Montana Public Radio this spring aired interviews with 20 candidates for federal office. MTPR's Shaylee Ragar joined Austin Amestoy to recap our coverage and share what voters should expect ahead of the primary election.
Austin Amestoy So 20 interviews later, we've completed our voter guide for the 2026 primary election. Can you talk a little bit about how we chose to cover the primary this year?
Shaylee Ragar Yes. So Montana will elect two U S house representatives, a U S Senator, a Supreme court justice, two public service commissioners and 125 state legislators in November. We're also expecting a few ballot initiatives to make it onto the ballot, if they get enough signatures.
How we choose which races to cover
We'd like to cover every race. And we know listeners want that info on every candidate that appears on their ballot from local to federal. We just don't have the capacity to do that. So we cover the races that have the most impact for the largest number of listeners. And our goal in interviewing candidates is to ask topical questions and uniform questions to help voters compare and contrast who best matches their political beliefs. You can expect a lot more coverage on candidates who advance out of the primary election into the general.
Austin Amestoy We didn't speak with everyone though at that statewide level, so who didn't make our airwaves?
Shaylee Ragar That's right, Austin. We, of course, have to set deadlines to complete these interviews, and we have to be strict about those deadlines to keep things fair among the candidates and to make sure that we get all of our coverage done before absentee ballots arrive in mailboxes. So a few candidates missed our deadline.
I do want listeners to know why we have gaps in coverage for some front-running candidates. One of those candidates is Republican Aaron Flint, an Army veteran and conservative talk radio host. He entered the race after Congressman Ryan Zinke unexpectedly announced he'd retire. Flint has Zinke's endorsement, and he ultimately did not agree to an interview with MTPR. The other candidate is Republican Kurt Alme, a former U.S. Attorney for Montana who was appointed to that job by President Donald Trump. He filed his campaign paperwork minutes before the deadline to do so, and at the same time, U. S. Senator Steve Daines dropped out of the race. That maneuver certainly hampered odds for a competitive primary. And Alme has Daines' endorsement as well.
2026 primary election deadlines
Austin Amestoy The primary election is June 2nd. Can you tell us about the major deadlines voters should be aware of leading up to that date?
Shaylee Ragar So voters who request mail-in ballots in advance should have already received them by now. So if you haven't, you should really check in with your local county elections office. You can also check on the status of those ballots at voterportal.mt.gov. And if you want to mail your ballot back, you need to put it in the mail at least a week in advance of the June 2 primaries to ensure it gets there by election day. Otherwise, your vote won't count.
You can also physically return mail-in ballots at your local county elections office. A new law changing the voter registration deadline was blocked in court, so the old deadline still stands. That's election day at 8 p.m., which is also when voting ends.
Also, we'll know which independent candidates have gathered enough signatures to secure a spot on the November ballot by the end of May, pending signature verification.
Candidate Q&A
Austin Amestoy And where can listeners find our candidate interviews as they're doing their research?
Shaylee Ragar www.mtpr.org. And I would also tell listeners to tune in to Campaign Beat. It's a podcast from MTPR, which offers more candidate news and analysis.
Farewell to Capitol Bureau Chief Shaylee Ragar
Austin Amestoy And last, but certainly not least, Shaylee, this is your last MTPR voter guide. You're departing the station, you're going back to school. How are you feeling?
Shaylee Ragar I appreciate the question, Austin. And I so appreciate the opportunity to just say, thank you so much to the listeners of MTPR. It is really hard to leave this job. I have loved it so much. I've interviewed so many fascinating, incredible people. I've seen so many places across Montana that I never otherwise would have. And I'm just so appreciative of all the people who've taken time to do interviews with me or offer me information that I needed to know for a story. This has just been the best job in the world!.
Austin Amestoy Shaylee, you have made an indelible impact on our listeners. I know that's a fact. They've been informed, they've been inspired by your coverage, and they're gonna be informed this year as they make their decisions at the ballot box. You leave big shoes to fill. So thank you for everything you've done here.
Shaylee Ragar I appreciate it all.
Austin Amestoy I'll miss you. You want to sign off one more time?
Shaylee Ragar One more time.
From MTPR studios in Missoula, I'm Shaylee Ragar.
