Full slate of candidates filed in the 2020 elections

The official Montana candidates are now in for the 2020 local, state and federal elections, with deadlines yet to come for people to file as write-in or independent candidates, and many races are full to the brim.

Monday at 5 p.m. was the deadline to file as a candidate for office.

Shuffling in many major races has brought some changes to the races, and a slew of candidates in many of them.

With a number of Democratic presidential candidates ending their candidacies and many shifting their support to former Vice President Joe Biden, the number of candidates on the Montana ballot in that race has dropped significantly.

Democratic presidential candidates former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Minnesota U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar and businessman Tom Steyer all had registered with the Montana Secretary of State’s Office, but now are listed as withdrawn.

Massachusetts U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren announced last week that she was ending her race but was not withdrawn as of this morning on the Secretary of State website.

That leaves Biden and Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders as the remaining Democratic presidential candidates in Montana.

Republican President Donald Trump was the first candidate to file in Montana, Feb. 2, and he has two primary opponents on the Montana ballot.

Perennial candidate Roque “Rocky’De La Fuente, a San Diego businessman who has run as a Democrat, Reform Party and American Delta Party candidate, is filed as a Republican candidate for president, as is entrepreneur Bob Ely of Vernon Hills, Indiana, who also challenged President Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2012.

The entry of Montana Gov. Steve Bullock as a Democrat in the race for the seat held by Republican U.S. Sen. Steve Daines has shaken up that race.

Bullock, who is term-limited as governor and ended a presidential bid in December, acceded to pleas that he run for the Senate, filing as a candidate Monday.

That led to a number of Democrats dropping out of that race, including Cora Neumann of Bozeman, Helena Mayor Wilmott Collins and Bozeman scientist Mike Knoles, who announced he was ending his race, but he is not yet listed as withdrawn on the Secratary of State website.

U.S. Navy veteran, engineer and former Hays-Lodge Pole High School teacher John Mues of Loma was still listed as a Democratic candidate in the Senate race this morning, facing Bullock, a two-term governor and former Montana attorney general, in the primary.

Daines, who was elected to the U.S. House in 2012 and is running for his second term in the Senate, faces a Republican primary challenge from John Brian Driscoll of Helena and Daniel Larson of Stevensville.

Dennis Daneke of Lolo has filed as a Green Party candidate in the race, while Libertarian Eric Fulton of Whitefish has withdrawn his candidacy.

And the race for the U.S. House seat now held by Rep. Greg Gianforte, R-Mont., filled out Monday with the Montana secretary of state joining the race.

Republicans Secretary of State Corey Stapleton and Montana Auditor Matt Rosendale both announced last June they would run for the seat when Gianforte announced he would make his second bid for the Montana governor position.

Stapleton and Rosendale face National Guard veteran and Montana Youth Challenge counselor Mark McGinley of Dillon; Butte electrician John Evankovich; Lewis and Clark County Republican Central Committee Chair Joe Dooling; Debra Lamm, both a former Montana Republican Party chair and former Republican state representative from Livingston, in the Republican primary.

Former state Rep. Kathleen Williams of Bozeman, who lost to Gianforte in 2018 in his bid for re-election to the House, and state Rep. Tom Winter of Missoula are facing off in the Democratic primary.

John Gibney of Hamilton is the Green Party candidate for the House race.

And the Montana governor’s race is rather full as well, with Gianforte, who lost to Bullock in the governor’s race in 2016, facing Montana Attorney General Tim Fox, who is termed out of that position, and state Sen. Al Olszewski of Kalispell in the Republican primary.

On the Democrat side of the governor’s primary, former state lawmaker and secretary of state Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney faces Whitney Williams, a Missoula philanthropic businesswoman and daughter of former U.S. Rep. Pat Williams, D-Mont.

Lyman Bishop of Kalispell is a Libertarian candidate for governor and Robert Barb of Billings is running in the Green Party.

And a slew of Republicans are running to take Stapleton’s place as secretary of state, with one Democrat running for that office.

State Sen. Bryce Bennett of Missoula is the Democrat in the race.

Former secretary of state and current Public Service Commission Chair Brad Johnson, who lost to Linda McCulloch in the 2008 and 2012 secretary of state elections, is again running for secretary of state. In the Republican primary, he faces state Senate President Scott Sales of Bozeman, state Rep. Forrest Mandeville of Columbus, the Deputy Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen, and Kurt Johnson of Missoula.

And several Republicans are facing off in an attempt to take Rosendale’s place as auditor, insurance agent Scott “Tux” Tuxbury of Helena, insurance company employee Nelly Nicol of Billings and Big Sky businessman Troy Downing.

The Democrats now have a primary in that race, with Auditor’s Office attorney Mike Winsor filing Monday, facing state Rep. Shane Morigeau of Missoula.

Roger Roots of Livingston is a Libertarian candidate in the auditor race.

The race to take Fox’ place as attorney general has both Democratic and Republican primaries as well, with governor’s legal counsel Raph Graybill and state Rep. Kimberly Dudick of Missoula on the Democrat side and Chief Deputy Attorney General Jon Bennion and former state speaker of the House and current Roosevelt County Attorney Austin Knudsen on the Republican side.

Roy Davis of Helena is a Green Party candidate in the attorney general.

In the race for Montana superintendent of public schools, incumbent Elsie Arntzen is the sole Republican candidate, Melissa Romano, who lost to Arntzen in 2016, and Kevin Leatherbarrow of Great Falls is the sole Libertarian candidate.

In Supreme Court races, incumbent Jim Shea is unopposed, while incumbent Laurie McKinnon faces Mars Scott of Missoula and Mike Black of Helena in the primary.

Incumbent 12th Judicial District Judge Kaydee Snipes Ruiz is unopposed in her bid to retain the seat to which she was appointed last year.

In local legislative races, another candidate filed Monday in the race for Senate 16 that runs from Chouteau to Roosevelt counties and includes parts of Rocky Boy’s, Fort Belknap and Fort Peck Indian reservations. Kristopher FourStar of Wolf Point filed and faces Rep. Bridget Smith, who cannot run for the House due to term limits, and Jestin Dupree of Poplar will face Mike Fox of Hays in the Democratic primary.

Sen. Mike Lang, R-Malta, is unopposed in his race for re-election to Senate District 17, that runs from Hill County to Roosevelt County, as is Rep. Josh Kassmier, R-Fort Benton, and Rep. Casey Knudsen, R-Malta.

Rep. Jonathan Windy Boy, D-Box Elder, faces a general election challenge from former Rep. G. Bruce Meyers, R-Box Elder, although neither faces a primary challenger.

And Democrat Krystal Steinmetz and Republican Ed Hill also are unopposed in the primary in their bid to take the seat being vacated by Rep. Jacob Bachmeier, D-Havre, who is not running for re-election.

In Hill County, one local race has no candidate. No one filed in the race for Hill County superintendent of schools, to which Marie Deegan was appointed last year.

In the race to take the Hill County Commission seat held by Democrat Mike Wendland, Republican Mark Wicks of Inverness and Democrat Jacob Strissel of Rudyard will face off in the general election, but have no opponents in the primary.

Democratic Clerk of District Court Kathy Vigliotti is unopposed in her bid for re-election, but Democratic Public Administrator Maggie Big Legging faces a primary challenge from Dave Brewer.

In Chouteau County four candidates from Big Sandy are facing off in the Republican primary for county commissioner. Incumbent Daren Schuster faces Reece Ophus, Rick Darlington and Beau Pegar.

Republican Chouteau County 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.

Blaine County has a Democratic primary 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 with no opponent as of this morning.

In Liberty County, incumbent Democrats Liberty County Commissioner Maureen Wicks and Clerk of District Court Anne Seidlitz-Melton both are unopposed in their bids for re-election.