The 1996 Montana gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 1996. Incumbent Governor of Montana Marc Racicot, who was first elected in 1992, ran for re-election. After winning the Republican primary against conservative activist Rob Natelson, he moved on to the general election, where he was set to face Chet Blaylock, a former state senator and the Democratic nominee. However, on October 23, 1996, Blaylock died of a heart attack, and the Montana Democratic Party selected his running mate, State Senator Judy Jacobson, to replace him, and she therefore became both the gubernatorial nominee and the lieutenant gubernatorial nominee. Ultimately, Racicot won re-election to his second and final term, winning more than 79% of votes and outperforming Republican nominee Bob Dole's victory margin in the concurrent presidential race by 55.6%. As of 2026, this is the largest gubernatorial victory in Montana State history.

As of , this is the last time that the winning gubernatorial nominee carried all counties in Montana. This election was the first time since 1956 and the last until 2024 that an incumbent Republican governor of Montana was re-elected.

Democratic primary

Candidates Chet Blaylock, former state senator Bob Kelleher, perennial candidate

Results

Republican primary

Candidates Rob Natelson, conservative activist and constitutional law professor Marc Racicot, incumbent governor of Montana

Results

General election

Results

Results by county County Marc RacicotRepublican Judy JacobsonDemocratic Margin Total votes cast # % # % # % Beaverhead 3,553 88.3% 473 11.7% 3,080 76.6% 4,026 Big Horn 2,281 54.1% 1,933 45.9% 348 8.2% 4,214 Blaine 1,930 67.5% 928 32.5% 1,002 35.0% 2,858 Broadwater 1,665 84.7% 301 15.3% 1,364 69.4% 1,966 Carbon 3,815 80.3% 934 19.7% 2,881 60.6% 4,749 Carter 665 88.3% 88 11.7% 577 76.6% 753 Cascade 28,511 81.0% 6,684 19.0% 21,827 62.0% 35,195 Chouteau 2,713 86.3% 430 13.7% 2,283 72.6% 3,143 Custer 4,315 80.4% 1,049 19.6% 3,266 60.8% 5,364 Daniels 1,037 80.3% 254 19.7% 783 60.6% 1,291 Dawson 3,781 80.8% 897 19.2% 2,884 61.6% 4,678 Deer Lodge 3,458 70.0% 1,484 30.0% 1,974 40.0% 4,942 Fallon 1,240 88.1% 168 11.9% 1,072 76.2% 1,408 Fergus 5,064 84.3% 940 15.7% 4,124 68.6% 6,004 Flathead 26,670 82.4% 5,682 17.6% 20,988 64.8% 32,352 Gallatin 23,357 81.1% 5,447 18.9% 17,910 62.2% 28,804 Garfield 682 91.9% 60 8.1% 622 83.8% 742 Glacier 2,423 58.9% 1,690 41.1% 733 17.8% 4,113 Golden Valley 427 87.5% 61 12.5% 366 75.0% 488 Granite 1,195 85.8% 198 14.2% 997 71.6% 1,393 Hill 5,239 73.5% 1,892 26.5% 3,347 47.0% 7,131 Jefferson 3,952 82.5% 836 17.5% 3,116 65.0% 4,788 Judith Basin 1,168 86.8% 177 13.2% 991 73.6% 1,345 Lake 8,149 76.2% 2,547 23.8% 5,602 52.4% 10,696 Lewis and Clark 21,668 80.8% 5,135 19.2% 16,533 61.6% 26,803 Liberty 1,058 89.9% 119 10.1% 939 79.8% 1,177 Lincoln 6,379 83.2% 1,284 16.8% 5,095 66.4% 7,663 Madison 3,018 86.6% 465 13.4% 2,553 73.2% 3,483 McCone 990 80.8% 236 19.2% 754 61.6% 1,226 Meagher 821 88.7% 105 11.3% 716 77.4% 926 Mineral 1,215 75.9% 385 24.1% 830 51.8% 1,600 Missoula 32,877 74.2% 11,426 25.8% 21,451 48.4% 44,303 Musselshell 1,755 84.2% 329 15.8% 1,426 68.4% 2,084 Park 5,964 81.8% 1,327 18.2% 4,637 63.6% 7,291 Petroleum 257 89.5% 30 10.5% 227 79.0% 287 Phillips 2,209 88.0% 301 12.0% 1,908 76.0% 2,510 Pondera 2,473 84.0% 472 16.0% 2,001 68.0% 2,945 Powder River 893 87.4% 129 12.6% 764 74.8% 1,022 Powell 2,293 81.4% 525 18.6% 1,768 62.8% 2,818 Prairie 666 85.4% 114 14.6% 552 70.8% 780 Ravalli 13,161 82.1% 2,863 17.9% 10,298 64.2% 16,024 Richland 3,576 78.2% 998 21.8% 2,578 67.4% 4,574 Roosevelt 2,416 61.1% 1,535 38.9% 881 22.2% 3,951 Rosebud 2,674 71.1% 1,089 28.9% 1,585 42.2% 3,763 Sanders 3,554 77.6% 1,028 22.4% 2,526 55.2% 4,582 Sheridan 1,820 74.9% 609 25.1% 1,211 49.8% 2,429 Silver Bow 11,876 67.1% 5,813 32.9% 6,063 34.2% 17,689 Stillwater 3,243 84.0% 620 16.0% 2,623 68.0% 3,863 Sweet Grass 1,562 87.5% 223 12.5% 1,339 75.0% 1,785 Teton 2,858 86.6% 442 13.4% 2,416 73.2% 3,300 Toole 2,044 82.7% 429 17.3% 1,615 65.4% 2,473 Treasure 428 85.8% 71 14.2% 357 71.6% 499 Valley 3,326 78.3% 923 21.7% 2,403 56.6% 4,249 Wheatland 915 84.4% 169 15.6% 746 68.8% 1,084 Wibaux 484 81.9% 107 18.1% 377 63.8% 591 Yellowstone 45,005 81.9% 9,953 18.1% 35,052 63.8% 54,958Totals320,76879.2%84,40720.8%236,36158.4%405,175 Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican Blaine Big Horn Cascade Deer Lodge Glacier Hill Mineral Missoula Rosebud Roosevelt Sheridan Silver Bow

References