Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance, Auditor election, 2016
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← 2012
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June 7, 2016 |
November 8, 2016 |
Matthew Rosendale (R) |
Monica Lindeen (D) |
Governor • Lt. Governor Secretary of State • Attorney General Down Ballot Commissioner of Securities and Insurance, Auditor • Superintendent • Montana Public Service Commission, districts 2, 3 & 4 |
March 14, 2016 |
May 31, 2016 |
June 6, 2016 |
June 7, 2016 |
November 8, 2016 |
TBD |
January 2, 2017 |
Montana held an election for commissioner of securities and insurance, auditor on November 8, 2016. Republican State Sen. Matthew Rosendale won the open seat, which had previously been controlled by Democrats.
Overview
Montana has had a divided government since 2005, which was preceded by a nine-year Republican trifecta.
The office of the Montana state auditor is a criminal justice agency charged with the regulation of insurance and securities industries. Incumbent Monica Lindeen (D) ran for secretary of state, leaving the election for state auditor an open race. Chief counsel to Lindeen and former state Senator Jesse Laslovich (D) and state Senator Matthew Rosendale (R) were both unopposed for their parties' nominations. The two competed in the November 8 general election. Rosendale won the general election on November 8, 2016.
Candidates
Jesse Laslovich (D)
Chief counsel to Monica Lindeen, former state senator
Matthew Rosendale (R)
State senator since 2013
Results
General election
Matthew Rosendale defeated Jesse Laslovich in the Montana commissioner of securities and insurance, Auditor election.
| Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance, Auditor, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Matthew Rosendale |
53.81% | 262,045 | |
| Democratic | Jesse Laslovich | 46.19% | 224,925 | |
| Total Votes | 486,970 | |||
| Source: Montana Secretary of State | ||||
Primary elections
Republican primary contest
Matthew Rosendale ran unopposed in the Montana Republican primary for state auditor.
| Montana Republican primary for state auditor, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Matthew Rosendale (unopposed) |
100.00% | 132,813 |
| Total Votes (686 of 686 precincts reporting) | 132,813 | |
| Source: Montana Secretary of State | ||
Democratic primary contest
Jesse Laslovich ran unopposed in the Montana Democratic primary for state auditor.
| Montana Democratic primary for state auditor, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Jesse Laslovich (unopposed) |
100.00% | 103,972 |
| Total Votes (686 of 686 precincts reporting) | 103,972 | |
| Source: Montana Secretary of State | ||
Context of the 2016 election
Primary elections
A primary election is an election in which voters select the candidate they believe should represent a political party in a general election. Primaries usually take place several months before a general election. Montana utilizes an open primary system, in which registered voters do not have to be members of a party to vote in that party's primary.[1][2][3]
Montana's primary elections took place on June 7, 2016.
Incumbent Monica Lindeen (D)
Monica Lindeen was elected state auditor in 2008, defeating Republican Duane Grimes by a margin of seven percent, garnering 53.5 percent of the vote compared to Grimes' 46.5 percent. She was re-elected in 2012 by exactly the same percentage points, again winning 53.5 percent of the vote while Republican Derek Skees won 46.5 percent. Lindeen served as president of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners in 2015 and was awarded an Excellence in Consumer Advocacy Award in 2013.
Prior to her election as state auditor, Lindeen served in the House of Representatives from 1998-2008. From 1995-2000, she also helped build the Montana Communications Network, a locally-based internet provider, serving as owner and general manager.
Lindeen declined to seek re-election in 2016 in favor of a bid for secretary of state.
Party control in Montana
Going into the 2016 election, Montana had a divided government since 2005, which was preceded by a nine-year Republican trifecta. Republicans controlled the state legislature, while a Democrat held the governorship. In recent years, Republican candidates had consistently managed to win statewide offices. Most recently, in 2014, Steve Daines (R) defeated Kim Gillan (D) by a 10-point margin in the open U.S. Senate election, and Ryan Zinke (R) defeated John Lewis (D) by a 15-point margin in the open race for Montana's at-large seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.[4]
The state had gone to Republican presidential contenders for the last ten presidential elections with the exception of 1992, when Montana's electoral votes went to Bill Clinton.[5] However, Montana tends to elect both Democratic and Republican candidates to the U.S. Congress. Control of the state's executive offices was nearly equally distributed among the two parties.
Campaigns
Campaign finance
| Jesse Laslovich General Election Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| 4/27/2016 - 5/18/2016 | 5/23/2016 | $151,023.09 | $15,556.66 | $(1,268.17) | $165,311.58 | ||||
| 5/19/2016 - 5/27/2016 | 5/31/2016 | $165,311.58 | $4,645.00 | $(25.69) | $169,930.89 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $20,201.66 | $(1,293.86) | ||||||||
| Jess Laslovich Primary Election Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| 4/27/2016 - 5/18/2016 | 5/23/2016 | $ | $ | $() | $ | ||||
| 5/19/2016 - 5/27/2016 | 5/31/2016 | $0 | $0 | $(0) | $0 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $0 | $(0) | ||||||||
| Matthew Rosendale General Election Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| 4/27/2016 - 5/18/2016 | 5/18/2016 | $0 | $0 | $(0) | $0 | ||||
| 5/19/2016 - 5/27/2016 | 5/27/2016 | $0 | $0 | $(0) | $0 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $0 | $(0) | ||||||||
| Matthew Rosendale Primary Election Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| 4/27/2016 - 5/18/2016 | 5/18/2016 | $21,099.44 | $11,483.99 | $(877.78) | $ | ||||
| 5/19/2016 - 5/27/2016 | 5/27/2016 | $31,705.65 | $7,498.00 | $(709.07) | $38,494.58 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $18,981.99 | $(1,586.85) | ||||||||
Campaign media
Note: If a candidate is not listed below, Ballotpedia staff were unable to locate any campaign media for that candidate. Do you know of any? Tell us!
Democrats
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Republicans
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About the office
The office of the Montana state auditor is a criminal justice agency charged with the regulation of insurance and securities industries. It is organized into four division: insurance, securities, legal, and centralized services.
Incumbent
The incumbent was Monica Lindeen (D). She assumed office in 2009 and was re-elected in 2012.
Authority
The state Constitution addresses the office of auditor in Article VI, the Executive Department.
Under Article VI, Section I:
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The executive branch includes a governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, superintendent of public instruction, and auditor. |
Qualification
A candidate for auditor must be:
- at least 25 years of age or older at the time of election
- a citizen of the United States
- have resided within the state at least two years at his election
Elections
Article VI of the Montana State Constitution stipulates that the auditor is a publicly elected official who serves a term of four years. Terms begin the first Monday of January following election.
Past elections
2012
Incumbent Monica Lindeen (D) successfully won re-election, defeating Derek Skees (R) in the November 6, 2012 general election.
| Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance, State Auditor General Election, 2012 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Monica Lindeen Incumbent |
53.5% | 248,447 | |
| Republican | Derek Skees | 46.5% | 215,743 | |
| Total Votes | 464,190 | |||
| Election results via Montana Secretary of State | ||||
Recent news
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See also
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Montana government: |
Previous elections: |
Ballotpedia exclusives: |
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures Website, "State Primary Election Types," accessed January 6, 2014
- ↑ Fair Vote, "Congressional and Presidential Primaries: Open, Closed, Semi-Closed, and 'Top Two,'" accessed January 6, 2014
- ↑ Ballotpedia research conducted December 26, 2013, through January 3, 2014, researching and analyzing various state websites and codes.
- ↑ Montana Secretary of State, "2014 Election center," accessed August 21, 2015
- ↑ 270 to win, "Montana," accessed May 30, 2016
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