Montana Politics: Latest News

As the 2020 general-election race for Montana governor gets under way, Republican candidate Greg Gianforte's campaign has accumulated almost four times the money of his Democratic competitor, Mike Cooney – but that total includes $1.5 million of Gianforte’s own money.

The deadline has arrived for groups trying to collect signatures to put ballot initiatives before Montana voters this year.

Montana public health leaders announced Tuesday they will propose a permanent rule change to stop the sale of flavored vaping products in the state.

The Bullock administration hopes to unveil another program next week to aid Montana businesses harmed by the Covid-19 pandemic, partnering with banks to defer payments on businesses’ commercial loans.

Montana state lawmakers are looking at options for doing some legislative work remotely, if COVID-19 impacts an upcoming legislative session.

In the ongoing battle between conservatives and moderates within the Montana Republican Party, six GOP incumbents lost legislative primary races Tuesday – and conservatives claimed they came out in top.

Montana’s 2020 primary election, with a record turnout, has set the stage for a full slate of significant statewide general election contests, from U.S. Senate to governor to Supreme Court – and the campaigning is already well under way.

Rosendale’s challenge is to win over the chunk of the Republican electorate that may have voted for Corey Stapleton or the four other candidates.

The seat is open because Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock is barred by term limits from running for a third consecutive term.

The seat is open because incumbent Greg Gianforte is running for governor.

Montana’s all-mail primary election, which concludes Tuesday, has already smashed the previous record for votes in a state primary, surpassing the old mark by nearly 50,000 votes.

After getting a month’s worth of constituents’ phone calls, Montana’s legislators decided not to interfere with a rule that would limit the amount of radiation allowed in state landfills.

A Montana insurance company has reported giving another $121,000 to a political-action committee promoting the state auditor candidacy of Republican Nelly Nicol, who works for the company.

Montana’s two U.S. senators say Congress must act to salvage the Postal Service, which is bleeding cash and says it needs a $75 billion infusion.

The Democrats’ national congressional campaign committee has made Montana’s U.S. House contest one of its top targets for flipping a Republican seat in 2020.

The Montana Supreme Court on Wednesday said the deadline for receiving mailed, absentee ballots in Montana’s primary election will remain at 8 p.m. Election Day, next Tuesday – thus blocking a district judge’s order that said the ballots need only be postmarked by Tuesday.

A political-action committee funded by donors to Democratic gubernatorial candidate Whitney Williams has made payments to entities that work for her campaign, records show.

The theft charge originally stems from an incident dating back to 2015 where Obert allegedly told Broadwater County Payroll to give her additional hourly pay over her salary pay as a commissioner.

A state district judge says if Montanans postmark their absentee ballot for the primary election by Election Day on June 2, the ballot should be counted – if it arrives to county election officials no later than June 8.

A recently formed political-action committee that’s campaigning for a Green Party candidate in Montana’s high-profile U.S. Senate race is using a communications firm with ties to Montana Republicans, records show.

Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock out-raised Republican Sen. Steve Daines by a 2-to-1 margin in the past six weeks, increasing his campaign fundraising take to almost $6 million since entering the contest in early March.

In a lawsuit brought by several of Montana’s Indian tribes, a state judge has blocked enforcement of a Montana law that restricts the collection of absentee ballots, including on reservations.

Republican Congressman Greg Gianforte continues to pour personal funds into his 2020 campaign for governor, reporting Wednesday that he loaned another $500,000 to the campaign, bringing his personal stake to just over $1.5 million.

The Ballance-Manzella matchup is one of the most hotly contested intra-party battles for a GOP legislative seat in Montana, but it’s far from the only one.