For the first time this election season, all four of Montana’s U.S. Senate candidates shared a debate stage. The candidates fielded reporters’ questions for a mostly fireworks-free hour-and-a-half at Bozeman’s Field and Stream Lodge.
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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.
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.
Your twice-daily guide to what matters in Montana
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Western Montana’s temperatures have been unseasonably warm over the past couple of weeks, hovering up to 20 degrees above normal, but a major change is right around the corner. -
Election season is here and The Rocky Mountain Americans With Disabilities Act Center wants to make sure that voters know how to access polling locations and ballot drop boxes safely and independently. -
State seeks public comment on proposed data center well in Yellowstone County; Herbicide treatment flights in progress near Dillon; Emergency drought assistance available to ag producers in 16 Montana counties. Federal grants give Montana ambulance services a $9 million boost -
State workers will pay more for health care starting next year. State officials say that’s necessary because the cost of the state health plan was higher than expected. The state employees union struck a deal with the state to mitigate some of the price hikes for workers. -
Local hikers, hunters and more shared their personal backcountry experiences at a rally in Missoula last week as the U.S. Forest Service considers a major policy change for roadless lands. -
Montana's Attorney General plans to appeal, after a District Court struck down a State law requiring absentee voters to include their birth year with their ballots. -
Recent polls show the Republican ahead in Montana's Senate race, and the Democrat and Republican in the western district House race in a virtual tie. Democratic Senate candidate Alani Bankhead tries to address concerns about her past ties to a Conservative Megachurch. New ads in the House race focus on health care and culture wars. And upcoming debates could tip the scales in the congressional contests.
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Fourteen black bears were killed last week following an investigation at a Bozeman-area home. Game wardens say the bears had stopped relying on natural foods and were completely unafraid of humans. -
In most states, people with Medicaid coverage will have to prove they're working, volunteering or studying, starting Jan. 1. But Montana is starting that early, and it's sowing confusion and anxiety. -
“Unprecedented.” That’s the word wildlife managers keep using to describe bear conflicts in Red Lodge. “This year has really been kind of off the charts in terms of conflicts,” says Chrissy Webb, a spokesperson with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks.
