Montana‘s primary election is officially in the rearview mirror. MTPR reporter Edward O’Brien investigated a deceptively simple question from a listener about why the Montana primary is so late in the year.
Austin Amestoy: Welcome to The Big Why, a Montana Public Radio series where we discover what we can discover together. I’m your host, Austin Amestoy. This is a show about listener-driven reporting. We will answer questions, big or small, on any topic under the Big Sky. For Montanans, this is the big why.
Welcome back Ed!
Eduardo O’Brien: Thanks Austin! It’s always good to be here. In fact, we just passed a major milestone in Montana’s election calendar this year. This makes the question Gillian Glaes posed even more timely and poignant. In fact, Austin, we’re honored to have Gillian join us in the studio today.
Welcome aboard! It’s good to have you here!
Gillian Glaes: Thank you both! It’s nice to be here.
Austin Amestoy: Can you tell us a little about yourself?
Gillian Glaes: I am originally from Montana and grew up in Missoula. She worked at the University of Montana and directed UM’s Franke Global Leadership initiative.
Eduardo O’Brien: And I also understand that you have a passion for history?
Gillian Glaes: Yeah! I am a historian and worked in the history departments at Carroll College and the University of Montana, respectively.
Austin Amestoy: Gillian, you have piqued my curiosity. What did you ask the Big Why?
Gillian Glaes: I really just wanted to know why the Montana primary, which takes place in June, is so late in the election calendar.
Austin Amestoy: That’s a fascinating question. Gillian, since we have you here in person, I think I’ll step back and let you and Ed drive the story today.
Eduardo O’Brien: It’s a fantastic and deceptively challenging question. To be honest, I originally assumed I’d have the answer and this episode over in an instant. I was so wrong. This perplexed many professional and passionate amateur Montana historians. I heard a lot of interesting speculations. Nothing concrete. In fact, for a time I was convinced that the answer had been lost to the sands of time.
Gillian Glaes: But in the end you persevered?
Eduardo O’Brien: Only after pulling some strings contributed by many brilliant, patient and generous people.
Gillian Glaes: Ed, how did you address my question?
Eduardo O’Brien: The first person I turned to was former Montana Secretary of State Bob Brown. Brown was first elected to the Montana State House in 1970 and served for more than two decades in the state Senate. Few Montanans have the kind of institutional political knowledge that Bob Brown has.
Gillian Glaes: What did he have to say?
Eduardo O’Brien: Brown told me candidly and honestly that he didn’t know why the Montana primary is held in June! Brown, who loves Montana history, told me that he did some research and made a few phone calls to friends who share that passion and they all came up empty.
He wasn’t the only one. I contacted other historians and history teachers and they were all left scratching their heads.
Gillian Glaes: So what came next?
Eduardo O’Brien: The Montana Historical Society. They found an intriguing reference to a bill from the 1979 legislative session titled: “Times for Holding Primary Elections: Cost of Municipal Elections.”
Gillian Glaes: So that must be the answer. Why June?
Eduardo O’Brien: Not so fast. I accessed this huge electronic archive of the bill’s legislative history: tons of stuff, hundreds of pages of information to follow that lead. But after studying it carefully, I realized that I had reached a dead end. None of this even remotely seemed to answer your specific question, Gillian. What’s more, many of the legislators of that time are no longer with us.
However, one name stood out: Fred Van Valkenburg.
Gillian Glaes: The Van Valkenburg family! Could you share with our listeners who Fred Van Valkenberg is?
Eduardo O’Brien: Most recently, he was Missoula County Prosecutor. But back in 1979, Van Valkenburg was a young man serving his first term in the state Senate, quickly making a name for himself and gaining influence. I called him to see if we could refresh his memory of him.
Gillian Glaes: AND?
Eduardo O’Brien: It didn’t catch my attention right away. In his defense, we talked about a bill from almost 45 years ago. After giving it some more thought for a few days, he determined that what we were looking at was, as he put it, a minor, technical ‘cleanup’ bill regarding elections in general.
But, during our communication, Van Valkenburg mentioned an intriguing clue from a book in his personal collection called “Atlas of Montana Elections, 1889-1976.” I knew we were onto something a few days later when Jessi Bennion, a political science professor at Montana State University, responded to my request for help, coincidentally mentioning the same title. Indeed, the Atlas, prized by Montana politicians, is where we finally find the answer to her question.
Courtesy of Jessie Bennion
Jessie Bennion
Jessi Bennion: In reality, it’s just a book that goes year after year. It tells who won each election, what the big debates were at the time, and offers a snapshot of what the elections and results were like at the time.
Eduardo O’Brien: The impetus for moving Montana’s primary to June was the 1952 presidential nomination showdown between Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower and Ohio conservative firebrand Senator Robert Taft:
Video: “In Chicago, the battle for the Republican nomination is underway as Senator Taft is loudly defended by his supporters for the November presidential election. At his hotel, Mr. Eisenhower attends a conference…
Gillian Glaes: So this relates to the election of President Eisenhower in 1952? Okay, I’m intrigued. Tell me more.
Eduardo O’Brien: Montana’s primaries fluctuated on the calendar throughout the 1900s, and in 1952 they were held in late summer, actually even later than they are today. That pitted them against the major parties’ national presidential nominating conventions.
Gillian Glaes: That sounds like a pretty small window between primary conventions and conventions.
Eduardo O’Brien: You’re right on target. Montana was Eisenhower country in ’52. However, according to the Montana Election Atlas, local party bosses pressured delegates to support Taft at the Republican national convention. That didn’t sit well with a group of state lawmakers back home. They developed a proposal to essentially put a little more space and time between Montana’s presidential preference primary and the national convention.
Eduardo O’Brien: Again, here’s Jessi Bennion:
Jessi Bennion: So I think they thought that by moving the primaries to June, seeing a clear election result in June, the party bosses wouldn’t be able to do any shenanigans during the presidential convention.
Eduardo O’Brien: The proposal apparently sparked an uproar in the halls of the State Capitol. After the dust settled, reformers won, and a measure to advance those primaries was put to the vote in 1954.
Gillian Glaes: Interesting. How did voters respond?
Eduardo O’Brien: I would say pretty good. It went through almost 70 percent.
Gillian Glaes: Wow that’s incredible.
Eduardo O’Brien: As Bennion pointed out to me, can you imagine anything today that passes through that margin? Anyway, starting in 1956, Montana’s primary was moved to the Tuesday following the first Monday in June.
Gillian Glaes:
That’s really interesting, because a measure designed to empower Montana voters now appears to strip them of national influence in presidential politics.
Eduardo O’Brien: It’s a great point. The Montana primary is near the end of the presidential nominating process. Iowa, New Hampshire, Super Tuesday: all those states and many more can weigh in before we do. Bennion feels your pain, Gillian.
Jessi Bennion: The presidential race is getting all the attention. It’s what excites people. So if Montana voters already know who the nominee will be, that will likely discourage them from running in the primary.
Austin Amestoy: I love when we can put a nice bow on a good mystery. Gillian, Ed, thank you so much for explaining this to us today. Great to have you present.
Gillian Glaes: Thank you so much for having me, it was a lot of fun and I really appreciate the time you took to answer my question.
Eduardo O’Brien: Of course, Gillian, thanks for joining us.
Austin Amestoy: Now we want to know what makes you curious about Montana. Submit your questions below. Find us wherever you listen to podcasts and help others find the show by sharing it and leaving a review. Let’s see what we can discover together!
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