HELENA — Current Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney emerged as the Democratic nominee in the race to become the 25th governor of the State of Montana.

Raised in Butte, he is the grandson of Montana’s 9th governor Frank Henry Cooney.

Cooney won his first political office at the age of 22. His political career included serving in both chambers of the State Legislature, working as a staffer for Max Baucus and three terms as Montana's secretary of state.

In 2015, Governor Steve Bullock appointed Cooney as his third Lt. Governor following the resignation of Angela McLean.

On July 3, 2019, Mike Cooney formally threw his hat into the ring to run for governor in the 2020 election.

Initially a crowded primary, it narrowed to the Lt. Governor and Missoula businesswoman Whitney Williams.

State House Minority Leader Casey Schreiner would join the Cooney ticket as Lt. Governor, facing off against Williams and farmer Buzz Mattelin for the democratic nomination. Cooney and Schreiner won the June Primary by a 10% margin.

Cooney has run a campaign of “preserving Montana as it is,” stressing the importance of public lands, decrying a statewide sales tax and ensuring higher education and health care is affordable.