HELENA — Tuesday’s primary election was the climax of a bitter battle between factions of the Republican Party in the Montana Legislature, which led to millions of dollars in spending. After the dust settled, the more moderate and more conservative sides could each claim some victories.
Eight lawmakers, all Republicans, lost their primary races. It’s the most incumbent legislators to lose renomination in a single Montana election in at least 20 years.
Jonathon Ambarian reports - watch the video here:
The overall picture remains mixed. Six of the defeated incumbents were supported by the committee Conservatives4MT, aligned with the more centrist faction. The other two were part of the staunchly conservative Montana Freedom Caucus.
However, in perhaps the most closely watched race, Rep. Llew Jones of Conrad, won a primary for Senate over Rep. Zack Wirth of Wolf Creek. Jones, a longtime leader of the more moderate group known as the “Solutions Caucus,” was a major target for conservative groups this year.
“I have to admit, it's good to have it in the rearview mirror,” Jones told MTN Thursday. “It was long, very ugly, and a mass of outside spending came to play in legislative races unlike we’ve ever seen before.”
Voters in Senate District 9 began receiving robocalls attacking Jones last year. Since then, groups like Americans for Prosperity and Accountability in State Government have spent on advertising against Jones or for Wirth. Meanwhile, Conservatives4MT and its allies came in with spending of their own to defend Jones.
Jones says his campaign centered on his belief that lawmakers need to serve their constituents’ interests first regardless of the wishes of party leaders.
“Wherever the turnout was quite high, the middle spoke up loudly and said, ‘Now, we don't buy outside interests dictating who we elect,’” he said.
Rep. Jerry Schillinger of Circle won a primary in his reelection race by a wide margin, against embattled Sen. Jason Ellsworth, who currently represents Ravalli County but ran in Schillinger’s House District 34 in eastern Montana. Schillinger also chairs the Montana Freedom Caucus and told MTN he’s pleased with how the conservative wing of the party performed.
“We’re pretty excited actually about the total numbers,” he said.
Schillinger believes the defeats of more moderate lawmakers shows they weren’t staying close enough to the party platform. He said one of the biggest issues motivating conservative voters was anger over the property tax reform passed last year with support from Jones and his allies.
“One of the most common things I heard is a real frustration, that we think we send a conservative to Helena, and when they get there, they vote like a Democrat,” he said.
The Montana Freedom Caucus PAC endorsed 31 candidates. 18 of them won, and 13 lost. The winners included six who knocked out incumbents: Rep. Caleb Hinkle of Belgrade, who defeated Sen. Shelley Vance of Belgrade; Shaun Pandina, who defeated Rep. Lyn Bennett of Columbia Falls; Finley Warden, who defeated Rep. Linda Reksten of Polson; Trevor Walter, who defeated Rep. Ken Walsh of Twin Bridges; Trish Schreiber, who defeated Rep. John Fitzpatrick of Anaconda; and Jeff Stanek, who defeated Rep. Curtis Cochran of St. Regis.
Conservatives4MT supported 14 candidates who won and 13 who lost. Their successes included Chris Rindal, who defeated Sen. Barry Usher of Yellowstone County; and Troy Charbonneau, who defeated Rep. Nelly Nicol of Billings.
The Montana Republican Party also got involved in the primaries, after newly elected chair Art Wittich said party leadership should vet candidates for commitment to conservative principles. The party released an “Honor Roll” of candidates they said were in line with the party platform. In 40 contested races, Honor Roll candidates won in 21 districts and lost in 19. The Honor Roll included 14 challengers to incumbent lawmakers – eight of the incumbents survived, including House Speaker Rep. Brandon Ler, R-Savage.
Jones said he thinks the primary battles, and the party leadership’s role, have been harmful.
“I believe it's hurting the Republican brand statewide and it's putting it at risk, because Montanans are independent thinkers,” he said.
Schillinger said he believes it’s “long overdue” to have a more active debate about who should be representing the Republican Party.
“That's why we have primaries, so that each party can put forward the candidate that should reflect the views of their constituents,” he said.
The amount of outside spending in the legislative primaries was significant. Americans for Prosperity reported spending about $620,000 in Montana elections this year, though that didn’t include earlier ads telling voters to call their lawmakers about specific votes.
Accountability in State Government, led by former Sen. Dan Bartel of Lewistown, spent another roughly $750,000, and the School Freedom Fund, a national pro-school choice organization affiliated with the Club for Growth, spent more than $1.3 million. On the other side, Conservatives4MT spent more than $1.8 million.
The divisions in the Republican caucus were a major theme of the 2025 legislative session – especially in the Senate, where nine Republican senators regularly voted with Democrats on key procedural votes and legislation. Vance was the only member of “The Nine” running for reelection, though Ellsworth – termed-out of the Senate and disciplined by the body over his handling of a state contract – ran for the House, as did Sen. Butch Gillespie of Ethridge, who is running unopposed.
MTN asked Schillinger and Jones if the heated battles in this primary season will linger into the 2027 session.
“I don't know; I think we all just have a responsibility now to go forward, represent our constituents and do the best we can,” said Schillinger.
“It's going to take some time for the heartburn to settle down,” Jones said. “But truthfully, usually there's a way – you're there to prioritize the needs of Montana.”
Democrats had only 17 contested legislative primaries, to Republicans’ 43. The most notable came in Senate District 32, an open seat in Bozeman, where Rep. Kelly Kortum narrowly defeated Rep. Becky Edwards.
Montana Legislative Primary Results (Unofficial):
Republicans:
- Senate District 1 (Lincoln County and Marion): Former Rep. Steve Gunderson over Rep. Neil Duram and Vincent Backen
- Senate District 9 (North-Central Montana): Rep. Llew Jones over Rep. Zack Wirth
- Senate District 10 (Great Falls): Jessica Dyrdahl over Maximus Dascoulias
- Senate District 11 (Great Falls): Former Rep. Steven Galloway over Rep. Ed Buttrey
- Senate District 12 (Great Falls): Rep. George Nikolakakos over Public Service Commissioner Randy Pinocci
- Senate District 14 (Hi-Line): Rep. Eric Albus over Mark Wicks
- Senate District 18 (Eastern Montana): Rep. Greg Kmetz over Doug Martens
- Senate District 19 (Central/Eastern Montana): Chris Rindal over Sen. Barry Usher
- Senate District 25 (Billings): Sen. Dennis Lenz over Tom Bick
- Senate District 34 (Belgrade): Rep. Caleb Hinkle over Sen. Shelley Vance
- Senate District 42 (East Helena and Helena Valley: Steve LaPraim over Mike Talia and Nick Lancette
- Senate District 43 (Southern Ravalli County): Rep. David Bedey over Rep. Kathy Love
- House District 3 (Northern Flathead County): Derek Peachey over Cathy Mitchell
- House District 4 (Whitefish and Columbia Falls): Shaun Pandina over Rep. Lyn Bennett and Nathan Purdy
- House District 6 (Kalispell): Jim Riley over Arthur Dunn
- House District 7 (Kalispell): Rep. Courtenay Sprunger over Luke Maxwell
- House District 13 (Polson): Finley Warden over Rep. Linda Reksten
- House District 17 (Teton County and northern Lewis and Clark County): Justin Cleveland over former Rep. Susan Geise and Mike Fasbender
- House District 19 (Great Falls): Hannah Trebas over Derren Auger
- House District 20 (Great Falls): Rep. Melissa Nikolakakos over Tony Rosales
- House District 21 (Black Eagle): Trevor Funseth over Eric Peterson
- House District 22 (Great Falls): Jason Lorang over Kevin Leatherbarrow
- House District 23 (Great Falls): Rep. Eric Tilleman over Brett Mills
- House District 28 (Hi-Line): Chisholm Christensen over John South
- House District 29 (Northeastern Montana): Rep. Valerie Moore over Linda Harmon
- House District 33 (Dawson County and southern Richland County): Rep. Brandon Ler over former Sen. Ric Holden
- House District 34 (Southeastern Montana): Rep. Jerry Schillinger over Sen. Jason Ellsworth
- House District 36 (Miles City): Ty Linger over Loren Hinebauch
- House District 40 (Lockwood): Rep. Mike Vinton over Gunner Cesnik
- House District 47 (Billings): John Maxwell over Ron Stevens
- House District 49 (Billings): Charlie Loveridge over Ole Hedstrom
- House District 51 (Billings): Rep. Jodee Etchart over Lana Tibbetts
- House District 52 (Billings): Rep. Stacy Zinn over former Sen. Ed Walker
- House District 53 (Billings): Troy Charbonneau over Rep. Nelly Nicol
- House District 55 (Carbon County): Rep. Brad Barker over Mary Horman
- House District 67 (Belgrade): Rep. Jedediah Hinkle over Russell Nelson
- House District 68 (Belgrade): Randy Chamberlin over former Rep. Jennifer Carlson
- House District 69 (Madison County): Trevor Walter over Rep. Ken Walsh
- House District 76 (Powell and Granite Counties): Trish Schreiber over Rep. John Fitzpatrick
- House District 84 (Helena Valley): Roy Caldwell over James Marshal
- House District 85 (Southern Ravalli County): Kim Dailey over former Rep. Michele Binkley
- House District 86 (Hamilton): Former Rep. Wayne Rusk over Kenneth Allen
- House District 90 (Mineral County and parts of Missoula and Sanders Counties): Jeff Stanek over Rep. Curtis Cochran
Democrats:
- Senate District 8 (Blackfeet and CSKT): Rep. Tyson Running Wolf over Jade-Heather Ackerman
- Senate District 11 (Great Falls): Valynda Holland over Mark Winters
- Senate District 12 (Great Falls): Mindy Leach over Jim Whitaker
- Senate District 32 (Bozeman): Rep. Kelly Kortum over Rep. Becky Edwards
- Senate District 41 (Helena): Erin Farris-Olsen over Dana Toole
- House District 1 (Northern Lincoln County): Dakota Adams over Roberta McCanse
- House District 15 (Blackfeet and CSKT): Rep. Thedis Crowe over Adrien Owen Wagner
- House District 29 (Northeastern Montana): Tess Fahlgren over Rachel Sundheim
- House District 31 (Fort Peck and Fort Belknap): Natalie O’Neal over Lance FourStar
- House District 46 (Billings): Rep. Denise Joy over Erin Tate
- House District 61 (Bozeman): Rio Roland over Chris Gray
- House District 80 (Helena): Megan Lane over Qasim Abdul-Baki
- House District 81 (Helena): Sen. Janet Ellis over Ben Kuiper
- House District 84 (Helena Valley): Tia Nelson over Jamie Van Valkenburg
- House District 92 (Eastern Missoula County): Monica Tranel over Reggie Spaulding
- House District 93 (Missoula): Ben Davis over Nick Kujawa and Sam Kulla
- House District 94 (Missoula): Robin Kendall over Lisa Verlanic Fowler
