Election 2022
Voter turnout hovers around 30% as Montanans head to the polls on primary election day
Election administrators across the state have primarily reported smooth sailing as Montanans hit the polls to cast their ballot in the 2022 primaries. By midday Tuesday, 226,557 absentee ballots had been returned, a turnout rate of around 30%. There are 743,667 Montanans who registered to vote by the noon Monday deadline. In the 2018 primary […]
Commissioner of Political Practices rejects ethics complaint against McMahon
As swiftly as he received it, the Commissioner of Political Practices tossed an ethics complaint filed by a Bozeman lawyer against district court judge Michael McMahon, who is running for the Montana Supreme Court. In an order Thursday, Commissioner Jeffrey Mangan said he was rejecting the complaint for failing to state a potential violation of […]
Candidates for Montana’s U.S. House seats make final fundraising push before primary
Coming up on the primary election, Monica Tranel is touting her success raising the most money of any Democratic candidate in this period, and Cora Neumann is underscoring her “grassroots donations” and decrying attack ads. June 7 is the primary in Montana, and voters who wish to cast a ballot must register by noon the […]
Dem campaign chief says GOP congressional moderates try to avoid talking abortion, guns
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House Democrat in charge of keeping the chamber blue in November’s midterm elections said Tuesday that Republicans running in suburban swing districts are trying to “hide” their views on abortion and gun legislation from voters. Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Sean Patrick Maloney said during a call with regional reporters that […]
Winter, ‘ready on day one,’ wants to bring ‘progressive populist’ view to Washington, D.C.
Tom Winter has at least one clear disadvantage and one clear advantage in his bid to land the Democratic nomination for the U.S. House of Representatives in Montana’s new western district. On the down side, the former state lawmaker has raised the least amount of money among his competitors. As of May 18, Winter had […]
Ronning looks to bring different tone, approach from Montana to Congress
Penny Ronning has always regarded the federal government as home. While the former Billings City Councilwoman has launched her bid for Congress, running against incumbent Republican Matt Rosendale for Montana’s central and eastern House seat, she doesn’t see the federal government as a monolithic, unresponsive behemoth. She sees it as a force for good and […]
Austin touts his track record of accomplishments, reaching out to bridge divide
Kyle Austin isn’t worried about bridging the divide that seems so commonplace in politics. The registered pharmacist and owner of 406Pharm has literally traveled across the state, setting up clinics for COVID-19 vaccines, boosters and other vaccinations like flu shots. That’s given him a chance to hear from people, see the government work during a […]
Boyette looks to unseat Rosendale in GOP primary by being more traditional Montana Republican
James Boyette considers himself a more traditional Republican, with values that, at one time, seemed synonymous with Montana government – a focus on public lands, agriculture, building strong schools and remaining focus on good governing. His run for Congress against an already established Republican congressman was spurred on because of his wife. She had heard […]
Tranel touts record of delivering for Montanans while running for Congress as a ‘fighter’
When Monica Tranel was fighting NorthWestern Energy as a staff attorney for the Montana Consumer Counsel, she said the monopoly utility “essentially did a data dump on me.” “I was the only person against NorthWestern’s bevy of lawyers and support staff,” Tranel said. “And I read the documents. It took me forever, but I went […]
Walking Child emphasizes prayer in school, saving small ag and helping America’s veterans
Charles Walking Child likes to say that he’s throwing his war bonnet in the race to unseat incumbent Republican Congressman Matt Rosendale in the Republican primary for Montana’s Second Congressional District. His heritage is Anishaabe-Ojibwe and he said that America doesn’t need more politicians, but it needs the type of leadership from Indian Country – […]
Sweeney’s name will still appear on primary ballot
With the first of Montana’s primary ballots already sent to those active military duty service members overseas and the state set to send registered absentee ballots on Friday, there is not enough time to remove a Congressional candidate who died last weekend, the Montana Secretary of State’s office confirmed. Mark Sweeney of Philipsburg, a former […]
Montana lawmaker and congressional candidate Mark Sweeney dies
Democratic state lawmaker and congressional candidate Mark Sweeney has died, according to a statement from his family. Sweeney, 62, served in the state legislature since 2019, first as a representative and most recently as a senator. He was also one of three Democratic nominees for Montana’s new second congressional district. According to KTVH, Sweeney died […]