Cooney (born September 3, 1954) is an American administrator and Democratic Party politician, who has served as the 36th Lieutenant Governor of Montana since January 2016.
He previously served in the Montana House of Representatives (1977–1981), as the Secretary of State of Montana (1989–2001), in the Montana Senate (2003–2011), as the President of the Montana Senate (2007–2009) and ran unsuccessfully for Governor of Montana in 2000.
He has also served as, amongst other roles, Executive Director of Montana Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies (2001–2006), Division Administrator of the Workforce Services Division at the Montana Department of Labor and Industry (2006–2015), Director of the Montana Historical Society (2010–2011), and Deputy Commissioner of the Montana Department of Labor and Industry (2015–2016).
He is currently running for Governor of Montana in the 2020 election.