1972_Montana_gubernatorial_election Knowpia

1972 Montana gubernatorial election
Turnout	84.60%1.80
	County results; Anderson: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%; Smith: 50-60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90%
Governor before election; Forrest H. Anderson; Democratic	Elected Governor ; Thomas Lee Judge; Democratic

The 1972 Montana gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 1972. Incumbent Governor of Montana Forrest H. Anderson, who was first elected in 1968, declined to seek re-election. Thomas Lee Judge, the Lieutenant Governor of Montana, won a competitive Democratic primary, and moved on to the general election, where he faced Ed Smith, a rancher and the Republican nominee. Although then-President Richard Nixon won the state in a landslide in that year's presidential election, Judge managed to handily defeat Smith, winning his first of two terms as governor.

Democratic primary edit

Democratic Party primary results^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Thomas Lee Judge	75,917	59.87
	Democratic	Dick Dzivi	38,639	30.47
	Democratic	Eva Levengood Shunkwiler	5,707	4.50
	Democratic	Dallas E. Howard	4,255	3.36
	Democratic	David E. Burnham	2,276	1.80
Total votes			126,794	100.00

Ed Smith, rancher
Frank Dunkle, former Director of the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, former State Senator
Tom A. Selstad, businessman
Warren McMillan

Republican Primary results^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ed Smith	39,552	40.65
	Republican	Frank Dunkle	37,375	38.41
	Republican	Tom A. Selstad	18,046	18.55
	Republican	Warren McMillan	2,331	2.40
Total votes			97,304	100.00

Montana gubernatorial election, 1972^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Thomas Lee Judge	172,523	54.12%	+7.58%
	Republican	Ed Smith	146,231	45.88%	+4.01%
Majority			26,292	8.25%	-3.99%
Turnout			318,754
	Democratic hold		Swing

^ "Montana Voter Turnout". Montana Secretary of State. February 22, 2018. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
^ ^a ^b "Report of the Official Canvass of the Vote Cast at the Primary Election Held in the State of Montana and of the Vote Cast at the Separate Election for Ratification or Rejection of the Proposed Constitution, June 6, 1972" (PDF). Montana Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 15, 2013. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
^ "Report of the Official Canvass of the Votes Cast at the General Election Held in the State of Montana, November 7, 1972". Montana Secretary of State. 1970. Retrieved July 5, 2014.