Montana

The Democrats trying to stop a GOP takeover in Montana – Washington Examiner

Published

1 year ago

October 16, 2024

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.

Ryan Busse, the Montana Democratic gubernatorial nominee against Gov. Greg Gianforte (R-MT), speaks to voters during a town hall in Billings, Montana, alongside lieutenant governor running mate Raph Graybill on Oct. 15, 2024. (Timothy Wolff/Washington Examiner)

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.”

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Montana

Apparent AI Glitch in Filing by Montana Public Defender, Recent Congressional Candidate

Published

3 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Apparent AI Glitch in Filing by Montana Public Defender, Recent Congressional Candidate

Everyone makes mistakes, even experienced professionals; a good reminder for the rest of us to learn from those mistakes. The motion in State v. Stroup starts off well in its initial pages (no case law hallucinations), but is then followed by several pages of two other motions, which I don’t think the lawyer was planning to file, and which appear to have been AI-generated: It begins with the “Below is concise motion language you can drop into …” language quoted above.

Griffen Smith (Missoulian) reported on the story, and included the prosecutor’s motion to strike that filing, on the grounds that it violates a local rule (3(G)) requiring disclosure of the use of generative AI:

The document does not include a generative artificial intelligence disclosure as required. However, page 7 begins as follows: “Below is concise motion language you can drop into a ‘Motion to Admit Mental-Disease Evidence and for Related Instructions’ keyed to 45-6-204, 45-6-201, and 4614-102. Adjust headings/captions to your local practice.” Page 10 states “Below is a full motion you can paste into your pleading, then adjust names, dates, and styles to fit local practice.” These pages also include several apparent hyperlinks to “ppl-ai-file-upload.s3.amazonaws,” “ppl-ai-fileupload.s3.amazonaws+1,” and others. The document includes what appears to be an attempt at a second case caption on page 12. It is not plausible on its face that any source other than generative AI would have created such language for a filed version of a brief….

There’s more in that filing, but here’s one passage:

While generative AI can be a useful tool for some purposes and may have greater application in the future, when used improperly, and without meaningful review, it can ultimately damage both the perception and the reality of the profession. One assumes that Mr. Stroup has had, or will at some point have, an opportunity to review the filing made on his behalf. What impression could a review of pgs. 12-19 leave upon a defendant who struggles with paranoia and delusional thinking? While AI could theoretically one day become a replacement for portions of staff of experienced attorneys, it is readily apparent that this day has not yet arrived.

The Missoulan article includes this response:

In a Wednesday interview, Office of Public Defender Division Administrator Brian Smith told the Missoulian the AI-generated language was inadvertently included in an unrelated filing. And he criticized the county attorney’s office for filing a “four-page diatribe about the dangers of AI” instead of working with the defense to correct her mistake.
“That’s not helping the client or the case,” Smith said, “and all you are doing is trying to throw a professional colleague under the bus.”

As I mentioned, the lawyer involved seems quite experienced, and ran for the Montana Public Service Commission in 2020 (getting nearly 48% of the vote) and for the House of Representatives in Montana’s first district in 2022 (getting over 46% of the vote) and in 2024 (getting over 44%). “Его пример другим наука,” Pushkin wrote in Eugene Onegin—”May his example profit others,” in the Falen translation.

Thanks to Matthew Monforton for the pointer.

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Montana

Your guide to local sports events, plus what’s on TV

Published

16 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Your guide to local sports events, plus what’s on TV

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Montana

Montana Department of Agriculture focusing on innovation in 2026

Published

1 day ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Montana Department of Agriculture focusing on innovation in 2026

HELENA — You probably have goals and plans for 2026—the Montana Department of Agriculture does too.

“We’re really focusing on innovative agricultural practices,” Montana Department of Agriculture director Jillien Streit said.

It’s no secret that agriculture—farming and ranching—is not easy. There are long days, planning, monitoring crops and livestock, and other challenges beyond farmers’ and ranchers’ control.

(WATCH: Montana Department of Agriculture focusing on innovation in 2026)

Montana Department of Agriculture focusing on innovation in 2026

“We have very low commodity prices across the board,” Streit said. “We still have very high input prices across the board, and we have really high prices when it comes to our equipment, and so, it’s a really tough year.”

But innovation, including new practices, partnerships and technology use, can help navigate some of those challenges.

“We can’t make more time and we can’t make more land, so we need to start putting together innovative practices that help us maximize what our time and land can do,” Streit said.

Practices range from using technology like autonomous tractors and virtual fencing—allowing rangers to contain and move cattle right from their phones—to regenerative farming and ranching.

“It is bringing cattle back into farming operations to be able to work with cover cropping practices to invigorate the soil for new soil health benefits,” Streit said.

The Montana Department of Agriculture is working to help producers learn, share, and collaborate on new ideas to work in their operations.

The department will share stories of practices that work from farms and ranches across the state. Also, within the next year or so, Streit said the department is hoping to roll out technology to help producers collaborate.

“(It’s) providing a communication platform where people can get together and really help each other out by utilizing each other’s assets,” she said.

While not easy, agriculture is still one of Montana’s largest industries, and Streit said innovating and sharing ideas across the state can keep it going long into the future.

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