GREAT FALLS, Mont. — Prosecutors in Cascade County are investigating potential signature-gathering fraud by at least one firm that worked for the independent campaigns of U.S. Senate candidate Seth Bodnar and U.S. House candidate Michael Eisenhauer, according to the Cascade County Attorney’s Office. The Cascade County Attorney’s Office and the Cascade County Sheriff’s Office are Read More…
Western Montana Congressman Ryan Zinke received the Excellence in Advocacy Award from the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation at a ceremony at the organization’s Missoula headquarters, recognizing his work on public lands, wildlife habitat and America’s hunting heritage. RMEF president and CEO Kyle Weaver and chief conservation officer Blake Henning presented the award. Zinke is only Read More…
Montana’s Carpenters Union Local 82 endorsed Republican congressional candidate Aaron Flint during a construction site tour at the new Bretz RV warehouse in Butte, with members of the Ironworkers Union also joining to show their support — a notable show of organized labor backing for a Republican in a race rated Likely Republican by Sabato’s Read More…
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen issued a legal opinion reversing a 14-year-old interpretation of the state’s constitutional term limits — a move that could remove prominent Republican lawmakers from the November ballot just days before the state must certify candidates. The opinion withdraws a 2012 interpretation issued by then-Attorney General Steve Bullock, now a former Read More…
A Republican-aligned super PAC is taking aim at Montana Gov. Steve Bullock — not because of the Democrat’s presidential bid, but because of a prospective Senate bid. The Senate Leadership Fund, an ally of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, bought a five-figure digital ad campaign attacking Mr. Bullock for spending time outside the state on the presidential campaign trail. Read More…
Montana Supreme Court Justice Laurie McKinnon, who announced five months ago she would not run for re-election for a second term, said Sunday she’s changed her mind and will be running in 2020. McKinnon told MTN News that while she initially wasn’t looking forward to another potentially partisan campaign, she decided that wasn’t a good-enough Read More…
CONCORD, N.H. — Montana Gov. Steve Bullock had a special enjoyment filing his name for the first-in-the-nation primary ballot Tuesday – he signed the declaration and handed over his $1,000 check at the desk donated by the family of his namesake. More than a century ago, New Hampshire state Rep. Stephen A. Bullock sponsored legislation Read More…
A number of statewide candidates spoke Sunday at the 2019 Pasma-Peck Democratic Dinner held by the Hill County Democratic Party, discussing their campaigns and their goals if elected. After Montana Attorney General Tim Fox announced his candidacy for governor, a number of candidates from both the Republican and Democratic parties have announced their candidacy for Read More…
Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, still in the Democratic presidential race despite low polling numbers, officially filed Tuesday to appear on the ballot in New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation presidential primary next February. Bullock paid the $1,000 filing fee in Concord, New Hampshire, to appear on the state’s Feb. 11 primary ballot. Bullock, who continues to poll in Read More…
Montana Republicans and Democrats compromised in the 2019 Legislature to pass Medicaid expansion with the caveats that there would be some work and community service requirements, however the federal government has not yet authorized the provision. Now, the Montana State Senate Majority Leader is crying foul. “When we passed that legislation it was up to Read More…
Montana Gov. Steve Bullock (D) unveiled his first two television ads in Iowa Wednesday as the White House hopeful seeks to gin up support for his presidential bid in the first-in-the-nation caucus state. The ads seek to promote Bullock’s electability by promoting his ability to win statewide in a rural state that backed President Trump in 2016. The Bullock campaign told Read More…
Montana’s lone representative in the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday voted against a resolution to formalize the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump. Republican Greg Gianforte voted with his party members and two Democrats against the measure from the House majority to lay the foundation and ground rules for the process of considering articles Read More…
Sen. Steve Daines criticized the state of Montana on Wednesday during a Senate subcommittee hearing, saying its policies on Medicaid has made it more at risk to abuse and fraud compared to other states. He made his comments after noting the U.S. government improperly spent $36 billion in Fiscal Year 2018. “The sad reality is Read More…
Montana’s federal lawmakers are moving ahead with their effort to rename the Department of Veterans Affairs clinic in Bozeman after local Medal of Honor recipient and Army Staff Sgt. Travis Atkins. Sens. Steve Daines and Jon Tester and Rep. Greg Gianforte sent a letter on Tuesday to the chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Read More…
HELENA – Montana Gov. Steve Bullock endorsed Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney in the 2020 gubernatorial race on Friday, saying Cooney’s long history of public service made him the right person for the job. Democrats have held on to the governor’s post for nearly 14 years. Republicans said they were not surprised by the announcement. The nod Read More…
Every election season folks usually ask us, who should we vote for when it comes to judges or city council races? Normally, city council elections in Billings are relatively sleepy and it is hard to distinguish between the various candidates. Not this year. There is a very philosophical contrast between most of the candidates on Read More…
The Montana Democratic Party will soon start searching for a new executive director. Monica Lindeen will step down from her post as executive director of the Montana Democratic Party by year’s end. You know, I think it’s time that somebody else step into a position like this,” Lindeen says. It’s been just over ten months Read More…
Republican Greg Gianforte turned in another impressive quarter of fundraising for his 2020 gubernatorial run this weekend, bringing his four-month total to $1.09 million – more than twice as much as any other rival in either party. Gianforte, currently Montana’s sole U.S. House member, reported raising $507,000 for the past three months, adding to the Read More…
Spenser Merwin, a former staff member for U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, has been named the new executive director of the Montana Republican Party. Merwin has been Daines’ director of coalitions and outreach since 2015. He was the deputy political director for Daines’ Senate campaign during the 2014 election cycle and his regional political director during Read More…
Billings resident Nelly Nicol announced today that she is running as a Republican for Montana State Auditor. Nelly is a fourth-generation Montanan, wife, mother, and professional who has spent much of her career working in the insurance industry. “I was raised in a patriotic Marine Corps household and serving others is something that comes naturally Read More…
Two Bozeman Democrats are running for U.S. Senate with the hope of unseating Republican Steve Daines in 2020. Cora Neumann, 44, launched her campaign Tuesday, saying she will focus on affordable, high-quality health care, increasing wages and protecting public lands. Michael Knoles, 32, has filed with the Federal Election Commission but said he Read More…
Montana Gov. Steve Bullock (D) will apply to receive public financing for his struggling presidential campaign. In a memo Monday, Bullock’s campaign manager Jennifer Ridder cast the decision to seek out public funds for his presidential bid as a show of the governor’s commitment to campaign finance reform, an issue that he has put at the center Read More…
Montana’s congressional delegation is reacting in the wake of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s announcement this Tuesday that the House will move forward with an official impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump. On Tuesday morning, Republican Senator Steve Daines Tweeted “Impeachment. Obsession.” over a GIF of a character from the popular TV show “The Office” rolling Read More…
Montana governor and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Steve Bullock didn’t qualify for the debate stage in September, and he is polling near the bottom of the 20 remaining White House hopefuls. But at the American Federation of Teachers headquarters in Washington, D.C., Bullock said Thursday he can win back Trump voters from the American heartland while retaining support in traditional liberal strongholds. Read More…
At a hearing of the House Judiciary Committee, Congressman Greg Gianforte blasted committee Democrats for their focus on impeaching President Trump. He believes their priorities are misplaced. “The committee held its first hearing this week, and by all of observers, it was a circus,” said Gianforte. “There were clowns, tightrope walkers, firebreathers, and shell games. Read More…
A top official with the Federal Communications Commission says Montana needs to put $2 million back into the state’s 911 account. The funds in question were generated from 911 fees and placed into a state account that held $12 million in 2017. During that year’s regular legislative session, state lawmakers transferred $2 million out of the Read More…
During her campaign of running for Montana Attorney General, Kimberly Dudik paid a visit to Sidney where she met with the public for a meet and greet at Sunny’s Family Restaurant. Dudik has spent time in the legislature, as assistant Attorney General and as a nurse. “My career has always been about helping people,” Dudik said. One of the Read More…
Six weeks after entering Montana’s 2020 U.S. Senate race, outdoor writer Jack Ballard on Friday pulled out, citing health reasons. Ballard, 56, said in a statement that he’s been diagnosed with a heart condition that is not life-threatening but that must be “carefully monitored and makes it medically imprudent to continue the campaign.” He said Read More…
UPDATED- U.S Senator Steve Daines meet with Montana AARP members today in Bozeman about a new bill he is helping to put forth regarding the reduction of prescription drug pricing The average senior takes four prescription drugs and the average medicare user makes $26,000 a year. The price of prescription drugs went up 8% in Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. — U.S. Senator Steve Daines returned Monday after leaving for a trip to China on Saturday. Daines says he met with top Chinese officials and urged them to rebalance their trade relationship. Daines says for decades, China has practiced unfair trade policies and has stolen much of American’s intellectual property. He says his ideal Read More…
Former state Republican Party Chair Debra Lamm announced Monday that she’s running for Montana’s U.S. House seat in 2020, becoming the fifth Republican to vie for the open seat. Lamm said the upcoming election is a battle over a future “defined by socialism or American exceptionalism,” and that as a member of Congress she would Read More…
HELENA — Montana Commissioner of Political Practices Jeff Mangan told a legislative committee this week that lawmakers should consider updating state lobbying rules to bring them “into the 21st century” by, for instance, requiring electronic filing for lobbying reports and clarifying whether regulations apply to “grassroots” lobbying like social media campaigns. “You will find Read More…
A group opposing corporate money in elections – but that spent significantly on Montana’s 2018 U.S. Senate race – on Thursday endorsed Democrat Kathleen Williams for the state’s sole congressional seat in 2020. End Citizens United, a political-action committee formed in 2015 to oppose “big money” in politics, said Williams is a supporter of campaign-finance Read More…
With the sunset of Whitefish’s tax-increment finance district less than a year away, the Whitefish City Council is contemplating priorities for the remaining TIF revenue and potential new tax districts within the resort city. A work session from 5:30 to 7 p.m. tonight at City Hall will include a review and discussion of tax increment Read More…
A new presidential poll conducted by Mammouth University shows Gov. Steve Bullock is still at less than 1% with Democratic voters — far behind Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, and Bernie Sanders who are all in a virtual tie at the top of the poll. Bullock recently took part in a CNN Town Hall , again portraying himself as Read More…
On Sunday, Montana Gov. Steve Bullock made his case for why he should be the Democratic nominee for president to a nationwide TV audience. He answered questions from Democratic primary voters at an hourlong town hall in New York City, hosted by CNN. Bullock is now the last state governor remaining in the 2020 Democratic Read More…
As Montana Gov. Steve Bullock stood on the debate stage last week and listened to his 2020 rivals bicker and criticize one another, visions of a second term for President Donald Trump kept flashing through his mind. “I saw his reelection becoming more likely with each passing minute,” Bullock said Wednesday at the National Press Read More…
HELENA — A third Democratic candidate has entered the 2020 race for Montana attorney general. Kalispell bankruptcy attorney Jim Cossitt registered with the state Commissioner of Political Practices’ office last week. He joins state Rep. Kim Dudik and Gov. Steve Bullock’s chief legal counsel, Raph Graybill, in the race for the Democratic nomination for the Read More…
A longtime former newspaper executive has been named the communications director for Montana Attorney General Tim Fox’s campaign for governor. Mike Gulledge, who was recently the regional publisher of the Missoulian, Billings Gazette and Ravalli Republic newspapers before taking a role with the University of Montana, begins the role for Fox immediately. “I’m honored to Read More…
Democratic presidential candidate and Montana Gov. Steve Bullock has publicly supported a national minimum wage of $15 an hour, but his official office was advertising full-time internships earlier this summer that only paid his interns $9 an hour. Bullock took to Twitter last week to call for the minimum wage to be raised by quoting Read More…
Jon Tester said the way for Democrats to win in states President Trump won in 2016 is to “punch him in the face” during an interview on Morning Joe Thursday morning. The Montana Democratic senator notably won reelection in 2018 despite the president campaigning for the Republican challenger Montana State Auditor Matt Rosendale multiple times in the Read More…
Scott Roy McLean announced this week that he is running for the vacant seat in the Montana legislature held by Fred Thomas, who is term limited and therefore unable to run for that position again in 2020. The district extends from Corvallis to Florence. The primary election is next June. McLean is the owner of Montana Read More…
Communicating face-to-face provides an essential way for farmers and ranchers to address their concerns with government officials. During the Montana Farm Bureau Fly-In, June 10-13, in Washington, D.C. Montana Farm Bureau members had excellent opportunities to meet with lawmakers and agency personnel. The Fly-In participants—Susan Lake from Ronan, Don Steinbeisser, Jr. from Sidney and Kris Read More…
BILLINGS- The two Democrats vying to take on U.S. Sen. Steve Daines of Montana next year in the 2020 election reacted Tuesday to a recent tweet from the Republican defending President Trump. Helena mayor Wilmot Collins, who came to the United State as a refugee from the civil war in Liberia, released a video Tuesday Read More…