Initiative banning corporate money in elections gets a spotlight in Billings
Supporters of a ballot initiative to ban corporate spending in Montana elections hosted a Q-and-A at the Alberta Bair Theater in downtown Billings.
Latest Politics Reporting
Poll: Men, Republicans and older Montanans more likely to support ICE
Montanans are largely split on the issue of immigration enforcement, with men, Republicans and older adults largely approving and Democrats, women and younger adults largely opposing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a recent Montana Free Press-Rutgers Eagleton poll found.
Poll: Rep. Troy Downing ahead in Eastern U.S. House District
A Montana Free Press-Eagleton poll conducted between Aug. 27 and Sept. 7 shows incumbent Rep. Troy Downing with a substantial lead over Democrat Brian Miller in their race for Montana’s Eastern District U.S. House seat.
Flint, Forstag in dead heat for House seat
Aaron Flint and Sam Forstag appear to be in a dead heat for Montana’s Western District House race, according to a Montana Free Press-Rutgers Eagleton poll.
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MORE POLITICAL COVERAGE
Alme holds an 8-point lead over Bodnar in Senate race
Kurt Alme has a single-digit lead over Seth Bodnar in Montana’s four-candidate U.S. Senate race with Alani Bankhead and Kyle Austin trailing the leader by wide margins, according to a Montana Free Press-Rutgers Eagleton poll.
Who’s drawing the PAC power in Montana’s congressional races?
Montana’s 2026 congressional races have drawn a collective 681 PAC contributions, but there’s another story behind the top-line totals. It’s the power position and access to quick cash afforded to candidates — at least some of them — by donations from leadership funds and national party committees.
Cascade Co. investigating independent signature gathering. House candidate Miller files lawsuit.
Cascade County law enforcement agencies are investigating about 800 potentially bogus signatures gathered by at least one petitioner working to qualify Michael Eisenhauer, the independent candidate running for U.S. House in the Eastern Congressional District, and Seth Bodnar, the independent candidate running for Montana’s open U.S. Senate seat. None of the signatures under investigation were…
Ballot envelopes won’t bear Trump’s stamp
The deadline for printing return envelopes for Montana’s absentee ballots has passed, and with it — for now — President Donald Trump’s unimplemented plan to have the postal service screen mail ballots.
On the Record: Gallatin County Attorney Audrey Cromwell
When federal immigration officials asked the Gallatin County Attorney’s Office for confidential criminal justice information about a county resident last fall, the attorney’s office declined, setting up a conflict between local government and Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen. As a Supreme Court ruling on that conflict approaches, Montana Free Press speaks with Cromwell about her…
Downing seeks HUD cuts for sanctuary cities
With time running out for new bills to be heard in Congress, U.S. Rep. Troy Downing is taking a run at denying HUD funding for “sanctuary cities,” a move that shoots an unmistakable side-eye at several Montana communities that have limited local police cooperation with ICE agents.
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MORE POLITICAL REPORTING
Court rejects Butte data center ballot initiative
A district court judge has rejected a Butte organizer’s request to put a data center initiative on the November ballot after confusion about the signature-gathering deadline tanked the initiative. John Meyer, the lawyer representing the plaintiffs, said they have appealed the decision.
Data center opponents launch write-in campaigns in Billings state Senate district
As data center politics reached a boiling point in Billings this month, the most tech-savvy Republican in the state Senate drew two opponents in his race to represent Billings Heights and Shepherd.
Judge: Key GOP bylaws are likely illegal
Several Montana Republican Party bylaw provisions designed to exert control over publicly elected officials are likely illegal, a Lewis and Clark County District Court judge has ruled. Judge Michael McMahon issued an injunction against portions of the new bylaws, created in June, that appear to be in conflict with state law.
Judge hears arguments in immigration class action
A federal district court judge has heard arguments in a class action lawsuit in which petitioners held in federal detention on civil immigration charges allege they have been unlawfully detained. The case comes amid a national rise in habeas petitions, or petitions for release, as the Trump administration deploys federal immigration agents in multiple American…
On the Record: Democratic Party Executive Director Emily Marburger
It’s been a summer of frustration for Montana Democrats, with many of the party’s high-profile leaders opting to back independent candidate Seth Bodnar for U.S. Senate instead of party nominee Alani Bankhead. Near the red-hot center of the skirmish is Emily Marburger, the party’s executive director. Marburger talks with MTFP political reporter Tom Lutey about…
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