Montana Politics: Latest News

University of Montana President Seth Bodnar is expected to run for U.S. Senate as an independent, part of an elaborate plan apparently backed by former U.S. Sen. Jon Tester.

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled against an Anaconda man who was shot and wounded by police in 2021 and claimed his constitutional rights had been violated.

Almost four years after the state hospital lost a key federal certification – and access to funding that went with it – leaders say they’ve officially submitted a request to get that status back.

Montana Supreme Court Justice Laurie McKinnon has been charged with a misdemeanor, after sheriff’s deputies said she failed to slow down while passing a stopped emergency vehicle.

Anyone who wants to get a ballot measure in front of Montana voters in the 2026 elections has until mid-June to turn in thousands of signatures from registered voters.

Alani Bankhead says she spent much of her career investigating crimes like human trafficking and child sexual abuse, including time with the Hawaii Attorney General’s office.

There’s a growing field of Democratic candidates challenging Republican U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke in the race for Montana’s western U.S. House seat.

The Montana Supreme Court has rejected a proposed ballot measure intended to block corporations from spending on political campaigns – but the sponsors of the measure say they plan to try again.

At an event in Helena Tuesday, business leaders expressed ongoing frustration with Montana’s property tax system – including the changes passed during last year’s state legislative session.

In the hours after President Donald Trump announced the U.S. had captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, the members of Montana’s congressional delegation – all Republicans – hailed the action.

Frances Mahon Deaconess Hospital serves an area of northeastern Montana with about 25,000 people in 14,000 square miles. Leaders say providing health care over an area like that comes with challenges.

2026 is here, and that means Montana is once again in an election year. But chances are the election hasn’t felt as ever-present this time around.

A state judge in Helena has agreed to temporarily suspend former Montana Senate President Sen. Jason Ellsworth from office, while he goes through the legal process on a charge of official misconduct.

Gov. Greg Gianforte has ruled there’s no need to suspend Montana Public Service Commissioner Brad Molnar from office until an investigation against him is completed.

The U.S. House has narrowly approved a bill that would remove gray wolves from the federal endangered species list across the country.

Sen. Jason Ellsworth, R-Hamilton, will face a criminal charge for official misconduct, in connection with the controversy over state contracts that upended the Montana Legislature’s 2025 session.

On Thursday morning, Michael Allen appeared before a judge in Helena and made a tearful apology. He pleaded guilty in October.

In 2025, more than 77,000 Montanans got health insurance through HealthCare.gov. The vast majority of them – around 69,000 – got some form of assistance to lower their costs.

As NorthWestern Energy prepared to take over majority control of the Colstrip power plant, regulators sought to intervene in the company’s plan to assign newly acquired electricity to a subsidiary.

Yet another proposed ballot measure in Montana is now caught up in legal action. Attorney General Austin Knudsen’s office ruled a constitutional amendment didn’t meet requirements for the ballot.

For years, there has been talk that the federal government might move toward reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug, but it hasn’t happened yet.

Gov. Greg Gianforte’s office says more than 32,000 businesses are going to see lower rates for unemployment insurance, because of a new law passed during the 2025 Montana legislative session.

The Montana Supreme Court has ruled in favor of a group sponsoring a proposed ballot measure that would require the state’s judicial elections remain nonpartisan.

Since 1959, a building at the corner of Carson Street and Broadway in Helena has served as the state-owned home for Montana’s governors and their families – but it’s currently sitting empty.

A state judge has ruled the Montana law that created education savings accounts for students with special needs is unconstitutional.

A year after the Montana Supreme Court ruled in favor of a group of young plaintiffs in the Held v. Montana climate lawsuit, 13 of those 16 plaintiffs are challenging another set of state laws.

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen has been elected to lead the national organization that advocates for electing Republican attorneys general.

At the end of the year, NorthWestern Energy is set to take over majority ownership of the Colstrip power plant.

The Trump administration is proposing changes to the definition of what bodies of water are considered “the waters of the United States.”

Department leaders say the new design is intended to be more secure and harder to copy, to protect against fraud and identity theft.