From collection Candidates
Mary E. Finnegan, a Democrat was elected County Superintendent of Schools in Chouteau County, Montana in 1886. She won against the Republican incumbent Mary E. Johnstone. Finnegan, endorsed by both the Democrats and Republican parties, ran unopposed and was re-elected for two more terms. In 1892 she ran as the Democratic candidate and won against Hattie T. Guyon, the Republican. Finnegan ran for a fifth term in 1894 as a Democrat and Populist, but was defeated by the Republican candidate Margery "Hattie" Jacoby. Finnegan had been a school teacher in Montana before her election.
