Democratic Party primaries in Montana, 2026

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2024

Democratic Party primaries, 2026

Montana Democratic Party.jpg

Primary Date
June 2, 2026

Federal elections
Democratic primaries for U.S. House

State party
Democratic Party of Montana
State political party revenue

This page focuses on the Democratic primaries that will take place in Montana on June 2, 2026.

A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Montana utilizes an open primary system, in which registered voters do not have to be members of a party to vote in that party's primary.[1]

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

Federal elections

U.S. Senate

See also: United States Senate election in Montana, 2026 (June 2 Democratic primary)

A Democratic Party primary takes place on June 2, 2026, in Montana to determine which Democratic candidate will run in the state's general election on November 3, 2026.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Montana

Michael BlackWolf, Michael Hummert, and Reilly Neill are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Montana on June 2, 2026.


Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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U.S. House

See also: United States House elections in Montana, 2026 (June 2 Democratic primaries)
The U.S. House of Representatives elections in Montana are scheduled on November 3, 2026. Voters will elect two candidates to serve in the U.S. House from each of the state's two U.S. House districts. The primary is June 2, 2026. The filing deadline is March 4, 2026. To see a full list of candidates in the primary in each district, click "Show more" below.
Show more

District 1

Democratic Party Democratic primary candidates

Note: The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

District 2

Democratic Party Democratic primary candidates

Note: The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

State elections

State Senate

See also: Montana State Senate elections, 2026
Elections for the Montana State Senate will take place in 2026. The general election is on November 3, 2026. The primary is June 2, 2026. The filing deadline is March 4, 2026. To see a full list of state Senate candidates in the Democratic primaries, click "Show more" below.
Show more

Montana State Senate elections, 2026

  • Incumbents are marked with an (i) after their name.
  • Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
  • The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
  • Please contact Ballotpedia about candidate additions, withdrawals, or disqualifications.
Office Democratic Party Democratic Republican Party Republican Other
District 1


Steve Gunderson

District 4


Amy Regier

District 6


Mark Noland (i)

District 8
District 9


Llew Jones
Zachary Wirth

District 10

Margaret Mitchell

Jessica Dyrdahl

Did not make the ballot:
Melissa Nikolakakos 

District 11


George Nikolakakos

District 12


Wendy McKamey (i)

District 14
District 18


Greg Kmetz

District 19


Barry Usher (i)

District 22


Daniel Zolnikov (i)

District 23
District 25


Dennis Lenz (i)

District 28


Forrest Mandeville (i)

District 29
District 31

Kelly Kortum
Wesley Siler


District 32
District 34


Shelley Vance (i)
Jennifer Carlson

District 41

Erin Farris-Olsen  Candidate Connection
Dana Toole


District 42

Mary Ann Dunwell (i)

Nick Lancette

District 43


David Bedey
Kathy Love

District 48

Andrea Olsen (i)


District 49
District 50


House of Representatives

See also: Montana House of Representatives elections, 2026
Elections for the Montana House of Representatives will take place in 2026. The general election is on November 3, 2026. The primary is June 2, 2026. The filing deadline is March 4, 2026. To see a full list of state House candidates in the Democratic primaries, click "Show more" below.
Show more

Montana House of Representatives elections, 2026

  • Incumbents are marked with an (i) after their name.
  • Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
  • The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
  • Please contact Ballotpedia about candidate additions, withdrawals, or disqualifications.
Office Democratic Party Democratic Republican Party Republican Other
District 1


Michelle Bianco

District 2


Tom Millett (i)

District 3

Debo Powers (i)

Cathy Mitchell

District 4

Paula Koch

Lyn Bennett (i)
Shaun Pandina

District 5


Braxton Mitchell (i)

District 6

Darren Fix

Jim Riley

District 7


Courtenay Sprunger (i)
Luke Maxwell

District 8


Lukas Schubert (i)

District 9


Steven Kelly (i)

District 10


Terry Falk (i)

District 11


Ed Byrne (i)

District 12


Tracy Sharp (i)

District 13


Linda Reksten (i)

District 14


Paul Fielder (i)

District 15
District 16
District 17


Justin Cleveland
Stephen LaPraim

District 18


James Coombs

District 19

Jane Weber (i)


District 20

Valynda Holland
Dylan Kunz  Candidate Connection

Melissa Nikolakakos (i)
Anthony Rosales  Candidate Connection

District 21

Lela Graham

Trevor Funseth
Eric Peterson

District 22


Kevin Leatherbarrow

District 23


Eric Tilleman (i)

District 24


Steve Fitzpatrick (i)

District 25
District 26


Russ Miner (i)

District 27

Paul Tuss (i)


District 28
District 29
District 30


Morgan Thiel (i)

District 31

Lance Fourstar
Natalie Weeks-O'Neal


District 32
District 33
District 34


Jerry Schillinger (i)

District 35


Gary Parry (i)

District 36


Kenneth Bogner

District 37


Shane Klakken (i)

District 38


Greg Oblander (i)

District 39


Kerri Seekins-Crowe (i)

District 40


Mike Vinton (i)

District 41
District 42
District 43
District 44
District 45

Denise Baum (i)


District 46


Kimberly Welzenbach

District 47

James Reavis (i)

Rony Stevens  Candidate Connection

District 48


Curtis Schomer (i)

District 49


Sherry Essmann (i)

District 50


Stewart Harris

District 51


Jodee Etchart (i)

District 52


Stacy Zinn (i)

District 53


Nelly Nicol (i)

District 54


Lee Deming (i)

District 55


Brad Barker (i)
Mary Horman

District 56
District 57

Scott Rosenzweig (i)


District 58

Jamie Isaly (i)


District 59
District 60

Alanah Griffith (i)


District 61

Becky Edwards (i)


District 62

Josh Seckinger (i)


District 63

Peter Strand (i)


District 64

Brady Bremer
Rebecca Stanton


District 65
District 66

Eric Matthews (i)


District 67
District 68
District 69


Kenneth Walsh (i)
Trevor Walter  Candidate Connection

District 70


Shannon Maness (i)

District 71
District 72
District 73

Jennifer Lynch (i)


District 74

Marc Lee (i)


District 75
District 76


Trish Schreiber

District 77


Jane Gillette (i)

District 78


Randyn Gregg (i)

District 79
District 80

Melissa Romano (i)


District 81

Ben Kuiper


District 82
District 83
District 84


Roy Caldwell

District 85


Michele Binkley
Kim Dailey

District 86


Ron Miller
Wayne Rusk

District 87


Terry Nelson (i)

District 88

Evan Schroedel

Greg Overstreet (i)

District 89

Mark Thane (i)


District 90


Curtis Cochran (i)
John Squier

District 91

Shelly Fyant (i)


District 92

Reggie Spaulding  Candidate Connection


District 93

Christina Hayes
Sam Kulla


District 94

Robin Kendall  Candidate Connection
Christopher Morigeau
Lisa Verlanic Fowler


District 95
District 96

Bob Carter (i)


District 97

Melody Cunningham (i)


District 98

Jonathan Karlen (i)


District 99
District 100


State executive offices

See also: Montana state executive official elections, 2026

Two state executive offices are up for election in Montana in 2026:

Public Service Commission (2 seats)


Montana Public Service Commission

District 1

Democratic primary candidates

Note: The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

    District 5

    Democratic primary candidates

    Note: The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

      Voting information

      See also: Voting in Montana

      Ballotpedia will publish the dates and deadlines related to this election as they are made available.


      Context of the 2026 elections

      Montana Party Control: 1992-2025
      No Democratic trifectas  •  Fifteen years of Republican trifectas
      Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

      Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
      Governor R R R R R R R R R R R R R D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D R R R R R
      Senate D D D R R R R R R R R R R D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
      House D R R R R R R R R R R R R S S R R S S R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R

      State party overview

      Democratic Party of Montana

      See also: Democratic Party of Montana


      State political party revenue

      See also: State political party revenue and State political party revenue per capita

      State political parties typically deposit revenue in separate state and federal accounts in order to comply with state and federal campaign finance laws.

      The Democratic Party and the Republican Party maintain state affiliates in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and select U.S. territories. The following map displays total state political party revenue per capita for the Democratic state party affiliates.


      Pivot Counties

      See also: Pivot Counties by state

      Three of 56 Montana counties—5.4 percent—are Pivot Counties. Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.

      Counties won by Trump in 2016 and Obama in 2012 and 2008
      County Trump margin of victory in 2016 Obama margin of victory in 2012 Obama margin of victory in 2008
      Blaine County, Montana 2.46% 15.32% 19.24%
      Hill County, Montana 17.18% 3.50% 12.21%
      Roosevelt County, Montana 6.49% 15.58% 26.27%

      In the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump (R) won Montana with 56.2 percent of the vote. Hillary Clinton (D) received 35.7 percent. In presidential elections between 1892 and 2016, Montana voted Republican 65.6 percent of the time and Democratic 34.4 percent of the time. In the five presidential elections between 2000 and 2016, Montana voted Republican all five times.[2]

      Presidential results by legislative district

      The following table details results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections by state House districts in Montana. Click [show] to expand the table. The "Obama," "Romney," "Clinton," and "Trump" columns describe the percent of the vote each presidential candidate received in the district. The "2012 Margin" and "2016 Margin" columns describe the margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in those years. The "Party Control" column notes which party held that seat heading into the 2018 general election. Data on the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections broken down by state legislative districts was compiled by Daily Kos.[3][4]

      In 2012, Barack Obama (D) won 34 out of 100 state House districts in Montana with an average margin of victory of 17.6 points. In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) won 28 out of 100 state House districts in Montana with an average margin of victory of 17.2 points. Clinton won one district controlled by a Republican heading into the 2018 elections.
      In 2012, Mitt Romney (R) won 66 out of 100 state House districts in Montana with an average margin of victory of 28.2 points. In 2016, Donald Trump (R) won 72 out of 100 state House districts in Montana with an average margin of victory of 34.7 points. Trump won 14 districts controlled by Democrats heading into the 2018 elections.


      See also


      External links

      Footnotes