Montana
Montana superintendent candidates ramp up campaigns, report earnings – Daily Montanan
A Democrat running for Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction continued to outpace both Republicans in fundraising in the most recent quarter, and candidates are touting top endorsements as campaign season gets underway.
Democrat Shannon O’Brien, an educator and earlier policy advisor to former Gov. Steve Bullock, raised more than twice as much money through the end of the year as Republican and Townsend superintendent Susie Hedalen.
O’Brien raised $52,343 in the most recent quarter compared to Hedalen’s $20,175 for the primary election, according to the most recent reports filed with the Montana Commissioner of Political Practices.
O’Brien also outraised Hedalen in the third quarter of 2023.
However, Democrats have not secured statewide offices in Montana in recent election cycles. U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, up for re-election this year, is the only Democrat to have won statewide since 2018.
Republican Elsie Arntzen won the superintendent of public instruction post the last two elections. Arntzen is termed out from that office but is among the Republicans running for U.S. House in the state’s eastern district since U.S. Rep. Matt Rosendale announced he’s stepping into the U.S. Senate race.
Also in the race for superintendent, Republican Sharyl Allen raised $1,450. Allen, former deputy superintendent for the Office of Public Instruction, has a history of controversial departures from education positions including petitions for her termination.
In recent years, rising political tensions across the country are increasingly evident in education.
Some of the more controversial bills in Montana in 2023 focused on education, including ones currently being litigated as attempts to privatize public education.
Montana also has struggled with low starting teacher pay and ways to recruit educators, including teachers, to rural classrooms.
In the race for superintendent, Libertarian Kevin Leatherbarrow is listed as withdrawn, but Hedalen and O’Brien have been active on social media highlighting their big-name supporters and their work in education.
“I had the privilege of joining Governor Greg Gianforte and industry leaders yesterday in a roundtable discussion about how our schools can take their career and technical programs to the next level,” said Hedalen this week on social media. “Incredible partnerships and recent legislation allow us to build a brighter future for Montana students that positively impacts our workforce. #SusieForSchools.”
Republicans Gianforte and Attorney General Austin Knudsen both have endorsed Hedalen, who also serves on the Board of Public Education as a Gianforte appointment.
This week, O’Brien talked about history and justice in her social media campaign.
“During Black History Month, we take purposeful time to recognize and respect the history and vital contributions of Black Americans, and reflect on their legacy within our communities,” O’Brien said in a post. “As Montanans, we support and honor each other, and this month we highlight Black American stories so we all work towards understanding and acknowledging historical injustices in our history. In doing so, we can build a better understanding of the present day, and grow and celebrate community bonds throughout Montana.”
O’Brien also highlighted support from former Superintendents of Public Instruction Denise Juneau and Nancy Keenan, also former head of the Montana Democratic Party.
O’Brien enters this quarter with $34,790 in the bank for the primary election and $7,350 for the general. She does not have a Democratic opponent for the primary.
Hedalen has $8,760 for the primary and $7,460 for the general.
HELENA, Mont. — Montana counties have accepted enough signatures for Seth Bodnar, running for U.S. Senate and Michael Eisenhauer, running in Montana’s 2nd Congressional District, to be on the November ballot, although counts are still unofficial.
County election officials are continuing to verify signatures submitted by Tuesday’s deadline as part of the candidate petition process.
The Montana Secretary of State’s Office has not yet verified, certified or accepted the petitions, according to the Secretary of State’s office.
Counties must submit candidate petitions to the Secretary of State’s office by June 1.
The Secretary of State’s office will then conduct its “statutory review to ensure the petitions meet the necessary legal requirements under law.”
The deadline for the November general election ballot to be certified is Thursday, Aug. 20. By then, all qualifying candidates and any potential ballot issues that qualify for the general election will be officially certified.
The following was out by the Montana Secretary of State’s Office:
The attached report is unofficial. It includes totals that the county election officials have processed and entered in the system. These totals do not represent what the Secretary of State’s Office has received, reviewed, tabulated, or certified. The certified totals may differ from what is reflected.
Seth Bodnar, U.S. Senate
- 13,327 required
- 18,772 accepted
- 7,812 rejected
Kimberly Persico, MT-01
- 6,742 required
- 563 accepted
- 156 rejected
Michael Eisenhauer, MT-02
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- 7,274 required
- 7,754 accepted
- 4,720 rejected
Severe storms moved through parts of Montana on Thursday, prompting a total of 5 Severe Thunderstorm Warnings. Reports included strong wind gusts and hail in several communities, including Augusta, Choteau, Sunburst, Bigfork, Kalispell and Evergreen.
The strongest reported wind gust was 60 mph near Augusta, while hail up to 1 inch was reported near Evergreen and Kalispell.
STORM REPORTS:
12 SE Grant — 56 mph thunderstorm wind gust
7 NNE Augusta — 60 mph thunderstorm wind gust
5 ENE Choteau — 59 mph thunderstorm wind gust
Sunburst — 54 mph thunderstorm wind gust
Ennis — 59 mph thunderstorm wind gust
3 SSW Ennis — 52 mph thunderstorm wind gust
2 E Helena — 54 mph thunderstorm wind gust
19 E Swan Lake — 56 mph thunderstorm wind gust
2 NNW Yaak — thunderstorm wind damage – Multiple downed trees reported along Highway 2 between MM 3 and 8
3 WSW Blacktail — 53 mph thunderstorm wind gust
1 NNW Troy — 49 mph thunderstorm wind gust
5 ENE Choteau — 56 mph thunderstorm wind gust
Turah — 0.88″ hail
1 NNW Bigfork — 0.75″ hail
3 SW La Salle — 0.50″ hail
2 N Evergreen — 1.00″ hail
1 W Kalispell — 1.00″ hail
3 WNW Kalispell — 0.75″ hail
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LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — A man from Las Vegas has been sentenced after stealing coins and precious metals from a Helena shop in Montana.
This comes after Bishop Lott, 47, pleaded guilty in January to one count of interstate transportation of stolen property.
A judge sentenced Lott on Thursday to 27 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $276,153.08 in restitution to the Helena business as well as five other theft victims.
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The government alleged in court documents that Lott, along with Ricky Rynell Rose, broke into Wayne Miller Coins in Helena and stole nearly $59,000 in coins and precious metals from a Helena business.
Rose pleaded guilty last year and was sentenced to 39 months in prison.
The Helena Police Department received a call on March 3, 2024, reporting that Wayne Miller Coins had been burglarized earlier that day.
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As part of their investigation, Helena police officers reviewed surveillance footage from multiple businesses. They analyzed email account data, which led them to Lott and Rose, who had taken the stolen material to Nevada.
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