Featured Articles in Montana Politics

Sheehy Introduces Legislation to Compensate Service Members Discharged Over COVID Vaccine Mandate

U.S. Senator Tim Sheehy introduced the COVID-19 Military Backpay Act of 2025 on Friday, aiming to provide backpay and compensation to thousands of service members who were discharged from the military due to non-compliance with the Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The legislation seeks to restore benefits, pay, and retirement accruals to the roughly 100,000 Read More…

Senator Daines Leads Bipartisan Push to Celebrate “Great Outdoors Month”

U.S. Senator Steve Daines (R-Mont.) is once again championing Montana’s outdoor heritage on the national stage, as the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a bipartisan resolution he co-led to designate June as “Great Outdoors Month.” Joined by Senator Gary Peters (D-Mich.) and a coalition of colleagues from across the country, Daines highlighted the importance of outdoor Read More…

Gianforte Praises Supreme Court Ruling

Governor Greg Gianforte applauded the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Skrmetti, upholding Tennessee’s Youth Protection Act and reinforcing the right of states to restrict certain medical and surgical treatments for minors experiencing gender dysphoria. The ruling comes as Montana’s own Youth Health Protection Act faces legal challenges in state courts. “Today, the Read More…

All in: Montana Politics

Bullock Rejects CoreCivic

Gov. Steve Bullock rejected an offer from CoreCivic to extend its contract to manage Montana’s only private prison, because the company asked for a 15 percent increase in payments. Bullock told MTN News that [quote] “It doesn’t make sense for Montanans.” CoreCivic said Wednesday that the net increase under the offer would be only about Read More…

Committee addresses issues of missing children and human trafficking

(HELENA) The State-Tribal Relations Committee brainstormed ideas on Friday for improving the response to cases of missing children and human trafficking in the state. Bryan Lockerby, Division Administrator with the Division of Criminal Investigation, said law enforcement is the main agency that handles missing persons reports. From there, the Criminal Justice Information Network – known Read More…

U.S. Senate candidate asks judge to dismiss alleged hunting violations

U.S. Senate candidate Troy Downing wants a Gallatin County judge to throw out several charges alleging he was not a Montana resident when he bought resident hunting licenses, claiming past accountants made errors in his tax filings. Christopher Williams, Downing’s attorney, filed a pretrial motion in Gallatin County Justice Court and said the residency status Read More…

Attorney General Tim Fox Demands Answers from Facebook

On Monday, Montana Attorney General Tim Fox joined a coalition of 37 state Attorneys General, demanding answers from Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg about the company’s business practices and privacy protections. “In the news recently, Facebook has had a practice of either voluntarily sharing private and personal information of its Facebook users, or more recently where Read More…

U.S. House candidate asking for a clean race

U.S. House candidate Jared Pettinato is asking incumbent Congressman Greg Gianforte and other candidates to sign a petition ensuring everyone runs “the cleanest campaign.” Pettinato is vying for the Democratic nomination to challenge Gianforte for the U.S. House seat. The Bozeman attorney and former U.S. Department of Justice attorney said ethics is the first step Read More…

Who’s Running: Candidates for the 2018 Elections

The March 12 filing deadline has come and gone, and the 2018 races for county, state and federal offices have taken shape. The primary election takes place June 5, and will be the determining election for several races in Flathead County in which only Republicans have filed for the jobs. READ THE FULL STORY.

Billings legislative candidate among 7 to be removed from ballot

HELENA – Montana’s campaign regulators have disqualified seven legislative candidates from the ballot for failing to file required paperwork. Commissioner of Political Practices Jeff Mangan announced Monday that those candidates had not filed an official statement of candidacy or business disclosure statement. By state law, candidates who miss the deadline for submitting those forms cannot Read More…

Select Committee Chosen to Examine State Employee Settlements

A select bipartisan, bicameral committee has been asked to examine more than $1.2 million in state employee settlements since the beginning of 2017. The committee, consisting of six Republicans and four Democrats was appointed by Senate President Scott Sales and Speaker of the House Austin Knudsen. Senate Majority Leader Fred Thomas explained the genesis of Read More…

Conservative author D’Souza speaks in Bigfork

Conservative author and filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza came to Bigfork Saturday night. His talk, organized by the Last Chance Patriots and the Flathead County Republican Central Committee, nearly filled the 435-seat Bigfork Center for the Performing Arts. Audience members paid $100 per ticket to hear D’Souza’s take on politics, a topic he’s explored in 17 books Read More…

Montana Attorney General Supports Passage of Child Pornography Victim Bill

Montana Attorney General Tim Fox is urging congressional leaders to pass legislation supporting victims of child pornography. He is encouraging the House of Representatives to support and vote for the Amy, Vicky, and Andy Child Pornography Victim Assistance Act. “This is a very important piece of legislation,” said Fox. “As you know, child pornography is Read More…

U.S. Rep. Gianforte files for re-election; field appears complete for MT congressional seat

HELENA – U.S. Rep. Greg Gianforte, R-Mont., paid his candidate filing fee Thursday to run for re-election, likely completing the filed of competitors for Montana’s only congressional seat. Gianforte won the seat last May 25, in a special election to succeed Ryan Zinke, who resigned after becoming U.S. Interior secretary. In a statement Thursday, Gianforte Read More…

Governor Bullock Interested in Limiting Firearm Magazine Capacity – ‘One of Those Things You Don’t Really Need’

On Monday, Montana Governor Steve Bullock and other governors from around the country met with President Donald Trump to discuss the issue of guns and school safety. During his brief time at the microphone, Bullock asked the president to work on adding new elements to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System or NICS. “We Read More…

Tester Votes for Sanctuary Cities

Democratic Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) voted in support of sanctuary cities Thursday. The vote prompting one of his potential Republican challengers to tie Tester once again to the vote to shutdown the government over illegal immigrants. As The Hill reports, several other more moderate Senate Democrats voted to crackdown on sanctuary cities, while Tester voted Read More…

Trial set for Senate candidate Downing on fish-and-game charges

BOZEMAN -Republican U.S. Senate candidate Troy Downing, charged multiple times for allegedly buying Montana resident hunting-and-fishing licenses when he was a non-resident, is going to trial – two weeks before his contested primary election. At a hearing Wednesday in Bozeman, Justice of the Peace Bryan Adams scheduled Downing’s trial for three days, from May 23-25. Read More…

Montana’s election chief talks with high school students about voting

BILLINGS – Montana Secretary of State Corey Stapleton stopped by Billings West High School Thursday, to talk to students about the importance of getting involved. Stapleton spent over an hour with senior students at the high school answering questions. From social media to Indian Reservations and health care, Stapleton’s message to students was the importance Read More…

Gianforte talks workforce development and tax reform during Helena visit

U.S. Representative Greg Gianforte visited a job training facility in Helena on Friday to talk about workforce development and tax reform. Gianforte toured the Montana Electrical Joint Apprenticeship and Training Center supported by local chapters of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the National Electrical Contractors Association. The center offers an apprenticeship program that Read More…