The race to be Montana’s next U.S. senator is heating up in the final three weeks until election day. Recent polling shows Republican Kurt Alme has a comfortable lead in the four-way race. Meanwhile, independent Seth Bodnar and Democrat Alani Bankhead have hit the campaign trail hard trying to appeal to the same centrist and left-wing voters.
-
Ballots hit the mail today and voters will have to start making decisions. Recent court rulings overturn restrictive ballot initiative laws and remove a requirement for birth date verification on ballots. The race for a seat on the Supreme Court looks competitive. Debates heat up in the Senate race. And Trump may come to Montana to stump for the Republican candidate in the western district House race.
Four candidates face-off in chaotic Senate race
The race to be Montana’s next U.S. senator is heating up in the final three weeks until election day. Recent polling shows Republican Kurt Alme has a comfortable lead in the four-way race. Meanwhile, independent Seth Bodnar and Democrat Alani Bankhead have hit the campaign trail hard trying to appeal to the same centrist and left-wing voters.
Western district House candidates say affordability is their top concern
The race for Montana’s western district House seat is tight. Recent polls show the two major candidates are tied with no clear lead. MTPR’s Clayton Murphy has this profile of the Democrat and Republican competing for the seat.
Supreme Court candidates differ on partisanship, constitutional interpretation
Two judges from the same court are competing for a seat on the Montana Supreme Court. The justices spoke to MTPR’s Clayton Murphy about partisanship, restraint and what they would bring to the bench.
CI-132: Montana voters will issue a verdict on partisan judicial elections
Montana’s judicial elections are nonpartisan. An initiative to permanently keep it that way will appear on November’s ballot. Republican state legislators have tried unsuccessfully to make judicial elections partisan during recent legislative sessions.
Republican incumbent faces three challengers to represent eastern Montana in the U.S. House
It's been more than thirty years since Montanans elected a non-GOP candidate to the U.S. House of Representatives, and this year a Democrat, an Independent and a Libertarian are betting on a change.
'Montana Plan' ballot initiative aims to end dark money spending in Montana
Elections have consistently broken spending records in the state in recent years, largely due to corporate money. A ballot measure known as the Montana Plan aims to eliminate that kind of spending in Montana, sidestepping a controversial U.S. Supreme Court ruling. That would make the state a national legal test case.
PSC District 1 candidates campaign on energy costs, data centers and transparency
Two candidates are vying for the open District 1 seat on the Public Service Commission. This district is the biggest in the state by land and covers much of eastern Montana, from the Rocky Boy’s Reservation to Glendive and Miles City. MTPR’s Clayton Murphy speaks with Keila Szpaller, deputy editor of the Daily Montanan, about the race and what this election may mean for Montanans.
PSC District 5 race highlights competing views on the role of utility regulators
The Public Service Commission’s District 5 seat is up for election. Voters from the Blackfeet Indian Reservation to Helena and parts of Missoula will get to choose who represents them on the board. MTPR’s Clayton Murphy talks with Deputy Editor of the Daily Montanan Keila Szpaller about who’s running and what the race could mean for voters.
Picture of the Week
October 15, 2026 - Thank you to Fred & Sallie Brewer for this week's picture of the week. Elk cows, yearlings and calves near abandoned beaver pond. Highlands south of Butte.
1 of
— POTW-10-15-26.jpg
October 15, 2026 - Thank you to Fred & Sallie Brewer for this week's picture of the week. Elk cows, yearlings and calves near abandoned beaver pond. Highlands south of Butte.
2 of
— POTW-10-08-26-Anne-Hosler.jpg
Picture of the Week. October 08, 2026 - Thank you to Anne Hosler for this week's picture of the week. Sunset over the Blue Mountain area in Missoula.
Anne Hosler
3 of
— POTW-10-01-26-shannon-Harmon.jpg
Thank you to Shannon Harmon for this week's picture of the week. Moon rising above the mountains at Holland Lake 9/22/2026.
Shannon Harmon
4 of
— POTW-Noel-Osterman-09-24-26.jpg
September 24, 2026 - Thank you to Noel Osterman for this week's picture of the week. Sunset on Tiger Butte Road in Cascade County near Belt on August 28, 2026 at 8:23 p.m.
Noel Osterman
5 of
— POTW-09-17-26-web.jpg
September 17, 2026 – Thank you to Juliann Burnham for today's picture of the week. The footbridge to the University of Montana.
Juliann Burnham
6 of
— Picture-of-the-week-9-10-26-rose-miller.png
September 10, 2026 - Thank you to Rose Miller for this week's picture of the week. "Canyon Ferry Lake Winter Sunset"
Rose Miller
7 of
— POTW-will-hasting-09-03-26.jpeg
September 03, 2026 - Taking a break while kayaking Gates of the Mountains, looking back at Upper Holter Lake.
Will Hastings
8 of
— POTW-08-27-26.jpg
August 27, 2026 - The iconic Fire Tower overlooking Last Chance Gulch in Helena, MT.
Kylie Campbell
-
This week on ‘The Write Question,’ host Lauren Korn speaks with Emily Ruskovich about her short story collection, ‘Nightjar’ (Penguin Random House). Join the University of Montana’s Creative Writing Program, the Missoula Public Library, and Fact & Fiction Books for an event with Emily; she’ll be in conversation with writer Sam McPhee at the Missoula Public Library on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, at 6 p.m.
-
I started thinking about guttation on a hike at the end of summer. It was a humid day; it had rained almost nonstop the previous week and there was even more in the forecast.
-
Social Security benefits are set to get a boost to offset rising consumer prices. And, streamer Hasan Piker says the GOP's "guilt-by-association politics" won't drag Democrats down in the midterms.
-
Carve a pumpkin? You can do better than that. Fun and unusual ways to celebrate the season, from writing a gratitude letter to making an ancestral altar.
