A Democratic state senator from Box Elder entered the race for Montana’s eastern congressional district.
Sen. Jonathan Windy Boy has been a state legislator since 2003. He’s a member of the Chippewa Cree Tribe and has long focused on issues like Native language preservation, state-tribal relations and child welfare.
In a news release, Windy Boy described himself as a moderate, anti-abortion Democrat, running on a deep understanding of Montana. He’ll face Democrats Brian Miller and Sam Lux in their party’s primary. Sitting GOP Rep. Troy Downing is running for re-election in the district that political analysts favor heavily for Republicans.
In 2019, the Associated Press reported that Windy Boy was investigated for harassing a female colleague. He resigned from a committee chairmanship before legislative leaders could strip him of the title.
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Friday was a make-it-or-break-it day for proposed statewide ballot initiatives. Petition signatures had to be submitted to county elections officials June 19. -
Montana’s Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate Monday directly addressed speculation about her political future. Alani Bankhead confirmed she’s "in it to win it." -
The Montana Republican Party worked this primary season to oust several of its own members from the state Legislature. The party took issue with moderate candidates it saw as being too willing to work across the aisle with Democrats. With the dust from this month’s primary election settled, Lee Newspapers State Bureau reporter Seaborn Larson joined MTPR’s Austin Amestoy to share results of the intraparty battle -
The 2026 primary results yielded a couple of surprise congressional candidates for Democrats. Republican congressional candidates won as expected. Legislative races pitting conservative versus moderate Republicans ended with mixed results. And Republican primary voters turned out in much bigger numbers than Democratic primary voters. -
The stage is now set for Montana’s November 3 general election. One of Tuesday’s most closely watched races will ultimately determine who will replace two term Republican Sen. Steve Daines.
