Candidates file for local races by Monday's deadline

Watch for more on county races in Blaine, Chouteau and Liberty counties in an upcoming edition of Havre Daily News.

2024 will be a big year in electoral politics, not just on the federal level, but on the state and local level as well, with candidates having filed all of their declarations now that the deadline for filing in the June primary is over.

In Hill County, not many positions are up and only one race is contented.

One seat on the Hill County Commission, held by Mark Peterson, is up for grabs this year and its current occupant is no longer eligible to run for it, having had to move out of his district due to a house fire years ago.

Two candidates have filed for the position, including Bill Lanier, running as a Democrat, and Samuel Ayres, running as a Libertarian.

Hill County Clerk of Courts Kathie Vigliotti is running unopposed as a Democrat to retain her position.

As for the state Legislature, a number of seats in the House and Senate are up for grabs, and the dynamics of each district may have shifted somewhat after redistricting last year. Some new districts are in play with the state map redrawn to reflect the 2020 Census.

Incumbent Rep. Paul Tuss, D-Havre, is on track for a rematch with Republican Ed Hill this year for House District 27, which essentially comprises most of Havre and North Havre, having defeated Hill, who was an incumbent, in the last cycle, one of only two flipped districts for Democrats in a year where Republican victories brought the party a supermajority in the Legislature.

Republicans Eric Albus, Mark Wicks and Wayne Stahl are running for House District 28, with the winner up against Democrat Blake Borst. That district stretches from Liberty County into Valley County.

Montana Sen. Mike Fox is running for House District 32 against Republican Jason Ulrich, with the district’s current occupant Rep. Jonathan Windy Boy, who is termed out, running for Fox’s Senate District 16 against primary opponent Bridget Smith, the winner of which will face Perri A Jacobs, a Republican, in the general election.

House district 32 runs from south of Havre and from the Chouteau County line to Glasgow, with House District 31, the rest of Senate District 16, running south and then east of 32, starting in Blaine County and running to just west of Culbertson.

In House District 31 Democrats Frank Smith and Lance Fourstar will face off in the primary with Republican Kevin Taylor set to take on the winner in the general election.

Rep. Josh Kassmier R-Fort Benton, will be running for Senate District 13, essentially most of Chouteau County and Cascade County west of Great Falls — Great Falls has its own Senate and House districts — against fellow Republican Lola Sheldon-Galloway in the primary, with the winner going unopposed in the general election.

Republicans Dana Darlington and Russel Miner will run in this year’s primary for House District 26, primarily Chotueau County and Cascade County east of Great Falls.