Montana Politics: Latest News

The votes are still being counted but the Democratic winner for Montana's First Congressional District is Monica Tranel.

Rosendale currently serves as Montana's sole member of the U.S. House of Representatives

Montanans across the state will be hitting the polls on Tuesday for the 2022 Primary Election, with hundreds of candidates vying for their spot on the November ballot.

Montana congressional candidates made their “pre-primary” campaign finance disclosures this week. Over the last month and a half, fundraising continued and spending really heated up.

A proposed constitutional amendment that would change the way Montana conducts its elections has been approved for signature gathering – but it doesn’t have much time if it’s going to make it onto the ballot later this year.

This year, several hundred thousand Montanans will have the opportunity to select their member of the state Public Service Commission. But what exactly will the winners be asked to do?

Billings businessman Gary Buchanan needs about 1,000 more scribbled signatures and he will be on the November ballot as an independent candidate for Montana’s new eastern congressional district.

Topics discussed by attendees included agriculture, drought, and crop insurance.

In the Republican primary for Montana’s eastern congressional district the acknowledged underdog candidates have attacked incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Matt Rosendale over his voting record and his lack of experience in agriculture.

In the democratic primary for Montana eastern congressional district the candidates are an advocate against human trafficking, a rookie progressive and an unpicked stand in for state Sen. Mark Sweeney, who died in early May.

Five Republicans will be on the primary ballot in Montana’s western congressional district, and four of them are based in the Flathead.

The Montana Supreme Court has temporarily restored new state voting laws for the June primary that prevent same-day voter registration and require voters that use student IDs for identification to bring additional documents.

Two seats on the Montana Supreme Court are up for reelection this year as constitutional challenges to GOP-backed laws flood the court’s docket.

The ACLU of Montana is threatening Montana’s state health department with legal action if the state does not comply with a judge’s order from April.

In Montana’s western congressional district, three candidates are making the case that they’re the best choice to bring the Democratic Party’s message into the general election.

On Friday, state lawmakers pressed administrators for more details on how they’re addressing ongoing safety and staffing concerns at the Montana State Hospital.

“Hundreds of Montanans stepped up, shared their stories, and made their voices heard,” said Jackie Semmens

Democratic candidates are jostling to regain ground in the Montana State Legislature after historically blue strongholds turned red during the 2020 Election.

Republicans have held a solid majority in the Montana Legislature for more than a decade, and that pattern appears likely to continue in 2022. That means GOP primaries could play a big role in how next year’s legislative session plays out.

In about the last 10 months the prison lost 166 employees and hired 106

Montana State Senator Mark Sweeney, D-Phillipsburg, died at his home Friday.

Sweeney died Friday evening at his home in Philipsburg, according to a statement from his family.

Montana’s Districting and Apportionment Commission is getting ready to start drawing the state’s next legislative map. On Friday, the commission laid out a timeline to bring out proposed legislative district plans this summer.

If the U.S. Supreme Court removes federal protections for abortion it would remain legal in Montana under the state constitution.

The Montana state health department is not providing the forms needed for people to change the sex on their birth certificate, despite a recent court order.

With Montana’s primary elections just over a month away and school elections next week, there’s still legal uncertainty over exactly what will be required for voters.

14 counties – including almost half the state’s population – will be voting on marijuana-related ballot measures in June.

A judge in Helena has dismissed a lawsuit that sought to block signature gathering for a proposed constitutional amendment capping residential property taxes.

Wages will increase for all public defenders on May 7, with entry level and first year attorney’s seeing the largest increase.