The 2000 Montana gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 2000. Incumbent Governor of Montana Marc Racicot, who was first elected in 1992 and was re-elected in 1996, was unable to seek re-election due to term limits. Judy Martz, the Lieutenant Governor of Montana under Racicot for four years, won the Republican primary and advanced to the general election, where she faced Mark O'Keefe, the Montana State Auditor and Democratic nominee. Despite the fact that George W. Bush, the Republican nominee for president in 2000, won the state in a landslide, the race between Martz and O'Keefe was close. However, Martz managed to narrowly defeat him to win her first and only term as governor. This was the last time that a Republican was elected Governor of Montana until 2020, when Greg Gianforte was elected.[2]
 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 59.90% 10.70[1] | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||||
 County results Martz: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% O'Keefe: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
.jpg)
Democratic primary
Candidates
- Mark O'Keefe, Montana State Auditor
- Joseph Mazurek, Attorney General of Montana
- Mike Cooney, Secretary of State of Montana
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Mark O'Keefe | 46,294 | 48.04 | |
| Democratic | Joseph Mazurek | 34,385 | 35.69 | |
| Democratic | Mike Cooney | 15,677 | 16.27 | |
| Total votes | 96,356 | 100.00 | ||
Republican primary
Candidates
- Judy Martz, Lieutenant Governor of Montana
- Rob Natelson, conservative activist and constitutional law professor
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Judy Martz | 64,278 | 56.88 | |
| Republican | Rob Natelson | 48,738 | 43.12 | |
| Total votes | 113,016 | 100.00 | ||
General election
Debates
- Complete video of debate, October 15, 2000
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Judy Martz | 209,135 | 50.98% | -28.18% | |
| Democratic | Mark O'Keefe | 193,131 | 47.08% | +26.25% | |
| Libertarian | Stan Jones | 7,926 | 1.94% | N/A | |
| Majority | 16,004 | 3.90% | -54.43% | ||
| Turnout | 410,192 | 100.00% | N/A | ||
| Republican hold | |||||
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
- Silver Bow (Largest city: Butte)
- Deer Lodge (Largest city: Anaconda)
- Missoula (Largest city: Missoula)
- Cascade (largest city: Great Falls)
- Lewis and Clark (largest city: Helena)
- Rosebud (largest city: Colstrip)
- Big Horn (largest city: Hardin)
- Glacier (largest city: Cut Bank)
- Roosevelt (largest city: Wolf Point)
- Hill (largest city: Havre)
- Blaine (largest city: Chinooko)