Montana

State Senate starts in gridlock over committee changes

Published

1 year ago

January 11, 2025

State Senate starts in gridlock over committee changes

Fifteen minutes into the state Senate’s first meeting, nine Republicans joined all Democrats in voting to change committee assignments.

The GOP faction sided with Democrats despite urging from Senate President Matt Regier that the Republican caucus stay united.

Senate Minority Leader Pat Flowers offered the change, saying a new committee to review the governor’s proposed bills and agency appointments was unnecessary. Flowers proposed bumping the committee to on-call status and offered new assignments to its members.

“This proposal, this motion, makes the best use of all the expertise and experience in this body and puts them back on committees where they can use that expertise,” Flowers said.

In recent days, Regier and other Senate Republican leaders have tried and failed to gain back control.

During a caucus meeting Thursday some Republican senators called the faction of nine selfish. Regier said he understands they all have differing views, but said they need to operate as a unit.

“Montanans did not send the Democrats to run the show. They sent us. And I will not move from that,” Regier said.

But the nine senators didn’t budge. That included Sen. Wendy McKamey. She said creating the new committee was an affront to Gov. Greg Gianforte as it would have singled out his favored legislation for heightened review.

“I do not want to see us fighting the governor. I want to see us making good legislation. I want to see us getting to work. I want to see us getting stuff done,” McKamey said.

The dispute delayed the start of Senate committee work, which will begin next week, days after the House.

Regier told reporters he was surprised by the division in his party. He said he worries how the faction might impact policymaking down the line.

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Montana

9K residents without power in Flathead Co.

Published

2 hours ago

March 21, 2026

Press Room

9K residents without power in Flathead Co.

KALISPELL, Mont. — Flathead Electric reports more than 9,000 customers in Flathead County are currently without power.

Officials say the outage is due to a transmission service disruption from Bonneville Power Administration.

Their outage map currently shows 9,700 outages.

The BPA outage is also affecting Lincoln Electric customers Eureka, Rexford and Trego. Close to 6,000 outages are reported on their outage map.

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Montana

Montana finalizes 2026 primary candidate list

Published

14 hours ago

March 20, 2026

Press Room

Montana finalizes 2026 primary candidate list

HELENA, Mont. — Montana’s 2026 primary election ballot is taking shape after a busy candidate filing period that drew hundreds of hopefuls.

Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen and the Montana election team finalized the list of candidates after 380 total candidates filed between Feb. 17 and March 4. Of those candidates, 19 withdrew from their races.

Six independent candidates are still waiting to qualify via petition before being added to the general election ballot.

The following was sent out by the Office of the Montana Secretary of State:

Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen and the Montana Election Team have completed ballot certification for Montana’s 2026 Primary Election, finalizing the list of candidates who will appear before voters on Tuesday, June 2.

Pursuant to Montana law, county election administrators certify local candidates for the primary ballot in their respective counties, while the Secretary of State’s Office certifies the names and designations of statewide and state district candidates, including candidates for federal, legislative, and certain judicial offices.

The Montana Commissioner of Political Practices (COPP) notified the Secretary of State’s Office and the county election administrators of any candidate(s) whose name(s) may not appear on the ballot pursuant to Montana law.

“The ballot certification process is a key step in ensuring Montana’s elections are accurate, secure, and transparent,” said Secretary Jacobsen. “I’m grateful to our state election officials and the county election administrators and their teams across the state for their hard work preparing for the 2026 Primary Election.”

A total of 380 candidates filed with the Secretary of State’s Office during the candidate filing period (Tuesday, February 17 – Wednesday, March 4). Several candidates withdrew from their respective races, while Independent candidates are pending petition requirements to qualify for the general election ballot.

Filings with the Secretary of State’s Office included:

United States Senator: Twelve total candidates filed for the office, though one withdrew and one is pending petition requirements. Five Democrats, three Republicans, and two Libertarians will appear on Montanans’ Primary Election ballots. One Independent candidate must meet Montana’s petition requirements.
United States Representative: Sixteen total filings in the 1st and 2nd Congressional races.
1st Congressional (MT-01) Ten candidates submitted paperwork for the Congressional seat – four Democrats, four Republicans, and one Libertarian. One Independent candidate must meet petition requirements. The incumbent did not file for re-election.
2nd Congressional (MT-02) Six candidates submitted filing paperwork, including the incumbent, who is the lone Republican to file for the race. Three Democrats and one Libertarian filed, while one Independent also submitted their paperwork for the race and is pending petition requirements.
Public Service Commission: Seven candidates will appear on the ballot for the two PSC seats.
PSC District 1: Two Republicans and one Democrat will appear before voters for the open seat.
PSC District 5: The incumbent is one of three Republicans to file for the seat, while one Democrat also filed.
Supreme Court Justice: Two candidates filed for the Supreme Court Justice No. 4 race – Judge Dan Wilson was the first to file for Montana’s high court, and Judge Amy Eddy followed suit later the same day.
District Court Judge: Thirteen candidates submitted filings, including several judges currently on the bench.
Legislature: The majority of candidate filings were for Legislative seats, where 329 total filings were submitted to the Secretary of State’s Office, nearly 130 of which came on the opening day.
Montana State Senate: Sixty-six candidates qualified for the 2026 Primary Election, including more than 10 incumbents.
Montana State House: A total of 235 candidates qualified for the 2026 Primary Election. Three Independent candidates are pending petition requirements. Dozens of incumbents filed for re-election.