Election Name: | 1972 Montana gubernatorial election |
Country: | Montana |
Flag Year: | 1905 |
Type: | presidential |
Ongoing: | no |
Previous Election: | 1968 Montana gubernatorial election |
Previous Year: | 1968 |
Next Election: | 1976 Montana gubernatorial election |
Next Year: | 1976 |
Election Date: | November 7, 1972 |
Nominee1: | Thomas Lee Judge |
Party1: | Democratic Party (United States) |
Popular Vote1: | 172,523 |
Percentage1: | 54.12% |
Nominee2: | Ed Smith |
Party2: | Republican Party (United States) |
Popular Vote2: | 146,231 |
Percentage2: | 45.88% |
Map Size: | 300px |
Governor | |
Before Election: | Forrest H. Anderson |
Before Party: | Democratic Party (United States) |
After Election: | Thomas Lee Judge |
After Party: | Democratic Party (United States) |
Turnout: | 84.60%1.80[1] |
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.