Montana Politics: Latest News

Republican Congressman Greg Gianforte, making his second run for Montana governor, says his “No. 1 reason” for running is to bring more, good-paying jobs to the state. Democratic Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney says look at the Bullock-Cooney administration’s record of good job growth and a sound budget.

Supreme Court Justice Laurie McKinnon and her challenger Mike Black traded jabs Sunday in their first debate of the 2020 election, as Black said McKinnon has consistently taken sides with property-owners in legal disputes involving public access.

There are two candidates competing in the election for the Montana Supreme Court: Mike Black and Laurie McKinnon.

U.S. House candidates Matt Rosendale and Kathleen Williams faced off Saturday night

In Montana’s U.S. House race, the campaigns’ first TV attack ads offer an early thumbnail of the thrust of each candidate’s message – and, some exaggerated and misleading claims, on both sides.

While Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Gianforte’s campaign has outspent Democrat Mike Cooney by a 3-to-1 margin, outside groups are helping Cooney keep the overall spending relatively close in the competitive contest.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Gianforte has put another $1 million of his own money into his campaign, upping his personal stake in the race to almost $3.6 million.

Montana's two candidates for Attorney General faced off in an MTN Debate that aired Sunday on Face The State.

Republican U.S. Sen Steve Daines says the Senate should “move forward” to confirm President Trump’s nominee to succeed the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg – although in 2016, he opposed confirming a court nominee in an election year.

Since the June primary, both attorney general candidates have been adjusting to campaigning during COVID-19 with limited audiences, but both candidates say their stances on campaign issues have not changed.

At a campaign stop this week, the running mate of Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Gianforte said she supports “right to work” laws and that Gianforte would not veto such a bill, if passed by the Legislature. But the Gianforte campaign says he's made no such statement or commitment.

Mike Dennison hosted a discussion with the two major-party candidates, Graybill and Knudsen

At a Thursday meeting that Democrats decried as an illegal attempt by GOP lawmakers to rein in Gov. Steve Bullock’s emergency powers during the coronavirus pandemic, Republicans recommended several legislative rule changes – but denied it was any sort of a “partisan power grab.”

Gov. Steve Bullock announced Wednesday the State of Montana will be posting information online about positive COVID-19 cases in schools.

Montana's verification and counting process on thousands of mailed ballots involves checking ballot signatures against registration records, tracking who’s voted, preserving the secrecy of the ballot and accurately counting them – the same process counties have conducted successfully for years.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mike Cooney reported Wednesday that he raised $670,000 for his campaign in the last month, pushing his total take to nearly $2.5 million, as his race against Republican Greg Gianforte enters its final weeks.

46 of Montana’s 56 counties this year will have “all-mail” ballots for the November election

U.S. Sen. Steve Daines leads his Democratic challenger, Gov. Steve Bullock, by three percentage points and President Trump leads Democratic nominee Joe Biden by seven points in Montana, according to a poll released Friday by AARP-Montana.

The campaign over marijuana legalization in Montana is taking shape, as opponents of a pair of legalization initiatives officially launched a committee against them.

While Republicans are suing to halt all-mail voting in Montana’s Nov. 3 general election, campaigns for top GOP candidates in the state lobbied officials in two big Republican-leaning counties to adopt mail ballots, MTN News has learned.

The candidates are Bryce Bennett (D) and Christi Jacobsen (R)

Another lawsuit from Republicans has been filed to block Montana counties from conducting the Nov. 3 election with all-mail ballots, a week after a similar lawsuit from the Trump presidential campaign and several GOP groups.

The Montana Contractors Association on Wednesday endorsed Republican Greg Gianforte for governor, citing his opposition to a 2020 ballot measure that would legalize recreational marijuana in Montana.

U.S. Sen. Steve Daines’ career in China, and his subsequent actions as a senator on American relations with China, have fueled a series of campaign ads both attacking and supporting him in Montana’s high-profile Senate race.

In Montana’s high-profile U.S. Senate race, Republicans are throwing the kitchen sink at Democratic challenger Steve Bullock, with a barrage of attack ads accusing him of everything from nepotism to supporting huge tax increases.