Montana

Millions of dollars raised and spent in Montana U.S. Senate race

Published

2 years ago

February 1, 2024

Millions of dollars raised and spent in Montana U.S. Senate race

HELENA — Wednesday was the deadline for federal candidates to submit their year-end fundraising numbers – and, as expected, millions more dollars have poured into the nationally watched race for Montana’s U.S. Senate seat.

The Federal Election Commission’s year-end reports show what campaigns raised and spent in the fourth quarter – October, November and December – giving an updated financial picture coming into 2024.

MTN News

Incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester’s campaign reported raising just over $5.5 million during that period – the fourth consecutive quarter that they brought in more than $5 million. They spent nearly $7.3 million over those three months, including more than $3.3 million on paid media and another roughly $2 million on digital media. Even so, the campaign still had more than $11.2 million in cash on hand at the start of January.

Among the Republican candidates challenging Tester, Gallatin County businessman and Navy veteran Tim Sheehy’s campaign brought in almost $2.5 million in the fourth quarter, including $450,000 in personal loans from Sheehy. The campaign spent $2.3 million, including around $1.4 million earmarked for media placement and production, and they had just under $1.3 million in the bank at the start of the year. Sheehy has raised a total of $5.3 million since launching his campaign.

Former Secretary of State Brad Johnson, who told MTN when he announced his campaign that he expected to be significantly outspent in the GOP primary, brought in just over $22,000 during the quarter, including $15,000 of his own money. He spent more than $20,000 over the period.

The potential Republican candidate who hasn’t officially announced a run for Senate is U.S. Rep. Matt Rosendale, who has hinted he may jump into the race. Rosendale’s campaign committee raised only about $98,000 during the last quarter, and it spent just under $166,000 – though they had more than $1.6 million in cash on hand at the end of 2023. They brought in a total of just over $1 million throughout the year.

The spending isn’t only coming from the candidates themselves. Millions more in independent expenditures were also reported this quarter in the Senate race – one of the top races nationwide in 2024.

A group called Last Best Place PAC has been consistently running ads attacking Sheehy. According to their FEC report, they brought in and spent just over $2.1 million during the fourth quarter – all of it from Majority Forward, a group linked with Senate Majority PAC, a nationwide super PAC supporting Democratic Senate candidates. In a HuffPost article, Senate Majority PAC confirmed it was behind the ad spending, which the article said has grown to nearly $5.8 million.

Sheehy’s campaign said in a statement that this showed national Democrats were interfering in the GOP primary, and that they were going after Sheehy because he was the strongest candidate to take on Tester.

“The career politicians back in DC are terrified of conservative outsider Tim Sheehy because he’s going to stand shoulder to shoulder with President Trump to drain the swamp, save our country, and put America and Montana First!” a campaign spokesperson said.

Sheehy has also received super PAC support. A group called More Jobs, Less Government has paid for ads backing him, including more than $1 million in the last quarter. Their expenditures included digital ads, radio ads, direct mail and text messaging and emails.

Meanwhile, national media has reported more outside groups are already buying ad time for the general election. Politico reported Senate Majority PAC has made an initial reservation of $27 million in Montana to support Tester, while NBC News says Republican-aligned super PACs Senate Leadership Fund and American Crossroads are spending almost $50 million on fall ad time.

The next federal campaign finance reports will cover the first quarter, from January to March. By that time, we’ll have a full picture of which candidates are in the Senate and congressional races.

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Montana

March 5 recap: Missoula and Western Montana news you may have missed today

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40 minutes ago

March 6, 2026

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March 5 recap: Missoula and Western Montana news you may have missed today

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Montana

Montana GOP won’t endorse in federal races this cycle • Daily Montanan

Published

13 hours ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

Montana GOP won’t endorse in federal races this cycle • Daily Montanan

Although newly minted GOP candidates for the U.S. House and U.S. Senate have garnered heavyweight endorsements, the Montana Republican Party said Thursday it won’t throw its support behind any candidates for federal office in the primary.

“The Montana Republican Party (MTGOP) stands behind its deep bench of qualified candidates seeking to represent Montanans and supports a competitive primary process to let voters pick their preferred candidates,” the Montana GOP said in a news release Thursday.

Monday, U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke announced he was retiring due to health concerns once his term ends, and he immediately tapped talk-show host Aaron Flint as his preferred successor in Congress.

Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen and Flathead County Republican Central Committee Chairperson Al Olszewski also filed for the U.S. House as Republicans, as did Ray Curtis of Bonner.

Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Steve Daines withdrew, and in a statement the same night, announced an endorsement of former U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme, who had filed the same day.

In the Senate, Lee Calhoun and Charles Walking Child also filed to run in the Republican primary.

Endorsements for Flint and Alme cascaded. U.S. President Donald Trump endorsed both candidates, and U.S. Sen. Tim Sheehy and Gov. Greg Gianforte threw their weight behind Flint and Alme.

Late on Wednesday, the Montana GOP did not immediately have comment on the news Daines, Montana’s senior U.S. senator, had resigned, but Thursday, the party thanked Zinke and Daines for their service.

A news release said the party would not endorse any candidates in the federal primary and would leave the job in the hands of voters.

“The party hopes every candidate will make their case to the public, contrasting their Republican policies and principles with those of Democrats — as well as phony ‘Independents,’” the news release said.

Former University of Montana President Seth Bodnar announced a run for the U.S. Senate as an independent this week.

A tension within the Republican party has emerged in recent years between hardline conservatives and more moderate members, and some legislative primaries illustrate the split.

This week, the state GOP said the number of primaries for state legislative seats shows a high interest from Montanans who want to serve the state and pass Republican policy, and the MTGOP “is glad to see so many Republicans being called to public service.”

In a brief call, MTGOP spokesperson Ethan Holmes said the party had not ruled out endorsements in legislative primaries.

In the news release, however, the MTGOP offered its view of the larger political debate.

“Montana voters know that beyond the primaries, there is a clear choice between Republican and Democratic governance; one path leads to lower taxes, less crime and stronger families, and the other leads to higher taxes, more crime, and social decay,” MTGOP Chairperson Art Wittich said in a statement.

The news release also said the state GOP is working “tirelessly to deliver a Bright Red Future” at both the state and federal level and looks forward to help candidates whom voters select win in November.

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Montana Lottery Powerball, Lotto America results for March 4, 2026

Published

1 day ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

The Montana Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at March 4, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from March 4 drawing

07-14-42-47-56, Powerball: 06, Power Play: 4

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lotto America numbers from March 4 drawing

33-38-39-47-51, Star Ball: 07, ASB: 02

Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from March 4 drawing

01-07-08-27, Bonus: 12

Check Big Sky Bonus payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from March 4 drawing

05-10-26-53-59, Powerball: 06

Check Powerball Double Play payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Montana Cash numbers from March 4 drawing

03-04-06-08-10

Check Montana Cash payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from March 4 drawing

12-13-36-39-58, Bonus: 03

Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

When are the Montana Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 8:59 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 9 p.m. MT on Tuesday and Friday.
Lucky For Life: 8:38 p.m. MT daily.
Lotto America: 9 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Big Sky Bonus: 7:30 p.m. MT daily.
Powerball Double Play: 8:59 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Montana Cash: 8 p.m. MT on Wednesday and Saturday.
Millionaire for Life: 9:15 p.m. MT daily.

Missed a draw? Peek at the past week’s winning numbers.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Great Falls Tribune editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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