The Session Preview: “Everybody smile, we’re running the place”
With the 2022 election over, Republicans hold power not seen in the state capitol in nearly a century. The governor has released his budget. Lawmakers have elected leadership and will arrive in Helena on Jan. 2 to begin their work.
Latest Politics Reporting
Republicans select Regier, Ellsworth as House Speaker and Senate President
House and Senate Republicans on Wednesday selected Rep. Matt Regier of Kalispell and Sen. Jason Ellsworth of Hamilton as the leaders of their respective caucuses, cueing up a 2023 legislative session in which the GOP will enjoy the first two-thirds supermajority since Montana drafted its modern Constitution in 1972.
Republican operative publicizes ethics complaints against Supreme Court incumbent
A prominent Republican operative backing Montana Supreme Court candidate James Brown has filed two ethics complaints against Brown’s opponent in the race, incumbent Supreme Court Justice Ingrid Gustafson, with less than a month until Election Day.
Will Montana’s congressional candidates accept their election results?
Montana Free Press reached out to every candidate running for the state’s two U.S. House districts to ask whether they will accept the results of their elections, and under what circumstances they would contest.
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MORE POLITICAL COVERAGE
GOP House candidate paid vendors with bad checks and misreported debts
The Montana Commissioner of Political Practices found that a Republican candidate for House District 82 in Helena tried to pay vendors with bad checks and misreported accrued debts as expenditures, referring the matter to the Lewis and Clark County attorney for possible prosecution.
Redistricting commissioner Lamson announces resignation
Lamson wrote in a letter to his fellow commissioners that he is resigning due to reasons of personal health.
Zinke, Tranel debate abortion, affordability and their personal histories
The candidates for Montana’s Western U.S. House seat have now faced off in the public forum three times, tangling over abortion and the economy and dissecting each other’s attack lines as Nov. 8 approaches.
Searching for ‘fair’ on Montana’s legislative map
As politically engaged Montanans try to parse the debates swirling around the proposed legislative maps, one way to make sense of the various indices, criteria and metrics under discussion is to look at how they apply to the current map.
The gospel — and the GOP — according to J.D. Hall
From his seat of power in Sidney, pastor J.D. Hall cultivated a religious and political following as a conservative firebrand and online impresario. Then came the fall.
Diplomats Baucus, Emanuel differ on Pelosi visit to Taiwan
The two Democrats engaged in a cordial and broad conversation on numerous topics during the hour-long discussion co-sponsored by the Montana Free Press and the Max Baucus Institute. Their sharpest disagreement came over Pelosi’s controversial visit to Taipei in early August.
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MORE POLITICAL REPORTING
The Viz: Choosing sides
There’s a theory that many of the new arrivals flooding into Montana are making their relocation decisions based on political identity — conservative arrivals flocking to reliably red areas where they can find neighbors with shared values, and liberals gravitating to the state’s blue urban cores. Does it hold water?
For anti-abortion activists in Montana, next steps are unclear
After the fall of Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortions nationwide for nearly 50 years, Montana Republicans’ road to curtailing abortion rights in the state is full of obstacles.
GOP legislative candidate charged with deceptive election practices
A Montana Republican running for a seat in House District 75 has been charged with one count of felony deceptive election practices in Jefferson County. Election officials allege he falsified his signature on an absentee ballot return envelope in a May school board of trustees race.
What Montana politicians are saying about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
Sens. Tester, Daines criticize Russian President Vladimir Putin. Gov. Gianforte said he’s praying for the safety of the Ukrainian people. Rep. Rosendale said the U.S. “has no legal or moral obligation” to be involved in the conflict.
Prominent Republican says Montana should ‘throw out’ state Constitution
Rep. Derek Skees, R-Kalispell, also called the state’s foundational legal document a “socialist rag” in a comment reported by the Flathead Beacon.
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