Montana
The Democrats trying to stop a GOP takeover in Montana – Washington Examiner
BILLINGS, Montana — Republicans in Montana are on the cusp of achieving a feat only seen once before in the state’s history: a sweep of its Senate seats, governor’s mansion, and legislature at the same time.
It’s a scenario Ryan Busse, the Democratic nominee challenging Gov. Greg Gianforte (R-MT), doesn’t want to give much thought to.
“I don’t spend any time thinking about that right now,” Busse told the Washington Examiner. “I think people who care about this state, if that comes to pass, are going to have to buckle down and figure out what’s next. It’ll be a tough battle if that happens.”
Not since more than a century ago — in 1896, just seven years after Montana became the 41st state — has the GOP concurrently held both Montana Senate seats, the governorship, and both legislative chambers.
A loss by Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) to Republican rival Tim Sheehy, an outcome that would likely foreshadow other races for down-ballot Democrats like Busse, would almost certainly allow a sea of red to once again crash across the Great Plains State. The race is also on track to be the majority-maker for which party takes the U.S. Senate, a chamber currently held by Democrats by a one-seat margin.
The prospects of Montana Democrats avoiding a repeat of history, albeit for only the second time since the state joined the Union, looks increasingly dim.
Polling and nonpartisan election forecasters give an edge to Sheehy, a former Navy SEAL and Montana businessman, over Tester, a third-generation dirt farmer who’s served in the Senate since 2006 and is seeking a fourth consecutive term. Montana’s other senator is Republican Steve Daines, who is not up for reelection.
The race between Busse, an ex-firearms executive, and Gianforte, a former tech executive and congressman, is rated far less competitive and is considered a “solid” Republican seat.
Voters head to the polls for the contests in just a few weeks’ time against the backdrop of a legislature already held by Republicans with a super majority, although the party expects to lose some seats this year.
“That’s not healthy to have one party have extreme control over a state, be it Democratic or Republican, and that’s the case in Montana,” said Lou Hanebury of Billings, a retired U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employee who backs Busse and Tester. “I scratch my head. I don’t know what’s going on.”
Busse’s lieutenant governor running mate, Raph Graybill, pitched voters during a Tuesday night town hall on why they should embrace “divided government” by electing more Democrats like them.
“In my experience, when you have divided government, the legislators realize that their dumb ideas, the ideas that are just about phoning the other side or making a statement, it is going to waste people’s time,” said Graybill, who served as chief legal counsel to former Gov. Steve Bullock (D-MT). “They sink to the bottom because people know they’ll get weaker, and these good ideas percolate to the top.”
Sheehy certainly doesn’t see it that way, at least not at the national level. He makes the case that Tester is trying to deflect from the national importance of his election by projecting a more centrist image that leans into his Montana roots. He and other Republicans say that Tester would hand Democrats power in Washington even if he breaks with his party on occasion.
“He can’t be affiliated with the Democrats’ national platform,” Sheehy told rallygoers on Monday in Glendive, a small east Montana town near the North Dakota border that’s home to barely 4,000 residents. “He tries to make the election local and say, ‘Well, I’m a dirt farmer. I got a flat-top hairdo, and I got my fingers cut off in a meat grinder,’ and all those other things. ‘I’m a local guy, forget about what’s going on national.’”
Montana is no doubt a Republican stronghold for president; former President Donald Trump won by more than 16 points in 2020 and 20 points in 2016. But its ruby-red status at the state level is a newer feature that has eclipsed the once purple reputation that existed for down-ballot races throughout the more than 125 years since a Republican takeover of its state offices.
“There are cycles to all this stuff. But I think ultimately, Montana will always give a candidate a fair shake, and they’re not crazy about one party being in charge of anything,” said Eric Stern, an ex-senior adviser to Bullock and former Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D-MT). “There’s always going to be a place for Democrats in Montana, and there will be good years and bad years and good eras and bad eras.”
Montana Democratic state Rep. Paul Tuss placed the onus on state and local Democrats to better “focus on the core issues that are central to their families,” including affordable housing, infrastructure, and simply embracing a style of “government that works.”
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Tuss is a longtime friend of Tester, whose R+8 district overlaps with the state Senate district Tester once held before being elected to Congress.
“I think that sometimes we get wrapped up with regard to the cultural wars that seem to dominate national politics, and we sometimes lose the argument when those things occur,” Tuss said. “Rather than discussing these meat and potato issues that really are the issues that are so central to our party, sometimes we get lost in those culture war issues.”
KALISPELL, Mont. — Country music star Walker Hayes will headline the 2026 Northwest Montana Fair concert, opening the Northwest Montana Fair & Rodeo in Kalispell.
Hayes is scheduled to perform Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, at the Flathead County Fairgrounds. The 2026 Northwest Montana Fair & Rodeo runs Aug. 12-16.
Hayes is known for hit songs including “Fancy Like,” “AA,” and “You Broke Up With Me.”
“We are thrilled to bring Walker Hayes to the Northwest Montana Fair,” said Sam Nunnally, Manager of the NW Montana Fair & Rodeo. “Our goal each year is to create unforgettable experiences for our community and visitors, and this concert will be a highlight of the 2026 Fair.”
Tickets for the Walker Hayes concert will be available through the Northwest Montana Fair website at nwmtfair.com.
The Northwest Montana Fair & Rodeo welcomes more than 80,000 guests annually and is one of the largest summer events in the region, featuring concerts, PRCA ProRodeo action, carnival rides, exhibits, food vendors, and family entertainment.
BOZEMAN — Aaron Flint and Al Olszewski, Republican candidates for Montana’s Western District U.S. House race, squared off Tuesday in their party’s only scheduled debate before the party primary.
The two debated for about 90 minutes at Bozeman’s Calvary Chapel before an audience of about 120 people. Bozeman anchors Gallatin County, which is second in Republican votes only to Flathead County within the 18-county district.
Natural resource jobs, affordable housing and U.S. military attacks on Iran dominated the discussion. Each question drew 12 minutes of response. Both men called for an end to stock trading by members of Congress, and for federal budgets to be passed on time through regular procedures.
The Montana GOP sponsored the debate. Candidate Christi Jacobsen, Montana’s secretary of state, was unable to attend, according to state Republican Party Chair Art Wittich. State Senate President Matt Regier moderated.
Among the highlights: Flint mentioned no fewer than eight times that he is endorsed by President Donald Trump. Olszewski mentioned Trump by name only a couple of times.
Never too far from Flint’s talking points were “far-left socialists,” whom he credited for “gerrymandering” the Western House District (which has delivered comfortable wins for Republicans since first appearing on the ballot in 2022). The 2026 election cycle was the target of Democrats on the state’s districting commission, Flint said. (Both Democrats on the commission that drew the district in 2021 voted against its current configuration.)
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The near faux pas of the night came during Olszewski’s discussion of good-paying jobs in trades and natural resources: “Trades jobs, natural resource jobs, you know, high-dollar, white-collar jobs, our remote workers who have moved into Montana, and we’ve adapted an economy around them. You know, these are the people, and those are the jobs that will bring our kids home, those high-paying white-collar jobs, or a good natural resource job in western Montana, in one of those mines, or, you know, you know, a sawyer or a hooker” — big pause — “as in timber, not the other way around.”
The line that didn’t land: Flint tried and failed to get audience applause for the 2024 defeat of Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester by Republican Sen. Tim Sheehy — an unseating Flint campaigned for.
“How many of you out there are so glad that we finally got rid of the flip-flop, flat-top liberal senator, Jon Tester? How many of you are so glad we finally did that?”
After a silence, Flint explained to people watching the debate on Facebook that the audience was just being polite.
“They’re waving because we can’t have disruptions. See, they’re good rule followers here in the Republican Party,” Flint said.
Asked how to alleviate Montana’s housing affordability crisis:
Olszewski: “The only way you can afford an expensive house is you’ve got to have a job that pays good money. Tourist jobs provide rent and roommates. Trades jobs, natural resource jobs, high‑dollar white‑collar jobs … those are the jobs that will bring our kids home.” Dr. Al, as Olszewski is widely known, said Wall Street investment buyers are distorting housing prices and the federal government has weakened the dollar.
Flint: “Thirty percent of the cost of a home is all due to red tape and regulations … It costs $100,000 to build a home before you even put a hole in the ground.”
Flint said reviving Montana’s timber industry would lower home values and added, “I support President Trump’s ban on these big Wall Street firms buying single-family homes. I think that’s something that we’ve got to get across the finish line.”
“We can deliver when it comes to making the Montana dream affordable again by delivering affordable housing. But another piece is promoting trades and trades education to build up our workforce.”
Asked how Congress should respond to the Iran conflict:
Olszewski: “I supported our president with what happened in Venezuela. There’s a $25 million bounty on basically someone that was killing our people through drugs, right? I’m not so happy with what’s going on in the Iran war. I’m not a warrior. I’m a physician from the military that fixed military people … What my perspective is, is that countries can win wars, but people do not. They don’t come back.” Olszewski said Congress will have to decide whether to authorize further use of military force and set terms in about 10 days.
Flint: “Let me just say this. We are sick and tired of these forever wars, and we do not want to see a long-term boots-on-the-ground Iraq-style nation-building exercise, and I think President Trump shares that mission as well. Let me also say this about Iran. First off, [former Venezuelan President Nicolás] Maduro is behind bars. [Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali] Khamenei is dead, but the far-left socialists are on the march in Montana.”
Asked about reforming Congress:
Olszewski: “What our congressmen and congresswomen have to understand is that if you’re in the House, the House belongs to the people, and they need to, first and foremost, represent you, not themselves, not special interests. It’s not about sound-bites. It’s about actually getting work done and governing.” Olszewski said the House needs to pass a budget based on 12 agency appropriations bills before the end of each federal fiscal year, a process known as “regular order.”
Flint: “We need to return to regular order and get single-subject bills and get these appropriations bills done one by one. If they can’t get a budget done, they shouldn’t get paid. And we need a ban on congressional stock trading. Because I think part of the reason why the American people are so frustrated with Congress right now is because … they believe that Congress is so useless, because we’ve got some of these politicians back there that are getting rich off the backs of taxpayers.”
Neither candidate offered a plan for cutting taxes, once a staple of Republican platforms. Both supported reductions in federal spending without identifying particular cuts.
Voting in Montana’s 2026 primary election begins May 4 and ends June 2.
POLSON, Mont. — Two motorcyclists crashed on Highway 35 near Polson after failing to negotiate a left-hand curve, leaving one man dead and another hospitalized, according to the Montana Highway Patrol.
Two motorcycles were traveling southbound on Highway 35 when both drifted into a guardrail. Both drivers were separated from their motorcycles and ended up on the other side of the guardrail.
A 58-year-old Polson man was confirmed dead at the scene. The second driver, a 45-year-old man, also from Polson, was taken to the hospital with injuries.
Alcohol is a suspected factor in the crash, according to the Montana Highway Patrol.
The crash is under investigation.
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