Montana voters head to the polls on Tuesday in the state's GOP and Democratic primaries, and there are several hotly anticipated races to watch for.
At the top of the ticket, U.S. Representative Denny Rehberg (R-MT) is challenging incumbent U.S. Senator Jon Tester (D-MT), which has opened up the state's sole seat in the House.
The GOP is hoping to take control of the Senate away from the Democrats and are therefore spending millions of dollars in the race. Now that Rehberg is giving up his congressional seat for the run against Tester, there are 10 different Montanans looking to take over his spot, three Republicans and seven Democrats. Steve Daines is favored to win the Republican nomination, but voters will need to watch the 7-way Democratic primary to see who comes out on top.
There is also a closely watched gubernatorial race, in which 10 candidates are running for Democratic Governor Brian Schweitzer's seat (he's termed out). Democrat Attorney Gneral Steve Bullock is expected to clinch his party's nomination, but seven Republicans are fighting hard for the nomination. Rick Hill has the lead, according to polls, but several others have grassroots support, including Democrats Jesse Laslovich and Pam Bucy.
PolicyMic will be following the results of the Montana primary live. For real-time updates, refresh this page.
UPDATE: Wednesday 8:52 AM By Wednesday morning, 531 of 794 (or 67%) of precincts are reporting. Romney (the winner) has 69% (83,182 votes), Paul has 14% (17,037 votes), Santorum received 9% (10,839 votes), and Gingrich has 4% (5,275 votes).
11:34 PM 33 of 794 (or 4%) of precincts are reporting. Romney has 71% (37,550 votes), Paul has 13% (6,803 votes), Santorum has 8% (4,457 votes), and Gingrich has 4% (2,058 votes). Check back in the morning for final updates.
11:20 PM With 3% reporting the percentage breakdown remains very similar: Romney has 71% (33,780 votes), Paul has 13% (6,094 votes), Santorum has 8% (4,025 votes), and Gingrich has 4% (1,864 votes).
10:49 PM In other races across the state, CNN is projecting that Steve Bullock will win the Democratic gubernatorial primary, and Rep. Denny Rehberg will win the Republican Senate primary.
10:32 PM With 1% of precincts reporting, Mitt Romney leads with 72% (17,648 votes), Ron Paul follows with 11% (2,624 votes), bringing up the rear are Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich who have 9% (2,194 votes) and 4% (991 votes), respectively.
10:23 PM Mitt Romney named projected winner in Montana.
9:06 PM Still awaiting the initial results of the Montana primary. 0% reporting.
For a live update of Romney vs. Paul in Montana, see here.
