Big Sky Times

In a poll released Friday, Oct. 23, the Montana U.S. Senate race shows Gov. Steve Bullock, a Democrat, within three points of incumbent Sen. Steve Daines, a Republican.

The poll by the New York Times and Siena College has Daines at 49% to 46% for Bullock, The Hill reported. Democrats think the Montana race is one of their best chances to gain a seat in the Senate, the story said.

The same poll showed President Donald Trump with a six-point lead in the state over Democratic nominee Joe Biden, and the GOP candidate for governor, Rep. Greg Gianforte, with a four-point lead over Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney, a Democrat.

Although Montana traditionally leans Republican, Bullock is well-liked, the poll reflects. He launched a presidential campaign last summer but dropped out after qualifying for only one debate.  

Bullock’s favorability rating was 96% among likely Democratic voters, which was two points higher than Biden’s, according to the poll.

It’s been a record year for campaign spending in Montana, which is mostly rural, with the price tag around $100 million, the story said.

Democrats have not carried Montana in a presidential contest since Bill Clinton in 1992.

Fifty-two percent of likely voters in Montana gave Trump a favorable job performance, and of those, Daines was preferred by 87%, compared to only 7% for Bulllock, the poll found. 

In the congressional race to succeed Gianforte, Republican State Auditor Matt Rosendale is ahead of former state Rep. Kathleen Williams (D) by four points, 50% to 46%, the poll found. Montana has only one U.S. House seat.

The poll surveyed 758 likely voters between Oct. 18-20 with an an overall margin of error of 4.4 percentage points, the story said.