Stephen Clark Bullock (born April 11, 1966) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 24th governor of Montana from 2013 to 2021. He is a member of the Democratic Party.

Born in Missoula, Montana, Bullock graduated from Claremont McKenna College and Columbia Law School. He began his career working as legal counsel to the Secretary of State of Montana before becoming the Executive Assistant Attorney General and acting Chief Deputy Attorney General of Montana. Bullock then entered private practice as a lawyer for Steptoe & Johnson. He was an adjunct professor at George Washington University Law School before opening his own law firm upon returning to Montana. In 2008, Bullock was elected Attorney General of Montana, and he served one term from 2009 to 2013.

Bullock declared his candidacy for governor of Montana on September 7, 2011. Bullock won the Democratic primary with 87% of the vote and defeated Republican former Congressman Rick Hill in the general election with 48.9% of the vote. In 2016, Bullock was reelected with 50.3% of the vote, defeating Republican nominee Greg Gianforte.

Bullock chaired the National Governors Association from 2018 to 2019. He was a Democratic candidate for President of the United States in 2020. After suspending his presidential campaign, he announced his candidacy for the United States Senate in the 2020 election. Bullock lost the 2020 Senate election to incumbent Senator Steve Daines.

On January 20, 2022, Bullock was appointed by Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland to the inaugural board of directors of the Foundation for America's Public Lands. Bullock's post-gubernatorial public appearances have tended to focus on the importance of bipartisanship, moderation, and democracy. As of 2024, he is the most recent Democrat to serve as Attorney General or Governor of Montana.

Early life, education, and legal career Bullock was born in Missoula, Montana, and raised in Helena, the state capital. He is the son of Penny Clark, a school board trustee, and Mike Bullock, a teacher and administrator."Bullock vows to create jobs and protect union rights" , stevebullock.com; accessed September 17, 2015. Bullock attended Helena High School where he met his wife, Lisa Downs, and graduated in 1984. His parents divorced when he was in grade school. Bullock received his B.A. degree in Philosophy, Politics & Economics (PPE) from Claremont McKenna College and his J.D. degree with honors from Columbia Law School. He and Lisa married in 1999 and they have three children.

In 1996, Bullock served as chief legal counsel to Montana Secretary of State Mike Cooney. He went on to work for four years with the Montana Department of Justice under Attorney General Joe Mazurek, first as executive assistant attorney general, and later as acting chief deputy (1997–2001). During this time, he also served as legislative director, coordinating the Attorney General's legislative efforts.

He was unsuccessful in his first race for Montana Attorney General, losing the 2000 Democratic primary to Mike McGrath, who went on to be elected Attorney General that year and later served as Chief Justice of the Montana Supreme Court. From 2001 to 2004, Bullock practiced law with Steptoe & Johnson in Washington, D.C., where he also served as an adjunct professor at George Washington University Law School. He returned to Montana in 2004, working in private practice in Helena.

Attorney General of Montana Bullock was the Democratic nominee for Attorney General in 2008, defeating two other candidates in the June primary election. He went on to win the contested general election race with 52.64% of the vote against Republican Tim Fox. Bullock received 245,669 votes, more than either other candidate. Under Bullock, the Attorney General's office initiated the 24/7 Sobriety Program which requires repeat DUI offenders to take daily alcohol tests.

The Attorney General's office also pursued the railroad industry for monopolistic business practices and took part in a 16-state effort to urge the federal government to use antitrust authority against consolidation in agriculture. Bullock focused on the misclassification of employees as independent contractors and allowing FedEx to avoid paying millions in state taxes and fees. His efforts resulted in changes by FedEx to comply with federal and state laws.

Bullock attracted national attention by challenging the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision through his defense of Montana's 100-year-old ban on corporate campaign expenditures. After winning in the Montana Supreme Court, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the State of Montana in a 5–4 decision.

Bullock, who authored the state's opinion guaranteeing access to rivers, streams, and public lands, worked with the legislature and Governor Brian Schweitzer to codify the access opinion into law.

Governor of Montana

Elections

On September 7, 2011, Bullock announced his candidacy for governor of Montana in 2012. In the Democratic primary, he faced Helena resident Heather Margolis. Bullock won with 87% of the vote. Bullock's running mate was John Walsh, the former Adjutant General of the Montana National Guard.

Bullock pledged to give Montana homeowners a one-time $400 property tax rebate to refund a portion of the state's $400 million budget surplus. The proposal became a bill in 2013 but died in committee.

Bullock narrowly won the November 6 election, defeating former Republican Congressman Rick HillNetworks Declare Bullock Winner in Tight Race for Governor , The Billings Gazette by Charles S. Johnson. November 6, 2012. Retrieved November 7, 2012. with 48.9% of the vote to Hill's 47.3%. Libertarian candidate Ron Vandevender received 3.8%.Michael Barone, et al. The Almanac of American Politics 2014 (2013) (Kindle Locations 48242-48245).

In 2016, Bullock was reelected with 50.2% of the vote, defeating Republican nominee Greg Gianforte. His running mate was Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney, who had become lieutenant governor in January 2016 after being appointed by Bullock to fill a vacancy. Bullock and Cooney were the only two Democrats to retain statewide offices in the 2016 elections as the Republicans captured the offices of Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction, Montana State Auditor, and Montana Secretary of State and held onto the offices of Montana Attorney General and U.S. Representative for Montana's at-large congressional district.

First term Bullock and Walsh were sworn in on January 7, 2013. Bullock later appointed Walsh to become the new Senator from Montana to replace Max Baucus, who had been appointed Ambassador to China. Bullock then appointed Angela McLean to replace Walsh as lieutenant governor. In November 2015, McLean announced her resignation as lieutenant governor, effective upon the appointment of her successor, in order to accept the position of director of American Indian and minority achievement in the office of the state commissioner of higher education. In December 2015, Bullock announced the appointment of Mike Cooney as McLean's replacement. Cooney was sworn in on January 4, 2016. According to a September 20, 2016, survey by Morning Consult, Bullock, with a 66% approval rating and a 19% disapproval rating, was the most popular Democratic governor in the United States, as well as the fourth-most popular overall, behind Republicans Dennis Daugaard of South Dakota, Larry Hogan of Maryland, and Charlie Baker of Massachusetts.

Second term Bullock began his second term on January 2, 2017, alongside Lieutenant Governor Cooney. Following the 2016 elections, Bullock faced large Republican majorities in the Montana Legislature. Republicans gained three State Senate seats and widened their Senate majority over the Democrats to 32–18 while maintaining a 59–41 majority in the Montana House of Representatives, the same as in 2015.

Bullock chaired the National Governors Association from 2018 to 2019.

In the 2018 state legislative elections in Montana, Democrats won 42 of 100 seats in the Montana House of Representatives and gained two seats in the Montana Senate. This meant that, in the 2019 state legislative session that Bullock presided over, Republicans held 60% of the seats in the upper chamber and 58% in the lower chamber of the legislature.

In November 2020, Bullock was named as a potential Secretary of the Interior in the Biden administration.

COVID-19 pandemic During the COVID-19 pandemic, Bullock created a task force on March 3, 2020, declared a state of emergency on March 12, and closed public schools March 15. He issued a stay-at-home order on March 26; earlier that day, the Montana Hospital Association requested such an order. The order was described as having been implemented early in the pandemic and before many other states. In July, Bullock issued a statewide face mask mandate for indoor public places and large outdoor gatherings. In August, he gave county election officials permission to implement all-mail-in voting if they choose.

2020 presidential campaign

In 2017 Bullock formed the Big Sky Values PAC, which by spring 2019 had raised nearly $1.8 million, to pay for travel around the United States. On May 14, 2019, Bullock announced his candidacy for the 2020 presidential election. In his announcement video, Bullock said that opposing political "dark money" and legislating against the Citizens United Supreme Court ruling would be among his utmost priorities. Based on his three statewide electoral victories in a Republican-leaning, largely rural state, Bullock held a certain cachet of "electability", and appeared to have a plausible path to the nomination. His mid-May entrance was relatively late, but he was still able to qualify for the second Democratic debate in July. Even so, the late start left him with less media exposure than his numerous rivals: he found it hard to raise funds, and never rose above 1% in nationwide polls. He ended his campaign on December 2, 2019.

2020 U.S. Senate campaign

On March 4, 2020, after months of speculation and denials from Bullock himself, The New York Times reported that Bullock would enter Montana's U.S. Senate election to challenge Republican incumbent Steve Daines. The move came after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) flew to Montana to persuade Bullock to run and after Bullock talked with former president Barack Obama. Bullock ran for the seat formerly held for six terms by Democrat Max Baucus.

Bullock officially declared his candidacy on March 9, 2020, the last day to file. Bullock's entrance into the race prompted three other Democratic candidates to drop out. Before Bullock entered the race, this seat was projected to be a safe Republican hold. However, Bullock's entrance shifted the dynamics of the contest; many political pundits then considered it a competitive race and a potential pickup for Democrats.

On June 2, 2020, Bullock won the three-way Democratic primary with 95.5% of the vote.

Democrats outspent Republicans, $82 million to $63 million, on this race; it was one of the most expensive Senate races in the 2020 cycle.

On November 3, 2020, Daines defeated Bullock by 10 points in the general election.

Post-gubernatorial career As of 2022, Bullock served on the bipartisan advisory board of States United Democracy Center. On January 20, 2022, Bullock was appointed by Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland to the inaugural board of directors of the Foundation for America's Public Lands, a congressionally-chartered non-profit tasked with leveraging private and public money to protect public lands under the Bureau of Land Management. Bullock's post-gubernatorial public appearances have tended to focus on the importance of bipartisanship, moderation, and democracy.

Political positions Bullock has been described by The Washington Post and ABC News as a moderate Democrat. The New York Times referred to Bullock as being among centrist Democratic governors.

Abortion