Public Policy Polling released its results on a number of Montana primaries this week and found many of the races are still wide open. Former Congressman Rick Hill leads the Republican gubernatorial race. The results:
Rick Hill 35%
Neil Livingstone 15%
Jeff Essmann 11%
Ken Miller 6%
Ryan Zinke 2%
(two others are tied at 1%)
Undecided 29%
Also on the GOP side, in the primary race for Montana’s lone U.S. House seat, Bozeman businessman Steve Daines has an edge over John Abarr, who is associated with the KKK, with the vast majority of Republicans undecided:
Steve Daines 22%
Jon Abarr 14%
Undecided 64%
Two undeclared candidates are favorites among the state’s Democrats in the race for governor. The Democratic polling firm found that Attorney General Steve Bullock and Lt. Gov. John Bohlinger, a registered Republican, have a noticeable lead over the rest of the field:
Steve Bullock 40%
John Bohlinger 27%
Dave Wanzenried 7%
Jim Lynch 4%
Carl Borgquist 2%
Larry Jent 2%
Undecided 18%
PPP didn’t poll the Democratic primary for U.S. House. It did, however, look way ahead at a hypothetical primary matchup between incumbent Sen. Max Baucus and Gov. Brian Schweitzer. Democrats prefer Schweitzer:
Brian Schweitzer 51%
Max Baucus 34%
Undecided 14%