Live updates from Montana’s 2026 election

Can’t get enough of parsing Tuesday’s election results? Neither can we. Join the MTFP 2026 Election Recap at 7 p.m. to hear reporters and editors discuss the outcomes and what they mean. Special guest: Jon Bennion, author of the book “Big Sky Politics.”

— Mara Silvers

Are you still watching for Public Service Commission race results? Me too! The Associated Press has not called either commissioner race.

As of 5 p.m., the Secretary of State’s election office says one of the last precincts to tally in PSC District 5, Flathead County, has finished counting its votes. Incumbent Republican Annie Bukacek carries the lead over Democrat Kevin Hamm, but the AP is reporting there are still votes to count. We’re awaiting final tallies from Yellowstone, the last county to report for PSC District 1 where Republican Jeff Pattison currently holds a more than 30-percentage-point lead over Democrat Angeline Cheek. The Secretary of State’s Office is expecting final results from Yellowstone County in the next couple of hours.

I’ll be back first thing in the morning with an update!

— Ellis Juhlin

Montana Democrats will gain at least one seat in the state Senate and another in the House of Representatives, according to race calls from The Associated Press. One Senate race in East Helena and three House races, in Great Falls, Belgrade and Billings, remain too close to call. Even if Democrats lose all four, their minority will grow to 19 in the Senate and 43 in the House.

— Zeke Lloyd, reporting from Helena

Standing outside the Missoula County Courthouse as votes trickled in from Missoula and Gallatin counties, Democratic House candidate Sam Forstag told a crowd of about two dozen people that he expects poll numbers to “continue getting better.”  As of 3 p.m., 90% of votes had been counted, but the Associated Press still had not declared a winner in the highly competitive Western House race. Forstag led Republican Aaron Flint by about 6,412 votes.

Forstag said he called Republican Rep. Troy Downing to congratulate him on his reelection. “I would love to work with him on the River Runs Through it Act,” Forstag said he told Downing, “and to find more places that we can cooperate on a bipartisan level to pass lasting change.”

Forstag plans to buy a suit, fix up his van and spend time with loved ones before heading to D.C., he told the crowd. Making his office accessible to Montanans, he said, is among his top priorities.

— Nora Mabie, reporting from Missoula

Montana polling places are required by law to continuously count ballots until none remain. Some locations have been working through the night. Gallatin County Elections, for instance, is chugging along with 22% of ballots to go, according to The Associated Press. Curious what it looks like inside voting locations more than 16 hours after polls closed? Me too. Check out their livestream. You can see for yourself.

— Zeke Lloyd, reporting from Helena

Montana’s American Indian Caucus will have at least 14 members during the 2027 legislative session — the largest cohort ever. The American Indian Caucus is an organized group of Native American lawmakers who work together to advance legislation they say is good for Indian Country.

While some legislators were not up for reelection this year and retained their seats, others won competitive races. Caucus Chair Rep. Tyson Running Wolf (Blackfeet) won his bid for state Senate. And incumbent Reps. Jade Sooktis (Northern Cheyenne), Donavon Hawk (Crow), Shelly Fyant (Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes), Thedis Crowe (Blackfeet), Sidney Fitzpatrick (Crow), Mike Fox (Aaniiih), and incumbent Sen. Shane Morigeau (Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes) all won their respective races.

The caucus gained several new members. Rep. Katie Fire Thunder (Oglala Lakota), who was appointed to her post by Gallatin County commissioners when a state lawmaker resigned in December, won her race. Natalie O’Neal (Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes), who bested Lance FourStar in the primary, and Lona Running Wolf (Blackfeet), Tyson’s wife, both won their uncontested state House races. Erin Farris-Olsen (Brothertown Indian Nation) beat a Libertarian challenger for state Senate seat.

During the 2025 Legislature, the caucus had 12 members, all Democrats. That group touted historic successes, including advancing legislation that established Indigenous Peoples’ Day, bolstered the state’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Advisory Council and created more accountability mechanisms for the state’s fiscal investment in Indigenous education.

— Nora Mabie

Democrat Sam Forstag’s campaign is “feeling very good” about votes coming in Wednesday, despite a narrowing margin in the Western District House race. Forstag had about 50% of the vote to Republican Aaron Flint’s 48% as of 10:50 a.m.

“Looks like decent chunks of Missoula and Gallatin left to count, and those will keep breaking our way by a good margin,” Brandon DeMars, Forstag’s campaign manager, told MTFP in a text.

So far, Forstag is winning 59% of the vote in Gallatin County and 70% in Missoula County.

— Katie Fairbanks

Two major Montana counties will continue counting ballots for the next couple hours, at least, as some races remain uncalled by The Associated Press.

Missoula County elections staff hope to finish counting around 1 p.m., according to Allison Franz, the county’s communications manager.

Gallatin County had about 11,000 ballots left to count as of 10:30 a.m., said Eric Semerad, the election administrator. Semerad said they hope to finish counting by the end of the business day but may go into the evening.

“The thing that kills us always is the number of absentee ballots we receive on Election Day,” he said.

Gallatin County received more than 11,000 absentee ballots yesterday, Semerad said.

— Katie Fairbanks

Republican Aaron Flint has narrowed Democrat Sam Forstag’s lead to fewer than 5,000 votes in Montana’s western U.S. House race. However, a significant number of ballots remain in Missoula and Gallatin counties, where Forstag leads by 43 and 21 percentage points, respectively. The Associated press estimates 13% of votes in the Western House District remain uncounted.

— Jacob Olness

Democrat Margaret Mitchell won a competitive open state legislative seat in Senate District 10, winning with a 14-point margin over Republican Jessica Dyrdahl. In House District 20, Democrat Steve Keller defeated incumbent Republican Melissa Nikolakakos by just 46 votes, according to results filed with the Montana Secretary of State.

Republican House Majority Leader Steve Fitzpatrick, whose candidacy was challenged by Attorney General Austin Knudsen, cruised to victory in House District 24 with 58% of the vote.

At the county level, Sheriff Jesse Slaughter, County Attorney Josh Racki and Clerk and Recorder-elect Lynn DeRoche all won unopposed races.

— Matt Hudson, reporting from Great Falls

The Associated Press has yet to call the races for Public Service Commission districts 1 and 5. Here’s what we know:

In District 1 as of 8:30 a.m., Republican Jeff Pattison held a comfortable 65.4% lead over Democrat Angeline Cheek’s 34.6% with an estimated 53% of the votes counted, according to AP. District 5 is a much closer race. As of 8:20 a.m., Incumbent Republican Commissioner Annie Bukacek held a lead of about 5.5 percentage points over Democrat challenger Kevin Hamm. With what AP estimates to be 41% of the votes counted, Bukacek led Hamm 52.8% to 47.2%.

— Joseph T. O’Connor

The margin between Democrat Sam Forstag and Republican Aaron Flint narrowed Wednesday morning, with Forstag maintaining his lead.

As of 8:30 a.m., Forstag had garnered 50% of the vote with 116,432, and Flint had 48%, or 111,507, according to the Montana Secretary of State’s website. Forstag’s lead narrowed from 7,409 votes earlier this morning to 4,925. Forstag declared victory Tuesday night and Flint conceded, but the Associated Press has not yet called the race. More than 150 precincts have not fully reported results, according to the Secretary of State.

— Katie Fairbanks

After a jam-packed Tuesday evening full of outcomes in the U.S. Senate race, Supreme Court contest and ballot initiative votes, a few races remained uncalled Wednesday morning.

The Associated Press has not yet determined the winner in the Western U.S. House race between Sam Forstag and Aaron Flint, though Forstag declared victory and Flint conceded Tuesday evening. Winners in the two Public Service Commission districts also remained uncalled, while Republican candidates hold leads in both races.

We’ll continue to share updates here as news comes in.

— Mara Silvers

Republicans Annie Bukacek and Jeff Pattison were leading their races for two Public Service Commission seats as of 6:30 a.m. The Associated Press has not called either race. Bukacek, the District 5 incumbent, had about 53% of the vote, with Democrat Kevin Hamm holding about 47%. In the District 1 race, Pattison had 65% of the vote and Democrat Angeline Cheek had 35%.

The PSC is a quasi-judicial agency tasked with regulating monopoly companies, including NorthWestern Energy, Montana’s largest utility. The seats are partisan, and there hasn’t been a Democratic commissioner on Montana’s PSC since 2012.

— Katie Fairbanks

The Associated Press has not called the race for the Western U.S. House District race, as many counties are still counting ballots. As of 6:20 a.m., Democrat Sam Forstag had about 50% of the vote, or 114,039 ballots, compared to Republican Aaron Flint’s 47%, or 106,630. Libertarian Nick Sheedy had about 3% of the vote. In Missoula, Gallatin and Flathead counties, no precincts were fully reported, according to the Montana Secretary of State’s website.

Forstag declared victory and Flint called him to concede late Tuesday.

— Katie Fairbanks

Democratic candidate Sam Forstag declared victory, and his Republican challenger Aaron Flint called to concede the highly competitive Western House District race. As of 1:10 a.m., The Associated Press had not called the race. With 72% of votes counted, Forstag led Flint 52.8% to 44.5%.

“After tonight, when we’re done celebrating, remember that this is not the end,” Forstag told the crowd of hundreds of people inside Missoula’s Florence Building. “This is just the beginning. We’re going to make sure everybody in this country can work one job and afford housing and healthcare and childcare to get retired. So, tomorrow, we start that work.”

More than a dozen of Forstag’s campaign staffers, most of whom are in their 20s and 30s, joined him on stage, hugging and crying.

— Nora Mabie, reporting from Missoula

The Associated Press called Montana U.S. Senate race for Republican Kurt Alme at 12:55 a.m. Wednesday morning, with about 78% of the votes counted.

The former U.S. attorney defeated independent Seth Bodnar, Democrat Alani Bankhead and Libertarian Kyle Austin. When AP called the race, Alme was ahead of Bodnar by about nine percentage points. Bankhead trailed Bodnar by about three times that amount.

— Zeke Lloyd, reporting from Helena

With most Montana precincts partially or fully reporting vote tabulations, candidates began declaring victory and conceding races as the final minutes of Tuesday evening rolled into Wednesday morning.

Initial results showed voters supporting all three ballot issues, reelecting Republican Rep. Troy Downing to Montana’s Eastern Congressional District, and electing Amy Eddy to the Montana Supreme Court. All results are preliminary until officially certified by election officials.

Stay tuned for updates as they come in.

— Mara Silvers

Shortly before midnight, independent Seth Bodnar conceded the U.S. Senate race to Republican Kurt Alme. Bodnar had 39% of the vote to Alme’s 47%. Democrat Alani Bankhead landed at 12%, Libertarian Kyle Austin won 2%.

“We just showed Montana, and the country, that there’s a different path forward for our politics,” Bodnar said in a press release.

— Tom Lutey

Three ballot initiatives in Montana have passed, according to the Associated Press, which called the races just after 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, with about 70% of ballots counted.

Constitutional Initiative 132, which amends the Montana Constitution to require that judicial elections remain nonpartisan, passed by about 140,000 votes.

Constitutional Initiative 133, about ballot initiatives and referendums, passed by about 115,000 votes.

Initiative 194, dubbed The Montana Plan, which changes state code to prohibit any incorporated entity in Montana from spending money to influence state elections, passed by about 115,000 votes.

— Nora Mabie, reporting from Missoula, and Zeke Lloyd, reporting from Helena