (Missoula)
Monica Tranel: 25,882
Will Deschamps: 13,038
Jennifer Fielder: 16,662
Champ Edmunds: 7,408