Drummond’s community library was packed for a recent forum. More than a dozen congressional, statewide and local candidates showed up to introduce themselves. There wasn’t time to debate, but that didn’t stop candidates from taking subtle jabs at each other. Or not so subtle, like from state Rep. John Fitzpatrick.
“My opponent talked about how she’s been supported or has been endorsed by the Montana Republican Party. It’s sad to say that the Montana Republican Party leadership has completely lost its way. It has become the enemy of the people, particularly the taxpayer.”
That may sound like normal political mudslinging, but Fitzpatrick is a Republican himself. He’s fallen out of the party’s favor, and isn’t the only one. The state GOP has publicly shunned Fitzpatrick and other moderates for supporting Medicaid expansion and property tax changes that hardline conservatives oppose.
Fitzpatrick says he listens to constituents over party leaders.
“I’ve knocked on roughly 1,900 doors so far this particular cycle. Nobody has ever said to me, we want you to go to Helena, engage in ideological warfare and get nothing done. Yet that’s exactly where the Republican Party leadership is taking us.”
Parties in Montana generally refrain from getting involved in local primaries. Their goal is to win more seats, but voters decide who fills them.
A century ago, party nominations were decided behind closed doors. Professor Laurel Harbridge-Yong, director of Northwestern University’s Institute for Policy Research, says primaries evolved into voter elections to “democratize” the process.
“It was letting the people have a say in picking who would be the nominee for the party instead of the party bosses just deciding among themselves, and kind of, I’ll scratch your back you scratch mine, I’ll pick my buddy for this position sort of thing.”
Harbridge-Yong says parties generally want to avoid contentious primaries between their own members.
“That potentially weakens the candidate going into the general election, because now, your opponent in the general election already has these clips they can show of, ‘look, even fellow Republicans or fellow Democrats think this candidate is terrible for reasons x,y,z.”
But this year, the Montana GOP is taking sides and publicly condemned more than a dozen candidates the party says are not conservative enough.
The party’s executive board passed resolutions criticizing moderate conservatives. They also created an “honor roll” – a list of 42 Republicans deemed loyal. Trish Schreiber, Fitzpatrick’s opponent, made that list.
In a video posted to social media, Schreiber said the district has been poorly represented.
“Our current representative has been wheeling and dealing with your money rather than returning the surplus to you,” Schreiber said in the video.
At the Drummond forum, Schreiber says she was inspired to run for office after advocating for school choice at the Capitol.
“I learned that engaging in government and legislation is important because our society has degraded our individual liberties by piling on rules, regulations and taxation that guide the people to be dependent on government.”
There’s an independent, but no Democrat in the race, meaning the primary will likely decide the outcome.
New Montana GOP chair Art Wittich says moderates have been a source of frustration for two decades. But he says they crossed a line during the 2025 session. A group of nine state senators sided with Democrats, not only on certain bills, but also on procedural rules that, at times, jammed up GOP plans.
“Their actions in the Senate ceded all of that hard-earned political territory to the Democrat Party,” Wittich says.
Montana was considered purple until recently. In 2024, Republicans toppled the last Democrat holding statewide office – U.S. Sen. Jon Tester.
But Wittich says that success has been tainted by lawmakers who break rank. And that’s why the GOP is taking a more aggressive approach this year. Party leaders voted to denounce 17 candidates who hired or received donations from a campaign management company called Fireweed.
Wittich calls the company a Democratic scheme, and says the GOP had to respond.
“For the Democrats to get involved with our primary, that is absurd. And it’s disgusting. It’s brazen,” Wittich says.
Montana has open primaries, meaning voters don’t have to register with a party and can choose which primary to vote in when they get their ballot. Many Republicans worry that allows Democratic voters to influence their primary results.
But Fireweed denies any nefarious meddling. It was founded by Lauren Caldwell, who chaired the Democratic Party’s legislative campaigns roughly a decade ago. Company staffer Caitie Butler has long worked with Republicans and on ballot initiatives.
The candidates associated with Fireweed are many of the moderate incumbents criticized for how they vote. Butler says the company isn’t working with any Democrats.
“We’re really looking for candidates that have a proven track record in their districts of leadership that really puts their constituents first.”
Butler says Fireweed fills a gap in services for third-party candidates and ballot initiatives that generally have less institutional support. And now, candidates who’ve lost their party’s favor.
Butler says ideological tests are best left to constituents.
“Ultimately the voters are arbiters of who they consider Republican enough for them, or the right kind of Republican.”
Special interest groups often try to sway public opinion. While common in big ticket congressional races, outside spending is up this year in local legislative races.
In Fitzpatrick and Schreiber’s race, Americans for Prosperity and the School Freedom Fund are spending on mailers and canvassing in support of Schreiber. Conservatives4Montana is a group spending big to prop up moderates, including Fitzpatrick.
Back in House District 76, which includes Drummond, Anaconda, Philipsburg and Helmville, voters are taking notice of the attention and criticism flying in the legislative race. Keith Dagel, who attended the candidate forum, said he still hadn’t decided who he’ll vote for.
“Probably of any race, it was the most with negativity involved in it tonight. I really am turned off by negativity anymore.”
The Montana GOP will learn how deep its influence runs on June 2.
