Photographers Lauren Miller, Aaron Agosto and Jessica Plance crisscrossed Montana covering the elections.
Voters line up outside of the election office in Kalispell in the evening of Nov. 3, 2026. Election workers said they had been impressed by the turnout during this election. Credit: Aaron Agosto for Montana Free Press
Words by Lauren Miller, Photos by Lauren Miller, Aaron Agosto and Jessica Plance
Election day is a journalist’s Super Bowl, marathon and Christmas all wrapped into one. We hydrate, caffeinate and pack our bags accordingly. On Tuesday, Nov. 3, with Montanans voting on high-profile races and ballot initiatives that captured national attention, we sent three photographers out to cover the day as it unfolded.
I covered the center, bouncing from Helena to Butte and eventually Missoula for the watch parties of Western Congressional District Democrat Sam Forstag and independent U.S. Senate candidate Seth Bodnar. Aaron Agosto held up the northwest, covering voting and Republican Western Congressional District candidate Aaron Flint’s election party in Kalispell. And Jessica Plance picked up the story in the south at the joint celebration party in Billings for Republican U.S. Senate candidate Kurt Alme and incumbent Republican Rep. Troy Downing, who represents the Eastern Congressional seat.
We photographed, edited, filed and communicated all in tandem. Here is what we saw:
Voters cast their ballots in the midterm elections while children play under the voting booths Nov. 3, 2026, at the Butte Civic Center. Credit: Lauren Miller, Montana Free Press, CatchLight Local/Report for America
Election judge Mary Tapper laughs as she checks in a voter at the Lewis and Clark County Fairgrounds during the midterm elections Nov. 3, 2026, in Helena. Credit: Lauren Miller, Montana Free Press, CatchLight Local/Report for America
From left: October Ellcy, Kiley Chapman, Alya Slama, and Linda Cohen wait in line to vote at the election department in Kalispell on Nov. 3, 2026. For Ellcy, Chapman and Slama, Tuesday’s midterm was their first time voting in an election. Chapman predicted Montana’s Western U.S. House race will go for Forstag due to backlash against the Trump administration’s policies. Credit: Aaron Agosto for Montana Free PressVoters cast their ballots for the midterm elections Nov. 3, 2026, at the Butte Civic Center. Credit: Lauren Miller, Montana Free Press, CatchLight Local/Report for America
Voters speak with election judges to receive their ballots for the midterm elections at the Lewis and Clark County Fairgrounds on the morning of Nov. 3, 2026, in Helena. Credit: Lauren Miller, Montana Free Press, CatchLight Local/Report for America
Election judges explain the ballot to voters at the Lewis and Clark County Fairgrounds during the midterm elections Nov. 3, 2026, in Helena. Credit: Lauren Miller, Montana Free Press, CatchLight Local/Report for America
Sam Forstag, the Democratic candidate for the Western U.S. House seat, hugs his girlfriend, Allie Hay, at the campaign’s watch party Nov. 3, 2026, at the Florence Building in Missoula. Credit: Lauren Miller, Montana Free Press, CatchLight Local/Report for America
Sam Forstag’s team takes the stage, hugging and crying as they celebrate their apparent victory in the Western U.S. House race Nov. 3, 2026, at the Florence Building in Missoula. Credit: Lauren Miller, Montana Free Press, CatchLight Local/Report for America
The crowd at the Sam Forstag watch party celebrates as he pulls ahead in Montana’s race for the Western U.S. House seat Nov. 3, 2026, at the Florence Building in Missoula. Credit: Lauren Miller, Montana Free Press, CatchLight Local/Report for America
Republican candidate Aaron Flint meets with members of the media during his watch party at Brannigan’s Pub in Kalispell. Flint and his team allowed the media in during only brief intervals throughout the evening. Credit: Aaron Agosto for Montana Free Press
Guests mingle at Brannigan’s Pub in Kalispell during an election night watch party hosted by Republican Western District candidate Aaron Flint. Credit: Aaron Agosto for Montana Free Press
Montana’s Republican U.S. House Rep. Troy Downing and his wife, Heather Downing, enter the candidate’s watch party and give remarks after Downing won re-election to the state’s Eastern Congressional District. Attendees gathered during the joint watch party for Downing and U.S. Senate candidate Kurt Alme in Billings on Nov. 3, 2026. Credit: Jessica Plance for Montana Free Press
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Kurt Alme celebrates after announcing his projected win in Montana’s open senate race on Nov. 3, 2026, in Billings. Credit: Jessica Plance for Montana Free Press
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Kurt Alme celebrates after announcing his projected win in Montana’s open senate race. Attendees gathered during the joint campaign party for Alme and Republican Eastern District U.S. House Rep. Troy Downing in Billings on Nov. 3, 2026. Credit: Jessica Plance for Montana Free Press
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Lauren Miller joined Montana Free Press as a multimedia journalist and visual storyteller in 2025. She is 2025 Visual Fellow with Report For America/Catchlight. A graduate of Syracuse University, she previously worked at the Casper Star-Tribune and Bozeman Daily Chronicle. In 2023, she was a recipient of the Photographer of the Year/Dailies award from the Wyoming Press Association. Her storytelling spans photography, cinematography, portraiture, audio and archival research. Miller is driven by an interest in daily life’s quieter moments — both mundane and extraordinary — and adapts her approach...
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