Montana Politics: Latest News

The state constitution guarantees the people the right to propose ballot initiatives, but the sponsors of CI-133 say, in recent years, the Legislature has been making it harder to exercise that right.

Whether the public approves or rejects Constitutional Initiative 132 won’t immediately change how Montana elects judges – but it may affect whether the issue stays a big political topic going forward.

Frustration over outside groups' political spending, and the mailers and TV ads that go along with it, is what the supporters of Initiative 194 say they’re responding to.

Advocates of Gov. Greg Gianforte's proposal to move Montana to a flat income tax are going across the state, to put their arguments before an audience.

Two candidates made their cases Wednesday for why they’re the best choice to fill an open seat on the Montana Supreme Court. Amy Eddy and Dan Wilson met for a forum at Montana State University.

In recent U.S. Senate elections, Montana has seen hundreds of millions of dollars spent on political ads from outside groups. Things have been much quieter so far this election cycle.

On Friday, Montana lawmakers heard a presentation, laying out recommendations for how state agencies can improve the process of selecting a contractor to provide goods or services.

Montana voters could be seeing more AI in campaign ads in the coming weeks, after a judge restricted enforcement of a state law that required disclosures on so-called “deepfake” campaign materials.

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen is asking members of Congress to address jurisdictional challenges that he says make it tougher to resolve missing and murdered indigenous persons’ cases.

Almost two years after Gov. Greg Gianforte’s office challenged the federal plan for managing bison in Yellowstone National Park, the state and federal governments have agreed to drop the case.

The Helena City Commission voted 3-2 Monday to delay action for now on a federal Homeland Security grant that opponents warned could obligate the city to assist with federal immigration enforcement.

Last week, the Democratic candidate in Montana’s 2nd congressional district filed a lawsuit challenging an independent candidate’s qualification for the ballot. On Monday, he decided to drop the case.

Authorities in Cascade County are continuing to investigate potentially fraudulent signatures on the petitions that qualified two independent congressional candidates for Montana’s November ballot.

This year, the national Republican Party is taking an unusual step and meeting outside a presidential year.

The Trump administration’s proposal to lift a nationwide policy that limited logging and roadbuilding in National Forest lands has sparked debate.

Big changes are coming for the nearly 30,000 Montanans who get their health insurance through the state employee health plan.

Montana currently has about 200,000 professional license holders, across more than 200 license categories.

In recent months, data centers and AI have become big topics on Montana’s political scene. Now, candidates in the state’s U.S. Senate race are staking out their positions on how to respond.

Kyle Austin, the winner of the Libertarian nomination for Montana’s open U.S. Senate seat, says he has been trying to push back against the idea that the Senate election is a three-way race.

Gov. Greg Gianforte was in Bozeman Thursday, joined by U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Scott Turner, to talk about the challenges facing youth transitioning out of foster care.

Gov. Greg Gianforte has selected a former member of the Montana Public Service Commission to serve on the commission temporarily, while Commissioner Brad Molnar is suspended from office.

Members of a state task force on energy say Montana is at an “energy crossroads,” and they’ve unveiled a list of recommendations for how state leaders can start preparing.

The landscape for nonprofits that receive federal grants has changed significantly since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term in January 2025.

U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke was in Missoula Friday morning, to receive recognition from the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.

Montana regulators are asking the state’s largest utility to make revisions to their long-range plan for how they’ll provide electricity in the state.

A state district judge in Helena has granted a preliminary injunction, preventing the enforcement of an opinion from Attorney General Austin Knudsen.

A Helena judge says he’ll issue a ruling Wednesday morning, as a pair of state lawmakers challenge an attorney general’s decision that could force them off the November ballot.

Two longtime state lawmakers are going to court to try to remain on the November ballot, after Montana’s attorney general issued a ruling that could leave them ineligible to run.

One of Montana’s top utility regulators is currently suspended from office, but he’s asking a state judge to block that suspension before Gov. Greg Gianforte can choose a temporary replacement.

Over the last few weeks, most of the attention in the U.S. Senate race was focused on whether Democratic candidate Alani Bankhead and independent candidate Seth Bodnar would both remain on the ballot.