Montanans aren’t confident about the direction of the state and generally disapprove of their top elected officials, according to a Montana Free Press-Rutgers Eagleton poll.
The 839 voters polled were selected randomly from Montana’s registered voter file. Only 36% of those polled said Montana “is currently going in the right direction,” while 53% said the state “has gone off on the wrong track.” The remaining respondents to the poll, conducted Aug. 27 to Sept. 7, said they weren’t sure.
Voters gave slightly better marks to President Donald Trump and the state’s top elected officials than they did to the direction of the state generally.
The president received a 42% job approval rating, with 53% of voters disapproving. About 78% of Republicans and Republican-leaning respondents approved of Trump’s job performance, while 97% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning respondents disapproved.
Voters were evenly split on their assessment of Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte’s job performance, with 46% approving, 46% disapproving, and 8% indicating they didn’t know. Among Republicans and voters who lean Republican, 77% approved of Gianforte’s job performance, while 85% of Democrats and voters who lean Democratic disapproved.
Overall job performance approval numbers for U.S. Sens. Steve Daines and Tim Sheehy, both Republicans, were in the low 40s, with Daines receiving a 41% approval rating and a 46% disapproval rating, with the remainder saying they didn’t know. Among Republicans and Republican-leaning voters, 70% said they approved of Daines, while 88% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning voters disapproved.
Sheehy received a 43% approval rating, with 47% of respondents disapproving, and the remainder saying they didn’t know. Two years into his first term, Sheehy received a 77% approval rating from Republicans and Republican-leaning voters. Democrats and Democratic-leaning voters disapproved of Sheehy at 91%.
Daines chose not to seek a third Senate term this election. Sheehy was elected in 2024.
In western Montana, 33% of voters approved of Republican Rep. Ryan Zinke’s job performance, while 49% disapproved and the remainder didn’t know. Republicans and Republican-leaning voters gave Zinke a 61% approval share, while 90% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning voters disapproved of Zinke.
In Eastern Montana, Republican Rep. Troy Downing received a 43% approval rating, while 36% disapproved and 21% didn’t know. Among Republicans and Republican-leaning voters, 68% approved of Downing’s job performance, while 76% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning voters disapproved.
Polling populations specific to the U.S. House Districts are roughly half the size of the statewide polling sample, which produces a margin of error different from the statewide poll for each district. The poll results’ margin of error for Downing is roughly 5.8%, and for Zinke 6%.
This Montana Insights Poll surveyed registered voters in Montana who were invited by text message to complete an online survey. Data was collected from August 27, 2026, to September 7, 2026. Participants were recruited using a probability-based method, meaning they were randomly drawn from the state’s registered voter file, so every voter had a known chance of being invited. The results were weighted during analysis to reflect the demographics of Montana’s registered voters. The survey’s overall margin of error is +/- 4.2%. The full methodology is available to review here. Detailed poll results from the latest round of polling conducted in September 2026 can be downloaded as a spreadsheet here.
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