Montana
Montana Supreme Court denies Democratic Party's request for control of Green Party case • Daily Montanan
A five-justice Montana Supreme Court panel on Tuesday denied the Montana Democratic Party’s request that the court take over its case challenging the appointment of the Green Party’s U.S. Senate candidate, saying the party had not convinced the justices that a lower court erroneously allowed the Green Party candidate onto the ballot.
The decision means U.S. Senate candidate Robert Barb remains on the ballot.
While the court panel denied the party’s request for a writ of supervisory control, it also found that the party had not shown it was likely to succeed on the merits of its argument for a preliminary injunction that would block Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen from certifying the November ballot to include Barb.
The denial of the writ does not outright put an end to the Democratic Party’s case; it has appealed Lewis and Clark County District Court Judge Mike McMahon’s ruling from Sept. 3, which denied the Democratic Party’s request for an injunction to keep Barb off the ballot. Barb is the lone third-party candidate on the ballot alongside Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester and Republican Tim Sheehy.
But the court panel wrote in its opinion Tuesday that it would “reach the same result as that court under a different analysis.”
In a statement, Jacobsen said she was happy with the court’s decision and that her office had followed the law when it certified the November ballot to include Barb’s name.
“I’m pleased that the Supreme Court unanimously rejected this hail Mary attempt to undermine Montana election law,” she said in a statement. “From the start, this lawsuit was a baseless political game from Washington elites that showed complete disrespect for Montana and our election officials.”
The Democratic Party’s attorney had argued in the request for supervisory control that McMahon had incorrectly interpreted statute that involves how a party replaces a candidate on the November ballot when the primary winner drops out of the race or dies prior to the election.
Green Party U.S. Senate primary winner Michael Downey dropped out of the race on the final day he was allowed to, and the party appointed Barb as his replacement just ahead of Jacobsen’s deadline to certify the November ballot. The Democratic Party sued, arguing the party did not follow its bylaws in accordance with the law that concerns how parties replace their candidates.
Lewis and Clark County District Court Judge Kathy Seeley originally granted a temporary restraining order less than an hour after Jacobsen certified the ballot, but after hearing arguments from the three sides in a preliminary injunction hearing a week later, McMahon vacated the restraining order and denied the Democratic Party’s request for a preliminary injunction.
Attorneys for the Democratic Party, Jacobsen and Barb all filed briefs with the court during the past week and a half, and a five-justice panel unanimously decided Tuesday not to grant the writ or preliminary injunction requested by the Democrats.
Much of the argument has involved the words “appointment” and “nomination,” where they are contained in various election and candidate statutes, and whether the Green Party properly followed the law in replacing Downey with Barb.
The court panel found the Legislature had made different procedures for challenging nominations than for appointing a replacement candidate. It also found that interpreting a section of law as requiring a party who wants to challenge the appointment of a replacement candidate to wait until after certification “would be at odds with allowing ballots to be printed and distributed in a timely fashion.”
“Although such would not be an absurd result, it would not give effect to the purpose of the statute, which in part requires political parties to comply with their own bylaws in appointing replacement candidates in the event of the death or withdrawal of a nominee after the primary election,” the court wrote.
But it found that the Democratic Party had not established that it is likely to succeed on the merits of its request for a preliminary injunction, for which four factors need to be met in order for one to be granted.
The court also agreed with the state’s argument that the Democratic Party’s contention that Barb was not appointed in accordance with the Green Party’s bylaws was “merely speculative.”
“MDP has thus failed to demonstrate that it is likely that the Montana Green Party violated its party ‘rules’ when its state central committee appointed Barb to fill the vacancy created by Downey’s withdrawal,” the court wrote.
The panel ruled that while it disagreed with McMahon’s application of a portion of state law, the Democratic Party did not establish it was likely to succeed on the merits.
“MDP has not convinced us that the District Court erred in its ruling in its Sept. 3, 2024 Order, although we reach the same result as that court under a different analysis,” the court wrote. “Since we have not concluded that the District Court is proceeding under a mistake of law, this matter is not susceptible to writ of supervisory control.”
Barb’s attorney, Rob Cameron, said he and his client felt the court got the decision correct that the Democratic Party was not entitled to an injunction.
“We’re gratified and encouraged by the Supreme Court’s prompt ruling here. Of course we agree that the Supreme Court got it right on the law, and that was the important issue – that the Democratic Party did not meet its initial burden of proving a likelihood of success on the merits of the case,” he said.
Cameron said he views the separate appeal as essentially moot because of the time that has passed and the state laws requiring county election officials to mail out ballots to overseas and military voters by Sept. 20 this year.
A spokesperson for the Democratic Party did not respond to a question of whether the party would continue with the appeal.
Robyn Driscoll, chairperson of the Montana Democratic Party, said the party would focus on educating voters about Barb, whom the party contends is a Republican who swore to run as a Green Party candidate in an attempt to sway the Senate race between Tester and Sheehy.
“While today’s ruling is disappointing, the Montana Democratic Party will continue to make sure that voters know the truth about Robert Barb: He is a well-known Republican who shares right-wing conspiracy theories and believes climate change is a ‘B.S. fake narrative,’” Driscoll said in a statement. “We strongly condemn the Montana Republican party’s blatant manipulation of voters and troubling refusal to follow Montana election law, and we will continue to share the truth from now until Election Day.”
mdp-green-mtsc-opinion
WASHINGTON — Montana voters will select nominees in Tuesday’s state primary to replace departing Republican incumbents in the U.S. Senate and House, but one major contender won’t be on the ballot. Meanwhile, several state legislative primaries will highlight divisions within Montana’s dominant Republican Party.
Republicans hold slim majorities in both chambers of Congress. Montana has not been at the top of the list of seats Democrats hope to flip to regain control of either body, but the retirements do creak open the door for a candidate to possibly take advantage of the state’s independent streak.
Republican U.S. Sen. Steve Daines is not seeking a third term. He has endorsed former U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme to replace him. Daines’ late withdrawal from the race in March and the launch of Alme’s candidacy, both timed to occur just before the filing deadline, appeared to be carefully choreographed. President Donald Trump seemed to confirm as much in his endorsement of Alme.
“In fact, if Kurt didn’t have the highest level of aptitude and talent, Steve would have remained exactly where he is….” Trump said in a social media post.
Alme also has endorsements from the state’s other top Republicans, U.S. Sen. Tim Sheehy and Gov. Greg Gianforte. He faces Republicans Lee Calhoun and Charles Walking Child for the nomination.
The Democratic field includes former state Rep. Reilly Neill, whose fundraising is five times the combined haul of her four primary rivals.
The winners of both primaries will face former University of Montana president Seth Bodnar, who is running as an independent. As of mid-May, Bodnar had outraised the entire field of candidates, regardless of party. Bodnar is one of a handful of independent candidates who have opted to bypass the party primary process and could complicate the general election for some Republican incumbents.
In the 1st Congressional District, Republican U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke is not seeking a fourth full term, citing health concerns. He, Trump, Sheehy and Gianforte have endorsed talk radio host and former Zinke congressional staffer Aaron Flint over Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen, former state Sen. Al Olszewski and former high school government teacher Ray Curtis. The Democratic field includes former gubernatorial candidate Ryan Busse and union organizer Sam Forstag.
In the state Legislature, several primaries expose an ongoing rift within the ranks of Montana Republicans.
At the start of the 2025 legislative session, nine Republican state senators bucked the party on a variety of key floor measures, essentially handing control of the chamber to Democrats.
State Sen. Shelley Vance of District 34 is the only one of the maverick lawmakers, dubbed the “Nasty Nine” by the Montana GOP, up for reelection in 2026. Two others, state Sens. Jason Ellsworth and Bruce Gillespie, opted instead to run for the state House in Districts 34 and 18, respectively. The other six are either term-limited, retiring or not up this cycle.
In response to the revolt within the Republican caucus, the Montana Republican Party released a list of state legislative candidates it supports, including some who are challenging Republican incumbents in the state House. But some of the state party’s picks put the committee at odds with Gianforte, who has released a series of social media videos appearing with four state House incumbents targeted by the party.
The governor offered words of support for state House Speaker Brandon Ler and state Reps. Valerie Moore and Ken Walsh, who are all running for reelection, and for state Rep. Eric Albus, who is running in state Senate District 14. Gianforte does not explicitly endorse the lawmakers in the videos, but he called one a “great partner” and said he was “proud of the work” he’d done with another.
Half of the state’s 50 state Senate seats and all 100 state House seats are up for election in 2026.
Here are some of the key facts about the election and data points the AP Decision Team will monitor as the votes are tallied:
When do polls close?
Polls close at 8 p.m. MT, which is 10 p.m. ET.
What’s on the ballot?
The AP will provide vote results and declare winners in contested primaries for U.S. Senate, U.S. House, Public Service Commission, state Senate and state House.
Who gets to vote?
Any eligible voter may participate in any party’s primary.
How many voters are there?
As of May 25, there were about 791,000 registered voters in Montana. Voters do not register by party.
How many people actually vote?
About 190,000 Republican primary votes and about 108,000 Democratic primary votes were cast in the 2024 U.S. Senate primaries.
How much of the vote is cast early or by absentee ballot?
About 68% of the 2024 primary vote was cast before primary day.
As of Friday, about 166,000 ballots had already been cast in Tuesday’s election.
When are early and absentee votes released?
Counties vary in how they release votes. In previous elections, results from absentee voting mostly were released along with in-person Election Day voting throughout the night. About two-thirds of Montana’s 56 counties tend to release all or almost all of their mail and in-person early voting results in the first vote update of the night, often along with results from in-person Election Day voting. About half the counties tend to release all or almost all their in-person Election Day results in the first vote report.
How long does vote-counting usually take?
In the 2024 U.S. Senate primary, the AP first reported results at 10:26 p.m. ET, or 26 minutes after polls closed. The last vote update of the night was at 4:06 a.m. ET with about 84% of total votes counted.
When will the AP declare a winner?
The Associated Press does not make projections and will declare a winner only when it’s determined there is no scenario that would allow a trailing candidate to close the gap. If a race has not been called, the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why.
How do recounts work?
Montana requires an automatic recount only in the event of a tie vote. A candidate may request a recount if the margin is less than 0.5% of the total vote, but the state will only pay for it if the margin is 0.25% or less. The AP may declare a winner in a race that is subject to a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.
Are we there yet?
As of Tuesday, there will be 154 days until the 2026 midterm elections.
The Montana Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at May 31, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from May 31 drawing
06-19-26-31, Bonus: 03
Check Big Sky Bonus payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from May 31 drawing
03-11-26-45-56, Bonus: 05
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.
-
Indianapolis, IN2 minutes agoMan Dies Days After Traffic Stop Tasing in Indianapolis
-
Pittsburg, PA7 minutes agoPittsburgh Bureau of Fire Chief Darryl Jones placed on administrative leave
-
Augusta, GA14 minutes agoAugusta Players, Imperial Theatre announce Shane Peterman as new CEO
-
Washington, D.C17 minutes agoMaryland man sentenced to 25 years for sextorting young girls on social media
-
Cleveland, OH22 minutes agoCavaliers obvious draft day win is the opposite move anyone expects
-
Austin, TX29 minutes agoTexas Pride events 2026: Parades, festivals and more happening this June
-
Alabama32 minutes agoTwo Alabama Players, One Coach Being Considered for 2027 CFB Hall of Fame Class
-
Alaska37 minutes agoAlaska Dividend Payments in June 2026: Dates, amount and eligibility
