Press Releases

NEW MT POLL: Bullock and Williams are Neck-and-Neck with Republican Opponents

Mar 19, 2020

Bullock and Daines tied at 47 percent in Senate race; Williams tied with Rosendale at 45 percent in House race

90 percent of Montanans believe politicians in Washington support policies that benefit corporate special interests

A new poll of Montana voters, commissioned by End Citizens United (ECU) and conducted by Public Policy Polling (PPP), shows that ECU-endorsed candidates Governor Steve Bullock and Kathleen Williams are tied with their Republican opponents. The poll also finds that an overwhelming majority of Montana voters, 90 percent, believe that politicians in Washington support policies that benefit corporate special interests that help fund their campaigns.

Click here to see the polling results and polling memo. The poll has a margin of error of +/- 3.3 percent.

The poll finds that Governor Bullock and Senator Steve Daines are tied at 47 percent in the race for Senate, despite the fact that Bullock entered the race just last week. In the House race, Kathleen Williams and Matt Rosendale are tied at 45 percent. Both Bullock and Williams lead their opponents amongst independent voters, with Bullock ahead by eight percent and Williams by 12 percent. 49 percent of Montanans view Governor Bullock favorably while 45 percent view Daines favorably.

“In a traditionally red state, this is terrible news for Senator Daines and Matt Rosendale,” said End Citizens United President Tiffany Muller. “Montanans are fed up with Wasinghton’s corruption, but Steve Daines and Matt Rosendale are protecting the status quo and fueling their campaigns with corporate special interest money. Montanans have had enough. Governor Steve Bullock and Kathleen Williams are rejecting corporate PAC Money and paving the way for new, accountable leadership for Montana families. Montanans are excited by their candidacies and we look forward to helping spread their message.”

ECU endorsed Governor Steve Bullock the same day his campaign launched and Kathleen Williams in September of 2019 because of their commitment to fighting corruption. Bullock and Williams are both rejecting corporate PAC money and have made rooting out corruption in Washington central themes of their campaigns. Bullock has a strong record of rooting out the corrosive, corrupting influence of unlimited and undisclosed money in politics as Montana’s Governor and Attorney General. Williams is running a grassroots-funded campaign and supports the For the People Act (H.R. 1), a once-in-a-generation anti-corruption and ethics reform bill in Congress.

In recent election cycles, ECU has been active and engaged in Montana. During the 2018 election cycle, ECU made the Montana Senate race a priority and endorsed Senator Jon Tester as part of its first round of endorsements. The group had a nearly $2.5 million impact on the Montana Senate race through paid communications and grassroots donations. ECU’s grassroots members made 22,600 contributions, totaling $180,000, directly for Tester’s campaign, with an average contribution of $8.

ECU recently merged with Let America Vote (LAV) to combat the two biggest threats to our democracy: Big Money and voter suppression. The grassroots reform groups will work together to elect reform champions, pass legislative reforms, and elevate these issues in the national conversation. ECU has more than four million members nationwide, including 14,000 in Montana, and is entirely grassroots-funded with an average donation of just $14.

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