Filing deadline is Monday for federal, state, county elections
Ballots were mailed Monday for school board elections in Polson, Charlo and St. Ignatius.
The filing deadline is March 11 – less than a week away – for candidates seeking federal, state or county offices.
According to a press release from the Secretary of State’s office, 32 candidate filings were processed last week. As of March 1, a total of 328 candidate filings had been processed for 173 different offices.
As the deadline nears, candidates dropped out of some races to pursue others, or perhaps to avoid primary confrontations with members of their own party. The most notable example is Eastern District Congressman Matt Rosendale, who filed to run for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by John Tester, dropped out of that race and refiled Feb. 29 for the seat he now holds, facing six opponents in the Republican primary.
Locally, Polson Senator Greg Hertz avoided a primary race against like-minded Trout Creek Senator Bob Brown when Gov. Greg Gianforte appointed Brown as state lottery director Feb. 29. Redistricting would have pitted the two conservatives against one another in a bid to serve the redrawn District 7.
Likewise, Rep. Joe Read was spared a primary battle in the new House District 91 when Republican Charles Headley of Arlee dropped out and filed instead for Senate District 46, which includes parts of Missoula and goes east to Seeley Lake.
Polson resident Tracy Sharp, chair of the Lake County Republican Central Committee, filed for House District 12, as did fellow Republican Shaun Pandina of Bigfork. Pandina has since dropped out of the race.
Surprisingly, two Lake County legislative districts lacked candidates of any political stripe as of Tuesday: Senate District 6, which includes portions of the west and east shores of Flathead Lake and Swan Lake, and Senate District 8, which straddles the Flathead and Blackfeet Reservations.
On the judicial front, District Judge Deborah “Kim” Christopher recently filed for office, and faces a challenge from Polson attorney Britt Cotter. The judge has been in the news lately after she was rebuked by the Montana Supreme Court for her handling of child-custody case and was the subject of a complaint filed with the Judicial Review Commission.
Here’s the tally of candidates relevant to Lake County voters as of Tuesday morning:
U.S. Senate
Jon Tester, Big Sandy, incumbent (D)
Brad Johnson, Helena (R)
Charles Walkingchild Sr., Helena (R)
Tim Sheehy, Helena, (R)
U.S. House of Representatives, Western District
Ryan Zinke, Whitefish, incumbent (R)
Mary Todd, Helena (R)
Monica Tranel, Missoula (D)
Dennis Hayes, Townsend (L)
Statewide
Governor & Lt. Governor
Greg Gianforte and Kristen Juras, incumbents, Helena (R)
Ryan Busse and Raph Graybill, Kalispell & Great Falls (D)
Secretary of State
Christi Jacobsen, Helena, incumbent (R)
Jesse James Mullen, Deer Lodge (D)
Attorney General
Austin Knudsen, Helena, incumbent (R)
Ben Alke, Helena (D)
State Auditor
James Brown, Dillon (R)
Jordan Ophus, Havre (D)
John Repke, Whitefish (D)
State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Shannon O’Brien, Milltown (D)
Susie Hedalen, Townsend (R)
Sharyl Allen, Helena (R)
Public Service Commission, District 4
Jennifer Fielder, Thompson Falls, incumbent (R)
Clerk of the Supreme Court
Bowen Greenwood, East Helena, incumbent (R)
Supreme Court Chief Justice (non-partisan)
Jeremiah Lynch, Missoula
Cory Swanson, Townsend
Doug Marshall, Helena
Supreme Court Justice No. 3 (non-partisan)
Katherine Bidegaray, Helena
Dan Wilson, Kalispell
District Court Judge, District 20, Dept. 1
Molly Owen, appointed incumbent
District Court Judge, District 20, Dept. 2
Deborah “Kim” Christopher, incumbent, Polson
Britt Cotter, Polson
Senate District 6 and 8
No filings as of March 4
Senate District 7
Greg Hertz, Polson (R)
Senate District 46
Gwen Nicholson, Missoula (D)
C.B. Pearson, Milltown (D)
Charles Headley, Arlee (R)
House District 12
Tracy Sharp, Polson (R)
House District 13
Linda Reksten, incumbent, Polson (R)
Shirley Azzopardi, Polson (D)
House District 15
Ralph Foster, St. Ignatius (R)
House District 91
Joe Read, incumbent, Ronan (R)
Shelly Fyant, Arlee (D)
Lake County
Clerk of Court: Mary Rensvold (R)
Commissioner District 3: Gale Decker, incumbent (R), Josh Senecal (R) and Wes Baertsch (R)
Clerk & Recorder/Auditor/Public Administrator/Surveyor: Kendra Steele, appointed incumbent (R)
Treasurer/Assessor: Erika Jennison, appointed incumbent (R)
Lake County Conservation District: Curt Rosman (non-partisan)
The filing deadline for irrigation, fire, and water and sewer districts was Feb. 11. To file or see who has filed, visit www.lakemt.gov/175/Filing-Information.
The filing deadline for school board vacancies is March 28. Declaration of Intent and Oath of Candidacy forms are available on the Lake County Election Office site and must be filed with the district clerk.