Candidate registrations continues to trickle in

The number of people seeking office in races impacting this part of north-central Montana continues to grow, as the registrations trickle in.

That includes in the race for U.S. president, with incumbent Donald Trump formally registering in Montana his race for re-election.

Republican challenger Bob Eli of Illinois also has filed in the presidential race in Montana.

No other presidential candidates have filed in the Big Sky State as of this morning.

Despite a number of candidates who have announced their intent to run for Montana’s U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Steve Daines — who has said he is running for re-election — the only candidates listed on Montana’s Secretary of State website this morning were Democrats John Mues of Loma and Cora Neuman of Bozeman.

The race for the U.S. House seat held by Republican Greg Gianforte — who has announced he is running for governor — has more candidates registered.

Republicans Joe Dooling of Helena, John Evankovich of Butte and Debra Lamm of Livingston have filed, while on the Democrat side Kathleen Williams of Bozeman is the sole candidate so far.

The race for governor only has seen Republicans file so far, although Gianforte is not one who had filed as of this morning. Montana Attorney General Tim Fox, who cannot run for that office due to term limits, had filed, as had state Sen. Al Olszewski, R-Kalispell.

Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney and Whitney Williams of Missoula have announced their intent to file as Democrats in the gubernatorial race, but were not listed on the Secretary of State’s website as of this morning.

A crowded race for Montana secretary of state has three Republicans — Senate President Scott Sales of Bozeman, Christy Jacobsen of Helena and Forrest Mandeville of Columbus — facing off in the primary. 

Incumbent Republican Secretary of State Corey Stapleton has announced he is running for Gianforte’s U.S. House seat, but was not listed as a candidate as of this morning.

The sole Democrat in that race so far is state Sen. Bryce Bennett of Missoula.

In the race to take Fox’s spot as attorney general, Democrats Rep. Kimberly Dudick of Missoula and Raph Graybill, the chief counsel for the governor, are facing off in the primary. The only Republican to file so far is former Speaker of the House and current Roosevelt County Attorney Austin Knudsen.

The state auditor position also is up for grabs, with incumbent Republican Matt Rosendale saying he also will run for the U.S. House seat. He also was not listed in that race as of this morning.

Troy Downing of Billings and Nelly Nicol of Helena have filed as Republicans in the auditor’s race, while Rep. Shane Morigeau of Missoula has filed as a Democrat.

And the race for state superintendent of public schools has a rematch from four years ago, with Democrat Melissa Romano challenging incumbent Republican Elsie Arntzen.

In other state races, Supreme Court Justice Jim Shea is running for re-election unopposed so far, but another justice seat has a three-way race. Incumbent Lauri McKinnon faces challengers Mike Black and Mars Scott.

Appointed state District Judge Kaydee Snipes Ruiz has filed and is running unopposed so far to retain the seat she was appointed to in District 12, which includes Hill, Chouteau and Liberty counties.

In local legislative races, Sen. Frank Smith, D-Poplar, is leaving his Senate seat to run for the House seat held by Rep. Bridgett Smith, D-Wolf Point. Bridgett Smith, who has termed out of her seat, is running for the House seat held by Frank Smith.

Sen. Mike Lang, R-Malta, is running unopposed so far in the race for his seat in Senate District 17.

In other House races, Rep. Josh Kasmier, R-Fort Benton, is unopposed so far in his race for re-election, while Republican Ed Hill and Democrat Krystal Steinmetz are squaring off in the race for House District 28 now held by Rep. Jacob Bachmeier, D-Havre, who is not running for re-election.

A primary is set in House District 33, where Rep. Casey Knudsen, R-Malta, faces Republican Joyce Stone of Glasgow.

In county-level races, most seats have at least one candidate and primaries are set in others, although no general election contests were listed by local clerks and recorders as of this morning.

In Hill County, Mark Wicks, who has run as a Libertarian in 2017 for the U.S. House and as a Republican for the Public Service Commission, was the sole candidate, running as a Republican, as of this morning for the Hill County Commission seat now held by Democrat Mike Wendland.

Hill County Clerk of District Court Kathie Vigliotti had filed for re-election as a Democrat, and Maggie Big Leggings had filed as a Democrat to retain her appointed position as public administrator. No one had filed as of this morning for Hill County superintendent of schools, to which Marie Deegan was appointed last year.

In Blaine County, a Democratic primary is set for clerk of district court, with incumbent Tami Mitchell facing Jim Doyle.

Incumbent Blaine County Commissioner Dolores Plumage has filed for re-election as a Democrat.

In Liberty County, incumbent Democrats Liberty County Commissioner Maureen Wicks and Clerk of District Court Anne Seidlitz-Melton both have filed for re-election, without opposition so far.

But a three-way Republican primary is set in Chouteau County. Incumbent Chouteau County Commissioner Daren Schuster faces fellow Big Sandy Republicans Rick Darlington and Beau Pegar in his bid for re-election.

Republican Clerk of District Court/Superintendent of Schools/County Surveyor Rick Cook is unopposed so far in his bid for re-election, while Democrat Jodie Butler was the sole candidate this morning for Chouteau County public administrator, now held by Democrat Karen Brooke.